Apr 4, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) during a practice session for the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

2025 NBA Draft: Johni Broome Works Out for Brooklyn Nets

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI
By Wilko Martinez-Cachero | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 9:50 AM ET

The Brooklyn Nets have worked out Auburn big Johni Broome, per his Instagram story.

Broome, the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, is one of the most versatile centers in the 2025 NBA Draft. He can score, rebound, pass and get defensive stops, all the while having produced at a high level in college for five seasons. Broome turns 23 on July 19, meaning that he isn’t overly old for a fifth-year player.

This past season, Broome averaged a career-best 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. That was coupled with 2.1 blocks per game, a figure that lines up with his 2.5 career average in terms of rejections. Broome lacks the size and twitch of some 5-men — he was measured at 6-foot-9 ¼ barefoot with a 7-foot ¼ wingspan at the Draft Combine — but he’s found ways around those limitations until now.

The thresholds in the NBA become much higher, however, especially as a center. Broome’s consensus is in the second round of this draft, where the Nets have the No. 36 pick. The 22-year-old is currently ranked as the No. 40 prospect in his draft class by ESPN, who last mocked Broome to the Chicago Bulls with the No. 45 pick. That exercise featured Brooklyn selecting Penn State center Yanic Konan Niederhauser with their second-rounder.

Prospects have been piling into the Nets’ HSS Training Center facility in Industry City to be evaluated by Brooklyn’s brass. Recently, the team worked out Colorado State’s potential lottery pick Nique Clifford and Tennessee sharpshooter Chaz Lanier, among others.

The Nets’ most high-profile workouts so far have been Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears and Duke swingman Kon Knueppel. A significant portion of Fears’ pre-draft process has taken place in New York City, although that should not be read into too much. Both freshmen are contenders to be Brooklyn’s first pick at No. 8.

Other players that are still in the draft and have worked out for the Nets, per HoopsHype’s tracker, include: Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest), Javon Small (West Virginia), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee), Isaac Nogués (G League’s Rip City Remix), J’Wan Roberts (Houston), Aaron Scott (St. John’s) and Steve Settle III (Temple).

The 2025 draft is June 25 and 26 at Barclays Center, Brooklyn’s home arena. The team could still choose to be active in the trade market ahead of or on those nights. The Nets have five draft picks this year, and a total of 31 picks (15 first-rounders, 16 second-rounders) over the next seven years.

This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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