Who the Spurs will pick at No. 2 is no secret (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs have three picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. With the second overall selection, the Spurs are all but guaranteed to add Dylan Harper, the dynamic guard out of Rutgers. San Antonio has a second lottery pick — the No. 14 pick that was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks. In the second round, the Spurs will select 38th overall.
Beyond adding Harper, who will the front office target in the 2025 draft? Here’s a look at the final Big Board for the draft from San Antonio’s perspective.
1. Cooper Flagg
Flagg is the top prospect in this draft. I don’t think even Nico Harrison could mess up this selection.
2. Dylan Harper
The Spurs remain ecstatic about the opportunity to draft Harper. After watching the Thunder and Pacers in the Finals and observing how useful it is to have a plethora of ball-handlers, there should be no concerns about the fit. Harper is a great prospect with elite playmaking upside. He plays under control and with an exciting amount of coordination and guile. Harper has a chance to be a really, really valuable player and that makes it very unlikely that San Antonio will even consider trading their pick.
3. VJ Edgecombe
4. Tre Johnson
5. Kon Knueppel
6. Ace Bailey
These four players are a lock to be off the board by pick No. 14. Edgecombe’s two-way ability elevates him to the third spot on this Big Board. Johnson and Knueppel are elite shooters, while Bailey has vast potential as a scorer.
7. Khaman Maluach
Maluach is very unlikely to drop to No. 14 — but if he does, I’m confident that the Spurs would scoop him up. San Antonio has a hole at backup center and Maluach has the ability to fill that need in the short-term and turn into a starting caliber center in the not-so-distant future. He’s huge, long, competitive, mobile and his shooting isn’t a lost cause.
8. Carter Bryant
Bryant didn’t start a game at Arizona but he’s the prototypical 3-and-D wing prospect every team would love to roster. He’s 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan and the 19-year-old is athletic and he can shoot it. Bryant’s offensive upside appears to be relatively limited but he’d be a very Spursian pick at No. 14.
9. Cedric Coward
Coward is the late riser in the draft. Are the Spurs brave enough to draft someone in the lottery who was projected to be a second round draft pick a couple months ago? Perhaps. Blessed with a 7-foot-2-plus wingspan at 6-foot-6, Coward is a 22-year-old late bloomer who has never played against top tier competition but he can shoot it straight, is reasonably athletic and has the build of a successful NBA player.
10. Noa Essengue
Essengue is an intriguing combo forward who ranks extremely high on analytic models. The 18-year-old is the second youngest player in the draft. At 6-foot-9, he gets to the free throw line an ungodly amount, finishes at a high level and has touch on his jumper. What Essengue will ultimately become is a difficult question to answer but there are enough enticing attributes to select him in the lottery.
11. Liam McNeeley
Following an underwhelming season at UConn, McNeeley’s stock has fallen quite a bit. However, much like the Spurs did with Stephon Castle, the front office could look back at McNeeley’s high school tape for reminders of why he was such a highly rated recruit. If he pans out, McNeeley would be a shooter who competes on both sides of the court.
12. Joan Beringer
13. Thomas Sorber
These two center prospects are legitimately interesting. Beringer is a 7-foot Frenchmen with innate shot-blocking instincts and a hyperactive playstyle. Sorber is only 6-foot-10 but makes up for it with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. He’s not a notable athlete but he intrigues with his advanced feel for the game, particularly when it comes to passing the ball.
14.Kasparas Jakucionis
15. Egor Demin
Jakucionis is talented but he’s similar enough to Harper that he’d be a questionable fit. He has enough size (6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan) to operate off the ball but there wouldn’t be a clear avenue to playing time. Denim is a great passer but his iffy shooting credentials also make him a questionable fit. He has really good size (6-foot-9 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan) but he’s a questionable athlete who will likely have trouble getting separation in the NBA.
