Former North Carolina star Drake Powell showed up for Session 2 of the Tar Heels' Summer Basketball Camp on Thursday, just hours after he went No. 22 overall to the Brooklyn Nets in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Powell is the 55th Tar Heel selected in first round of the NBA Draft, the third-highest total of any school in the nation. He's the first UNC NBA selection since Day'Ron Sharpe in 2021, snapping the program's longest draft drought since 2001-05.
"The Carolina Basketball family is so happy and thrilled for Drake and his family," coach Hubert Davis said after Powell's selection. "Drake was a dream to coach, and this is just the start of a long and successful NBA career. The Brooklyn Nets are getting an elite player, who makes winning plays consistently on both ends of the floor, in addition to being a wonderful young man."
Drake Powell showing up for UNC Basketball Camp the morning after being drafted 22nd in the NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/Xcno6wmnWn
— Isaac Schade (@isaacschade) June 26, 2025
Brooklyn drafted in Atlanta's spot at No. 22 as part of the Kristaps Porziņģis trade out of Boston, a proposed three-team deal. The Nets had acquired draft capital in abundance with five first-round picks on Wednesday night, and they used all of them. Brooklyn chose BYU guard Egor Demin at No. 8, French guard Nolan Traoré at No. 19 and Powell three picks later. Then, the Nets drafted Israeli guard Ben Saraf at No. 26 and Michigan forward Danny Wolf at No. 27.
Powell made 24 starts across 37 games in college last season, averaging 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game as a freshman — numbers that ranked him sixth in scoring, sixth in rebounding and fourth in assists for UNC. He shot 48.3 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from 3-point range and 64.8 percent on free throws. He checked in third among the Tar Heels in 3-point percentage, behind Jae'Lyn Withers and Ian Jackson.
Powell turns 20 years old in September. He impressed last month at the NBA Draft Combine, generating a momentum boost for his draft stock. He tested as arguably the best athlete during that event in Chicago, with the best no-step vertical leap (37½ inches) and max (or running) vertical leap (43 inches). He also finished fourth in the three-quarter-court sprint (3.07 seconds), seventh in the shuttle run (2.79 seconds), and seventh in the pro lane drill (10.71 seconds).
Powell is the 120th all-time Carolina player to be selected in the NBA Draft, and he is the eighth Tar Heel freshman to be drafted, joining a list that includes Marvin Williams (2005), Brandan Wright (2007), Tony Bradley (2017), Coby White (2019), Nassir Little (2019), Cole Anthony (2020) and Day'Ron Sharpe (2021).
Adam Smith contributed to this report.