No. 35 pick instant reaction

New York Times

5 hours ago

The 2025 NBA Draft is complete from Brooklyn's Barclays Center, highlighted by Duke's Cooper Flagg going No. 1 to the Dallas Mavericks Getty Images Imagn Images
35. Philadelphia – Johni Broome, C, Auburn
I love this pick for Philadelphia. I had Broome as one of my top sleepers after an awesome senior season at Auburn, and he joins a team that is in win-now mode that doesn't need to roll the dice on long-term upside.
If Andre Drummond doesn't come back, the lefty Broome likely will challenge 2024 second-rounder Adem Bona for backup center minutes behind Joel Embiid. Imagn Images
The Philadelphia 76ers have selected 22-year-old Auburn big Johni Broome with the 35th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Broome is coming off an incredible college basketball season and has been good at every stretch of his career. He was a great freshman at Morehead State before developing into arguably the best player in the league. He was awesome in his first year at Auburn and then he turned into a multi-time All-American who was exceeded only by Cooper Flagg this year. Even in his prior combine experience, he proved himself in a big way. But there is some reason for skepticism in regard to his NBA translation. He's tough and physical and does an amazing job on the glass thanks to his strength. Yet there are worries on defense based on what we saw this year with his footspeed and the lack of verticality as a rim protector. As a finisher, everything is below-the-rim, and often involved a left-handed mini-hook over his right shoulder. He will need to diversify his game. Can he improve as a shooter? Is there a way for him to add footspeed that makes him lighter on his feet in space? I don't like betting against him figuring it out in some respect, so I have him as a top-40 player with a chance to be a backup center in the NBA. Imagn Images
Ryan Kalkbrenner (January 2002, 7'1", 257, 7'6" wingspan) replaces Mark Williams (December 2001, 7'0", 242, 7'7" wingspan) in Charlotte, a team that still has Jusuf Nurkic and Moussa Diabaté. Imagn Images
The Charlotte Hornets have now drafted four Duke players since 2020: Vernon Carey Jr., Mark Williams, Kon Knueppel and Sion James. We know who is winning the Duke-UNC rivalry in that front office and even at the ownership level where Michael Jordan sold the team to an ownership duo headed by someone who was a constant presence at Coach K's fantasy camps. Imagn Images
34. Charlotte – Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
The Hornets desperately need more size in the wake of the Mark Williams trade, with Jusuf Nurkic the only real center remaining on the roster, and Kalkbrenner is a huge shot-blocker and finisher who fits the bill. The interesting part is that he also offers some floor spacing potential too. If he can hold up in pick-and-roll defense he has a chance to be a rotation-caliber performer right away. Imagn Images
The Charlotte Hornets have selected 23-year-old Creighton big Ryan Kalkbrenner with the 34th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Will Kalkbrenner's strengths outweigh his limitations? Kalkbrenner has a case as the best rim protector in this draft. He has an elite skill that he has shown over many years at Creighton. In the right scheme, he could slot in and become a key cog off the bench on an awesome defensive team. But with his issues in space defensively, becoming a shooter and maxing out any lateral quickness that he has will be the key. There are some similarities here to Celtics' backup center Luke Kornet. Kornet was another big who had a chance to develop as a shooter but ultimately didn't. Still, Kornet has become one of the most valuable backup centers in the NBA because of how sharp he is on defense. If Kalkbrenner was able to become a shooter, he has a chance to even be a low-level starter in the right scheme. Still, it's hard to predict that given the incredibly low number of three-plus-year college players who go on to become starting centers in the NBA. Regardless, I think that he will stick as an enormous paint protector with a high IQ and can play in a specific scheme, similarly to Kornet. To me, one of the best backup bigs in the NBA is probably worth a late first-round pick, especially given that I think Kalkbrenner should be able to come in and play in the NBA from Day 1. Imagn Images
33. Charlotte – Sion James, SG, Duke
This is the first selection since Chicago at pick 12 that wasn't traded at some point. Rumors about the Hornets' interest in James had picked up of late, although I think his limited shooting and lack of real upside as an older player make him a bit of a reach even here. Charlotte now just needs Tyrese Proctor to complete a sweep of Duke's starting perimeter players in this draft.
A college head coach whose team played Duke sizes up Sion James, the No. 33 pick now headed to the Charlotte Hornets.
One of the things they told me when we played them that I thought was unbelievable was that one of the reasons he wanted to go to Duke when he left Tulane — and they were recruiting him — was that he wanted to show he could play with other really good players. He knew if he was going to make the NBA, it was going to be in a certain role: defensive guy first and things like that. He's built like a linebacker. He has a competitive spirit: tough, can guard any position, because he's built like that. He can guard post guys, he can guard perimeter guys. He scored at Tulane; he didn't have to (at Duke). I think he will become a better shooter.
Built like Lu Dort. If you looked at Dort at Arizona State, I don't know how well he shot the ball. I think guys will shoot better once they get to the league, because they'll work. … It shows a maturity that not many young people have. He's able to think about things in a different way. If I'm in a front office, those are all the things I'm looking at. You look at the measurements and the athleticism and all that, which he has at the top level, but (then) you look at the thought process and the mindset, things like that.
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2025 NBA Draft Confidential: Coaches, execs, scouts on Cooper Flagg, top wing prospects Imagn Images
Who had Sion James going ahead of Tyrese Proctor in the NBA Draft? Imagn Images
