Which two former Tar Heels is Drake Powell joining on the Brooklyn Nets?
Can this Tar Heel trio lead the Brooklyn Nets back to success?
As Wednesday's First Round of the 2025 NBA Draft reach the 20s, Drake Powell waited to hear his name called. With the 22nd overall pick, the Atlanta Hawks selected Powell and traded him to the Brooklyn Nets.
Once considered a lottery pick before the 2024-2025 college basketball season, Powell fought his way into the starting lineup after a string of impressive performances. By the 2025 portion, Powell was a mainstay in UNC's starting lineup, providing lockdown defense and a quick scoring punch tough to find elsewhere on the roster.
Regardless of whether you think Powell would benefit from another year at North Carolina, he deserves his NBA Draft spot.
Powell won't be the only former Tar Heel in Brooklyn, as he joins Cameron Johnson (2017-2019) and Day'Ron Sharpe (2020-2021). The UNC trio will try and help the Nets make an NBA Playoffs appearance for the first time in three seasons, when the Philadelphia 76ers won via a 4-0, First Round sweep.
Powell started 27 of 40 games he appeared in during his lone season at North Carolina, averaging 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Powell will now compete with Ziaire Williams for minutes at small forward, though Brooklyn can also opt to utilize Powell at shooting guard – or a small power forward.
Johnson is quickly turning into one of the NBA's budding young stars, coming off a season in which he averaged a trio of career highs: 18.8 points, 3.4 assists and 31.6 minutes per game. In Chapel Hill, Johnson was part of Tar Heel teams that made two NCAA Tournament appearances: once in the Second Round, followed by a trip to the Sweet 16.
Though he only started two of the 50 games he appeared in, Sharpe is also coming off a season with career bests of 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Sharpe's lone season in Chapel Hill ended in a first-round NCAA Tournament exit, when Wisconsin beat UNC 85-62.
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