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This 2025 NBA Draft class is stacked with wing talent, featuring several small forwards that will go in the first round, but plenty more under-the-radar prospects as well that could be contributors in the second round.
There are the obvious first-round guys: Ace Bailey, Liam McNeeley, Kon Knueppel, Miles Byrd, Will Riley and Nique Clifford. There are also a group of borderline top-30 picks like Drake Powell, Hugo Gonzalez, Adou Thiero, and Carter Bryant.
So who are some guys that are likely second-rounders that can be productive NBA players? Many of them are upperclassmen who have produced, but may not have the elite athleticism or shotmaking ability of an Ace Bailey or the all-around offensive firepower of a Kon Knueppel. Still, there are plenty of valuable players that can be found in picks 31-60. Here are a few of them.
Mackenzie Mgbako, a small forward for Indiana, stands at 6-foot-9 and weighs 222 pounds, and sports good athleticism, especially for his size. While mostly thought of as an outside shooter coming into this season, Mgbako has actually been more efficient inside the arc than outside of it, as he is just 32% from three on the season. Though scouts would have liked a higher percentage from deep, his 82% from the line implies he can be a better shooter than he has shown presently. He has averaged 12.6 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2024-25.
West Virginia's Tucker DeVries, the son of the Mountaineers' head coach Darian DeVries, is a combination shooting guard/wing that suffered an unfortunate end to his senior season with an undisclosed upper-body injury that sidelined him after just eight games. DeVries is one of the best three-point shooters in the country at 47% from beyond the arc, and has a solid frame at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds. Though he has struggled some inside the arc, his ability to shoot from three would make him with a flier in the second round even with his injury history.
A third prospect that fits the bill is Washington State's Cedric Coward, who, like DeVries, suffered a season-ending injury earlier in 2024-25. Before going down, Coward showed real versatility as a combo forward, playing some four as well as some three. Before going down, he averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 56% from the field, 40% from three, and 84% from the free-throw line. He is a player that is not on a lot of radars at the moment, but if he tests well at the combine, he may sneak into the second round.
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Paul Joyce: Liverpool ‘will spend the money’ to land transfer target – but face one big obstacle
Paul Joyce has claimed that Liverpool would be prepared to spend big on Alexander Isak this month, but might stop short of Newcastle’s reported valuation of the striker. Last Minute Tickets to the Community Shield – Click Here! The Reds have seen an opening bid of £110m turned down by St James’ Park chiefs (The Athletic), who are understood to value the Sweden international at an eye-watering £150m (Keith Downie). The 25-year-old has been made to train on his own by Eddie Howe and was excluded from a team bonding event on Wednesday, and Tyneside journalist Lee Ryder appeared to hint that a second offer from LFC could be made sooner rather than later. What has Joyce said about Liverpool and Isak? Joyce was discussing the Isak situation on Off The Ball when he outlined that, while Liverpool are willing to go big on the centre-forward, Newcastle’s inability to thus far land a replacement could make it difficult for them to sanction an exit for the ex-Real Sociedad marksman. The Times’ northern football correspondent said: “Until that situation is resolved with Newcastle, in terms of bringing in players, it almost to me, in my view, it sort of complicates Liverpool’s interest in Alexander Isak. “I just don’t see how Newcastle will be able to not get quality strikers in and then sell their best player from last season, who helped them get into the Champions League and, as we saw at Wembley, helped them beat Liverpool and [win] the Carabao Cup. “Liverpool are there. Liverpool will spend the money. There was talk of £150m for him, and that was Newcastle’s valuation. I don’t think Liverpool will go to that, personally. I don’t think they would see that as good value.” Liverpool may need external factors to fall in their favour Although Benjamin Sesko’s reported preference for a move to Manchester United doesn’t affect Liverpool directly, that the RB Leipzig striker would choose the Red Devils over Newcastle may have an adverse effect for the Merseysiders in terms of the Magpies being less amenable to selling Isak. Such is the domino effect nature of the modern transfer market, whereby the probability of one transaction seems largely contingent on another happening first. It’s been well-documented by now that the Reds would like to sign the 25-year-old and that he wants a move to Anfield, but that all counts for nothing unless the St James’ Park give the green light to selling him. Joyce is probably right in saying that Liverpool are unlikely to go as high as £150m for Isak, even in a summer which has seen them recoup a sizeable amount in player sales as well as spending big on new recruits. Richard Hughes certainly won’t give up hope of landing the Newcastle striker, although it might take external cirumstances falling in LFC’s favour to help trigger any prospective move to Anfield. In the meantime, we expect another bid to make it way to Tyneside soon. When it does, the response from the Magpies will be keenly anticipated.
