NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets used all five of their first-round picks in the 2025 NBA draft Wednesday night, becoming the first team in league history to make five selections in the opening round.
Perhaps even more surprising than the fact that they kept all their picks: Four of the five players the Nets took are guards, with three of them being point guards.
Brooklyn entered the night with picks No. 8, 19, 22, 26 and 27, fueling speculation that the Nets would trade at least a couple of them to tweak the roster or consolidate them for a bigger haul in the future. Instead, general manager Sean Marks used them all, cementing what was already widely assumed: Brooklyn will be in a developmental phase during the 2025-26 season, even as the Eastern Conference appears to be wide open with a number of the top clubs — the Bucks, Cavs, Celtics and Pacers among them — dealing with key injuries.
Marks began the night by taking Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 floor general and dazzling passer from Russia via BYU, then followed that up by selecting another point guard in 6-5 playmaker Nolan Traoré from France. Both came off the board earlier than expected, as ESPN’s final mock draft projected Demin and Traoré to be taken 13th and 22nd, respectively.
North Carolina wing Drake Powell became the Nets’ third selection before Brooklyn took Israeli point guard Ben Saraf and Michigan big man Danny Wolf to round things out.
“I’m thrilled with the group we got tonight,” Marks said of using all five of the picks. “We’ve got some guys who play the right way, move the ball the right way and have some untapped skills there.”
The Nets also own the No. 36 overall pick when the draft resumes Thursday.
The historic use of the picks begins a summer in which coach Jordi Fernandez and his Brooklyn club will have to figure out a handful of roster questions, including the future of forward Cameron Johnson and Cam Thomas‘ restricted free agency.
However, one thing seems clear: With D’Angelo Russell hitting free agency and the club having had a revolving door of point guards since Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas in 2023, the rookie draft picks are going to have a chance to run the show as the Nets look toward the future.
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