16. Will Riley
17. Nique Clifford
The fit for Riley and Clifford is relatively seamless but there are different question marks hovering above each prospect. Riley is a tall shotmaker at 6-foot-9 but the 19-year-old’s body is so underdeveloped that he is bound to struggle until he can add strength and flexibility. Clifford, on the other hand, may be too overdeveloped. He’s a fifth year senior who didn’t pop until his final season at Colorado State. He played outstanding basketball down the stretch of his college season but the Spurs typically value youth in the draft.
18. Collin Murray-Boyles
19. Jeremiah Fears
Murray-Boyles and Fears could very likely go in the lottery. Fears, in fact, could be a top five pick. However, neither player makes a whole lot of sense for the Spurs. Murray-Boyles is a marvelous defensive prospect but his outside shot appears to be broken beyond repair. Fears is a relatively small point guard who would need the ball to make an impact. That archetype doesn’t have much value in San Antonio right now.
20. Maxime Raynaud
Raynaud deserves a special spot on this list. First of all, the native of Paris is a close friend of Victor Wembanyama. He played really well at the NBA combine, which the Spurs always scout heavily. At 7-foot-1, Raynaud has three-point range, runs and jumps relatively well, and the 22-year-old shows signs that he’s still developing. What holds him back from being higher on the Big Board? Even though he averaged 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds last year at Stanford, he shot poorly inside of the arc, he didn’t get to the free throw line an adequate amount for a player his size and he struggled to move his feet on defense.
21. Asa Newell
22. Derik Queen
23. Rasheer Fleming
Newell, Queen and Flemming are three more big man prospects. Newell hustles relentlessly and can finish plays on the inside but lacks ideal size and his perimeter play is rudimentary. Queen is a talented scorer but he isn’t a floor spacer and doesn’t have the size or athleticism to defend at a high level. Fleming has enviable measurables (6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan) and shot 39% from three-point range — but his feel for the game is iffy and he doesn’t process the game well at this point in his development. Flemming could evolve into a wing but the more likely scenario has him becoming a backup big.
24. Ben Saraf
25. Danny Wolf
Saraf is a 6-foot-6 playmaker out of Israel who has a myriad of skills but needs work on his jumper. Even though he’s nearly 7-feet tall, Wolf is also a playmaker with uncommon court vision for his size. However, defense will be an issue and the 21-year-old struggled with turnovers at Michigan.
26. Drake Powell
27. Noah Penda
28. Hugo Gonzalez
29. Adou Thiero
These are four athletic wings who might be worth a roll of the dice. Powell didn’t play big minutes for North Carolina but he played enough to show bright flashes as a one-on-one defender. Penda is a wing from France with an advanced feel for help defense. Gonzalez plays hard and has enough athleticism but didn’t see the court much in Spain. Thiero is a high-end athlete who could develop into a difference-maker. For all four players, the lack of a consistent outside shot is worrisome.
30. Jase Richardson
31. Walter Clayton Jr.
32. Nolan Traore
Since the Spurs are unlikely to be in the market for a small guard, these three players tumbled down the Big Board. Richardson has undeniable scoring upside but he’s only 6-foot-1. Clayton and Traore are solid point guard prospects but they are 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4, respectively. After adding Harper, San Antonio just won’t have room at the point guard position.
33. Kam Jones
34. Tyrese Proctor
35. Sion James
If the Spurs keep the 38th pick, these three players could be in contention. Jones is older and smaller but has an all-around skillset. Proctor and James, both out of Duke, have displayed role player attributes.
36. Ryan Kalkbrenner
37. Rocco Zikarsky
38. Bogoljub Markovic
39. Yanic Konan Niederhauser
40. Johni Broome
41. Hansen Yang
If the Spurs want a center project in the second round, at least a few of these bigs will still be available at 38.
42. Chaz Lanier
43. Jamir Watkins
44. Alex Toohey
45. Koby Brea
NIL money thinned out the end of this draft. After these 45 players, it’s difficult to find much talent up for grabs.