Green Bay Packers: MarShawn Lloyd Makes 1 Promise Amid Frustrating Setbacks
The Green Bay Packers are excited to find out what a whole healthy season from running back MarShawn Lloyd can contribute to their offense. Sure, the Packers have an elite running back as the top option on the ground in the form of Josh Jacobs, but Lloyd presents an exciting potential that remains untapped, in large part because of health setbacks. Lloyd played in only one game in 2024, his first season in the NFL. In the 2024 offseason, he dealt with hip and hamstring injuries. In Week 1 of the 2024 season, the former USC Trojans star running back suffered an ankle injury that landed him on the injured reserve. Just when he was about to get back to action, he was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. Lloyd looked forward to the 2025 offseason and was among the most noticeable players in training camp until suffering a non-contact injury that has since sidelined him. Despite all that he’s gone through, Lloyd remains optimistic. Lloyd determined to make an impact in Year 2 with Green Bay Packers “It did. It does,” Lloyd said when asked about whether the setbacks had bothered him (h/t a video posted by Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Packers, Lloyd knows that it’s “going to be fun” once he gets unleashed on the field again. “But at the end of the day, I just got to stay in my face, you know, I feel like everything happens for a reason when, you know, when it’s time, you know, like I said, God’s gonna give me the strength to be able to do things I need to do. And when he lets me loose, it’s going to be a fun one. It’s going to be a good one. I’m excited to play with, you know, guys like Josh Jacobs, guys like Amalia Wilson, and guys like Chris Brooks. So it’s going to be, it’s going to be fun. I’m excited.” It remains to be seen whether Lloyd will get the green light to see some snaps in this coming Saturday’s preseason game against the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. But at least he’s already started rehabbing, which is a good sign for his chances to play in the Packers’ 2025 season opener at home against the Detroit Lions.
Carlos Alcaraz Sends Huge Warning to the Rest of the Tour Regarding his Rivalry with Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are set to compete in their first event after the Wimbledon final last month, where Sinner dethroned the two time-defending champion Alcaraz. While Sinner outplayed Alcaraz on his best surface, it’s now time to see if the Spaniard can outplay him on the Italian’s beloved hard court. After both withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto, they will commence their North American hard-court swing with the Cincinnati Open. Sinner enters the tournament as the defending champion, while Alcaraz enters as the second seed with just 10 points to defend. Alcaraz has reached the final of the Cincinnati Open once back in 2023, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Clocking 3 hours and 49 minutes, this marked the longest best-of-three-sets match at an ATP Tour final and the longest match in the tournament’s history. Speaking at the press conference ahead of his Cincinnati campaign, Alcaraz touched upon his rivalry with Sinner. Both of us have achieved very important things in a very short time, and I am very happy to see the rivalry we are building. I think we have years ahead to continue doing so. Let’s allow people to talk about us; I don’t think too much about it, we’ll see how far we go. Alcaraz has an 8-5 head-to-head record over Sinner, with a 5-2 record over the Italian ace on hard court. Their rivalry has opened a new chapter in the post-Big 3 era in tennis, and redefined the sport. The youngsters dominated the ATP tour, with the duopoly claiming the last seven Grand Slam titles. Moreover, Sinner is only 23 and Alcaraz, 22. Beyond their fierce on-court battles, they’re also known for their respectful and friendly attitude towards each other off the court. Carlos Alcaraz on losing the Wimbledon final Furthermore, at the press conference, Carlos Alcaraz was also asked about how he felt losing a Grand Slam final for the first time. Prior to the Wimbledon final, he had won all five of the Grand Slam finals he had been a part of. At Wimbledon this year, Alcaraz was aiming for a unique feat. He was looking to complete an elusive three peat and a second Channel Slam. However, things turned out differently this time. Losing a Grand Slam final was a new situation for me, but one must be prepared for that. Obviously, I didn’t want it to happen ever, but I left the court proud and happy, smiling at the thought that at some point it had to happen because it has happened to all the tennis players in history. It took me a few hours to overcome the defeat, knowing that I have many things to improve. I could only feel grateful for having lived a Wimbledon final; I left proud of what I did. Despite losing the match Alcaraz was happy and cheerfully congratulated Jannik Sinner on the victory. It was a shift from what was seen at the Paris Olympics final last year, where Alcaraz become very emotional and cried upon losing the final. This year the Spaniard has shown much maturity on how he looks at defeat. In Cincinnati, Sinner will face either Daniel Elahi Galan or Vit Kopriva in his opening round, while Alcaraz will face Mattia Bellucci or Damir Dzumhur in his opening round. Further ahead, Sinner will also be looking to defend his US Open title, becoming the second person this century after Roger Federer to do so. Federer won five consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008.
Gap between star WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders revealed
As of Thursday morning, the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin remained in a contract stalemate after the 29-year-old wide receiver in the final year of his current deal requested a trade. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler noted that the Commanders and McLaurin are locked in "a classic standoff" as McLaurin allegedly looks to secure "parts" of the five-year, $150M deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf this past March. "They have been far apart," Fowler said about the negotiations between the Commanders and McLaurin, as shared by Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report. "...[McLaurin] has wanted metrics of the DK Metcalf contract, which is $32M. I'm told the Washington Commanders have only been slightly above where he was before, which is $23M. So take that gap, that's $7M to 8M that they have to bridge." Fowler added that Washington "has got some calls about McLaurin" this summer because "there's some interest league-wide" in learning whether or not the wideout could become available. For what it's worth, numerous reporters have said since McLaurin went public with his trade request that he likely won't go anywhere before Washington opens the season with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. ESPN's John Keim mentioned that Washington's joint practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders "need McLaurin back on the field" as soon as possible. That's understandable, as McLaurin recorded team highs of 117 targets, 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards to help quarterback Jayden Daniels become the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season. Additionally, McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign ranked second in the entire NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list a Washington team coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps Wednesday's joint practice will spark more positive conversations between McLaurin's camp and the Commanders that will result in the playmaker rejoining summer practices as soon as early next week.
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