Stanford's Maxime Raynaud Projected to Land with Orlando Magic in Mock Draft

The NBA Draft is just a few days away, and former Stanford Cardinal Maxime Raynaud is expected to be one of those selected at some point in the back-half of the first round.

After a disappointing 2024 class, the 2025 class is expected to have some elite prospects for NBA franchises to add to their rosters. Duke star Cooper Flagg, Rutgers duo Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and others lead the pack at the top of the draft, but there will be plenty of others that will become contributors quickly as well.

One prime example is 7-foot-1 big man Raynaud, a French born player from Paris, who committed to Stanford as a walk on back in 2021. In his time at Stanford he has taken big strides on the court each season, and has turned himself from a potential draftee to an expected first-round selection.

Raynaud is one of the all-time greats in the history of the Stanford men's basketball program. In his freshman season, he contributed with 4.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he bumped his numbers up, putting up 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. However, the Cardinal didn’t see much success on the court with Raynaud until he was an upperclassman.

Raynaud won Pac 12 Most Improved Player in 2023-24 after an incredible 15.5 point and 9.6 rebound average, where he carried the Cardinal to a decent season. However, with the departure of head coach Jerod Haase, they lost six of their top seven scorers, only keeping Raynaud, who returned to Palo Alto for his senior season after entering the portal.

As a senior, Raynaud became one of the nation’s best overall players. His 20.2 points and 10.6 rebound average in 2024-25 were phenomenal, but don’t even tell the full story. He also developed a jump shot, served as a leader for six freshmen, and many underclassmen.

As a playmaker, his 1.7 assist average doesn’t express his ability to pass from the post, or even while going downhill at full speed. Overall, Raynaud helped the Cardinal in many ways, and led them to a 21-14 record under first-year head coach Kyle Smith.

Over the weekend, ESPN put out a mock draft by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, two NBA Draft experts, expressing where the analysts truly believed the players would be selected. Givony and Woo determined that with the 25th overall selection, the Orlando Magic would select Maxime Raynaud, hoping to help their front court depth.

Givony stated “It's not clear what the Magic's appetite will be for adding rookie teenagers to an already young roster, perhaps causing them to explore more mature upperclassmen like Raynaud, who would bring some much-needed frontcourt spacing that the roster currently lacks.”

The Magic would be a great fit for Raynaud. At the power forward spot, Paolo Banchero fits perfectly as their star player. However, they have no established center on their roster that can help space the floor like Raynaud certainly has the potential to in the NBA.

He would likely be competing with Goga Bitadze, Moe Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr. for the starting job, if the Magic were to select him. That said, the NBA offseason officially begins on July 6, so there could be some moving pieces around that time.

Raynaud will likely need a little time to adjust to the NBA game, but he's also highly intelligent and as he showed during his college career, he picks up on things quickly and is able to apply them to his game.

The NBA Draft is on Wednesday, June 25. Coverage begins at 5 p.m. (PT).