NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets used all five of their first-round picks in the 2025 NBA draft Wednesday night, becoming the first team in league history to make five selections in the opening round.
Perhaps even more surprising than the Nets keeping all of their picks, four of the five players selected are guards, including three point guards.
Brooklyn entered the draft with pick Nos. 8, 19, 22, 26 and 27, fueling speculation the team would trade at least a couple of them to tweak the roster or consolidate them for a bigger haul in the future. Instead, general manager Sean Marks used them all, cementing what was already widely assumed: Brooklyn will be in a developmental phase during the 2025-26 season, even as the Eastern Conference appears to be wide open with a number of the top clubs — the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers among them — dealing with key injuries.
Marks began the night by taking Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 floor general and dazzling passer from Russia via BYU, then followed that by selecting another point guard in 6-5 playmaker Nolan Traore from France. Both came off the board earlier than expected, as ESPN’s final mock draft projected Demin and Traore to be taken 13th and 22nd, respectively.
North Carolina wing Drake Powell became the Nets’ third selection before Brooklyn took Israeli point guard Ben Saraf and Michigan big man Danny Wolf to round it out.
“I’m thrilled with the group we got tonight,” Marks said of using all five of the picks. “We’ve got some guys who play the right way, move the ball the right way and have some untapped skills there.”
The Nets also hold the No. 36 pick when the draft resumes Thursday.
The historic use of the picks begins a summer in which coach Jordi Fernandez and the team will have to figure out a handful of roster questions, including the future of forward Cameron Johnson and restricted free agent Cam Thomas.
But one thing seems clear: With D’Angelo Russell hitting free agency and the team having had a revolving door of point guards since Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas in 2023, the rookie draft picks are going to have a chance to run the show as the Nets look toward the future.