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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheACC.com) – Four Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball players were selected Thursday night in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft, which was held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. In all, eight ACC players were selected in the two days of the draft.
This marks the 16th time in the last 17 seasons in which at least seven ACC players were selected in the NBA Draft. The ACC has totaled 150 draft picks since 2009, most of any conference.
Duke’s Sion James was the first ACC player off the board Thursday, going No. 33 overall to the Charlotte Hornets, where he joins forces with former Blue Devils teammate Kon Knueppel, who was picked No. 4 overall on Wednesday. Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud was chosen No. 42 overall by the Sacramento Kings and was quickly followed by Florida State’s Jamir Watkins, who was picked at No. 43 by the Washington Wizards via a proposed trade with Utah.
Duke’s Tyrese Proctor was selected at No. 49 by the Cleveland Cavaliers and was the fifth Blue Devil to be chosen in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Four ACC players were selected in the first round on Wednesday, highlighted by Duke’s Cooper Flagg going No. 1 overall to Dallas. Duke’s Kon Knueppel was selected No. 4 overall by Charlotte, and the Blue Devils’ Khaman Maluach was chosen No. 10 overall by the Phoenix Suns via a proposed trade with the Houston Rockets. North Carolina’s Drake Powell was taken No. 22 overall by the Brooklyn Nets via a proposed trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
The ACC extended its streak with at least one first-round selection to 37 consecutive years, dating back to the 1989 draft. This marks the 17th straight year in which the ACC finished with at least two first-round picks.
ACC in the 2025 NBA Draft:
Round/Selection, Player, NBA Team
1/1, Cooper Flagg (Duke), Dallas Mavericks
1/4 Kon Knueppel (Duke), Charlotte Hornets
1/10, Khaman Maluach (Duke), Houston Rockets (proposed trade to Phoenix)
1/22, Drake Powell (North Carolina), Atlanta Hawks (proposed trade to Brooklyn)
2/33, Sion James (Duke), Charlotte Hornets
2/42, Maxime Raynaud (Stanford), Sacramento Kings
2/43, Jamir Watkins (Florida State), Utah Jazz (proposed trade to Washington)
2/49, Tyrese Proctor (Duke), Cleveland Cavaliers