NBA Rookies Who Will Play Big Roles in Their Team's Hunt for the Playoffs

The 2025 NBA Draft was filled with talent, and now that the NBA preseason is almost here, fans will get to see their team's newest draft picks play alongside the rest of the roster.

Usually, many of the teams at the top of the draft are still a few years away from competing for a playoff spot. The 2025 class, though, saw three teams who could be in the playoffs this season land the top three selections as injury dropped Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia into the lottery.

Alongside the aforementioned teams, there are a few squads who drafted players that will likely need to contribute right away for the group to be competitive.

Here are a few rookies that will be crucial in their team's hunt for the playoffs.

Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

The No. 11 overall selection in this year's class, Coward will have the opportunity to step into Desmond Bane's role as a sharpshooting wing for Memphis.

After Bane was traded to Orlando over the summer, the Grizzlies will need another knockdown shooter and solid defender to play alongside Ja Morant, and Coward has the tools to fit the position. In his final year of college basketball, Coward shot 55.7% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc, averaging 17.7 points, seven rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game at Washington State.

Coward suffered a shoulder injury that limited the 22-year-old to just six games with the Cougars, giving evaluators just a breif glimpse of his skills against power conference competition. Still, with a 7-foot-2 and a quarter inch wingspan and solid shooting numbers in college, Coward could become an important part of the Grizzlies' rotation.

Memphis reached the playoffs in 2024-25, but with other Western Conference teams improving over the offseason, the Grizzlies will have even more competition for a spot in the postseason.

Dylan Harper & Carter Bryant, San Antonio Spurs

Both of the Spurs lottery selections should play big roles for the team in 2025-26.

With De'Aaron Fox and other guards on the roster, San Antonio may not rely as heavily on Harper right away, but the No. 2 overall pick's talent should make him a key part of the rotation as a rookie. Adding another ball handler to the mix, especailly a dynamic player like Harper, should make the Spurs offensive attack even more versatile.

Bryant's size and defensive ability on the wing should give him the opportunity to earn minutes on the floor while his game on the other end of the floor continues to develop.

With Wembanyama and Fox, the Spurs likely have enough talent to compete for a playoff spot, but adding Harper and Bryant should put the team over the top.