NBA Draft projections: Experts predict Ace Bailey, Thomas Sorber, more

The 2025 NBA Draft has arrived.

At 8:05 p.m. ET inside the Barclays Center the Dallas Mavericks are expected to make Cooper Flagg the sixth Duke basketball player to be taken with the top overall pick, with the San Antonio Spurs likely taking Rutgers’ Dylan Harper at No. 2 overall at 8:10 p.m. ET.

But for the picks that follow those, there remain some questions and uncertainty on how NBA teams will attack the remainder of the field.

Some of those players who find the buzz around their name continuing to rise going into Night 1 of the two-day NBA draft include Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber, Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe to name a few.

Here’s the latest on each of those four players’ NBA mock draft projections ahead of the first round:

2025 NBA draft: Expert predictions on several prospects

Ace Bailey

By now, it’s well documented that Bailey is one of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s NBA draft class. The reason for this is that the Rutgers guard didn’t make a visit to an NBA facility and turned down several invites from NBA teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers.

In 30 games this season at Rutgers, Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 46% from the field.

Here’s a look at where some NBA draft experts have Bailey going in the NBA draft:

• USA TODAY: No. 4 overall to the Charlotte Hornets
• ESPN: No. 6 overall to the Washington Wizards
• The Athletic: No. 6 overall to the Washington Wizards
• Yahoo Sports: No. 7 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans

Kon Knueppel

Though Flagg headlined the Duke roster this season, Knueppel was right up there as one of the more impactful players on the Blue Devils’ roster. A reason for this was that Knueppel was able to showcase that he can be an all-around guard with his defense, playmaking and shooting.

In 39 games this past season at Duke, Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 47.9% from the field.

Here’s a look at where some NBA draft experts have Bailey going in the NBA draft:

• USA TODAY: No. 7 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans
• ESPN: No. 4 overall to the Charlotte Hornets
• The Athletic: No. 4 overall to the Charlotte Hornets
• Yahoo Sports: No. 4 overall to the Charlotte Hornets

Thomas Sorber

Sorber is one of the more intriguing prospects entering Night 1 of the NBA draft as his stock has increased in recent weeks despite still recovering from a season-ending foot injury with a timeline of return to playing around early August.

In 24 games this past season at Georgetown, Sorber finished second on the Hoyas in scoring at 14.5 points per game while leading the team in field-goal shooting at 53.2%.

Here’s a look at where some NBA draft experts have Bailey going in the NBA draft:

• USA TODAY: No. 18 overall to the Washington Wizards
• ESPN: No. 17 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves
• The Athletic: No. 17 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves
• Yahoo Sports: No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs

VJ Edgecombe

With Bailey’s uncertainty in the NBA draft, Edgecombe appears to have become the clear-cut projected No. 3 overall pick to the 76ers. Noted in USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Edgecombe displayed his athleticism at Baylor this past season and in the draft process while showing ‘can be explosive and has an elite knack for steals’ and can ‘contribute at the NBA level and can be aggressive at the point of attack.’

In 33 games this season at Baylor, Edgecombe averaged 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 43.6% from the field.

Here’s a look at where some NBA draft experts have Bailey going in the NBA draft:

• USA TODAY: No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers
• ESPN: No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers
• The Athletic: No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers
• Yahoo Sports: No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers

NBA draft first round order 2025

Here’s the full draft order for the first round of the NBA draft:

1. Dallas Mavericks
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Charlotte Hornets
5. Utah Jazz
6. Washington Wizards
7. New Orleans Pelicans
8. Brooklyn Nets
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Houston Rockets (reportedly traded to Phoenix)
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Atlanta Hawks (via Sacramento)
14. San Antonio Spurs (via Atlanta)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Miami)
16. Memphis Grizzlies (via Orlando)
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Detroit)
18. Washington Wizards (via Memphis)
19. Brooklyn Nets (via Milwaukee)
20. Miami Heat (via Golden State)
21. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota)
22. Atlanta Hawks (reportedly traded to Brooklyn)
23. New Orleans Pelicans (via Indiana)
24. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Los Angeles Clippers)
25. Orlando Magic (via Denver)
26. Brooklyn Nets (via New York)
27. Brooklyn Nets (via Houston)
28. Boston Celtics
29. Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland)
30. Los Angeles Clippers (via Oklahoma City)