The Charlotte Hornets have selected 22-year-old Duke guard Sion James with the 33rd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Between the good decision-making, quick processing ability and sharp defense, the idea here is certainly something in the range of Bruce Brown. The difference between Brown and James is that Brown was an elite athlete and James is not. He gets by because of his strength and timing. Defensively, there are few better guards in the class, and I really like him as a potential matchup player against some of the stronger, more physical guards that in the NBA. Ultimately, though, he might not have enough offensive skill to stick. James is going to have to work to hit shots at a reasonable volume. He also needs to become not just a positive processor of the game, but an elite one who makes reads very quickly. There's a world in which he becomes a useful player, and he should absolutely be on a two-way contract this year.
Noah Penda fits the archetype of a Jeff Weltman-led front office. At 6-7 1/2 with a 7-foot wingspan, he has the positional size on wing that the Magic like Imagn Images
This trade is only fitting because the No. 57 pick originally belonged to the Celtics. If that doesn't explain the second round, what does?
32. Orlando – Noah Penda, SF/PF, Le Mans
The Magic sent four second-rounders to the Celtics for this one, although none of them were particularly valuable: Picks 46 and 57 tonight, and picks in 2026 and 2027 that are likely to be in the late 40s or 50s.
I'm a fan of Penda, a high-IQ forward whose shooting will be a swing skill. Although the pressure on him to knock down shots will increase given the limited spacing on the Magic roster.
The Celtics are reacquiring the No. 57 pick in their trade, sending out No. 32 to the Orlando Magic, a team source confirmed to The Athletic.
Per a team source, in 2026, the Celtics will get the second-most favorable of Detroit, Milwaukee and Orlando. In 2027, the Celtics will have the most favorable of Orlando and Boston. FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
An Eastern Conference executive on Noah Penda, who went No. 32 to the Orlando Magic.
Unique player. Almost like a Draymond — not Draymond's attitude, but the mentality. Guards everybody. He's tough. Throws people around. Will get physical with people. Very OK with confrontation. He doesn't talk, but he'll just stand there and stare at you and keep coming. If people get offended by how hard he plays, he enjoys it. He's a defensive playmaker. He's improved offensively. He'll attack the basket off the bounce. He's kind of a tweener. He's shooting a lot better now. He'll fit into that three/four, four/three role that's a Swiss Army knife. Winner.
Plays very hard, someone you'd want on your roster. I don't know if the talent justifies a first-round pick, but I could see him being a steal in the early second. He could be like the kid (Toumani) Camara in Portland. He's improved his body. He was chunky, a little round, and now he's come into his man's body. This year, he's figured it out. He has an NBA role.
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2025 NBA Draft Confidential: Coaches, execs, scouts on Cooper Flagg, top wing prospects Getty Images
The Orlando Magic have selected 20-year-old Le Mans Sarthe wing Noah Penda with the 32nd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Penda is my kind of player, which is why he'll likely be a bit higher here than he is compared to the consensus. He has enormous positional size, is a tough defender, processes the game well and has the potential to be a wing who can dribble, pass and shoot. I love his game in transition, and he's a sharp passer. Defensively, he can gamble, but he generally knows where he's supposed to be and is disruptive. He holds his line on defense and doesn't allow guards or wings to go through his enormous frame.
The swing skill here is the jumper. As long as Penda's frame doesn't get any bigger and thus slow his foot speed, he'll be an impact player in the NBA if the jumper translates. He had good success with it this season, but this is a one-year sample that makes it hard to fully buy into. Still, I'm willing to take the flier on it working out. I have Penda as my highest-ranked international player, just outside the lottery on my board, and would happily take a chance that he's the kind of player who can help you in a playoff series. Imagn Images
Rasheer Fleming fills Phoenix's biggest need at the four. He looks the part – 6-foot-9, 232 pounds with a 7-5 wing span. The only similar player on the roster is second-year forward Oso Ighodaro. Second-year forward Ryan Dunn also could play the four in smaller lineups.
By now, Phoenix's off-season strategy is obvious. Size. The Suns last season had little rim protection and it killed them. Over the last 24 hours, Phoenix has added 7-1 center Khaman Maluach (with the No. 10 pick), 7-foot center Mark Williams (via trade with Charlotte) and Fleming (No. 31). How this will work is completely unknown, but after moving on from Kevin Durant, it's a start.
Fleming, who turns 22 next month, will have a chance to play right away. A late bloomer, he got better every season during his three seasons at St. Joseph's. He's a great athlete and runs the floor well. He also has floor-spacing ability, shooting 39 percent on 159 3-point attempts last season. Perhaps most of all, Fleming plays hard, which is something the Phoenix front office emphasized after last season's disaster.
The Suns also have acquired the No. 41 pick, which could be used on a wing defender or lead guard.
A college head coach whose team played St. Joseph's sizes up Rasheer Fleming, the No. 31 pick by the Phoenix Suns.
Our focus on him was if we could take away the catch-and-shoot, take away the straight line drives, we'd have success. He had games against us when he scored well, but we had success against their team. For me, I think his skill set will translate to the next level. He's big, he's physical, and at his size, he can shoot the ball. I think he'll have to be a better defender, just understanding he's playing against the best players in the world now. He's got the tools to do it; he has to buy into it, though.
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2025 NBA Draft Confidential: Coaches, execs, scouts on Cooper Flagg, top wing prospects