How Much Pressure is on the Nets' 2025 Rookie Class?

The Brooklyn Nets had an ugly NBA Summer League debut in a 90-81 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In a highly anticipated opener featuring four of the Nets' five first-round picks, Nolan Traore stood out as the top performer, with rough outings from Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, and Egor Demin.

Summer League is never truly indicative of how a player will pan out in the NBA, but we can't act unfazed either. These runs are supposed to get the rookies loose for what's to come, and while it should taken with a grain of salt, the hope is for progress over the rest of the games.

The Nets were perhaps the most talked-about team heading into the draft. While Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey made headlines for a variety of reasons, Brooklyn was the team many had their eyes on because of a league-record five first-round selections.

With that being said, there is a level of pressure coming with this new Nets core. They headline the next generation and a new era of Brooklyn hoops. While it's in the midst of a rebuild, the expectation is for each player to develop and gel as a unit, ultimately leading the team in the future.

The two biggest assets for the Nets are time and flexibility, and one is responsive to the other. Brooklyn's immense amount of draft capital and cap flexibility, largely due to the moves from GM Sean Marks over the last year or so, gives the organization more time than any other team to make an impact.

Perhaps the time and flexibility take a little more pressure off the shoulders of this incoming class. Brooklyn can deal with a few draft misses and is already a heavy favorite for the top pick in the 2026 draft, projected to be AJ Dybansta or Darryn Peterson at the moment. It's a ways away, but the Nets' eight first-round picks from 2026 to 2030 means their 2025 class has time to develop.

Don't expect these five rookies to come in and immediately start wowing fans. There are similar strengths and weaknesses among each player, particularly on offense, which means plenty of growing pains are expected. Instead, look for progress over the course of the season. These guys need to get comfortable playing together.

There's definitely pressure being the new era of Nets hoops. However, Brooklyn is helping set this class up for success in the long term. There isn't as much pressure as you think, because this is just the first piece of the puzzle.