5 best NBA Draft team hauls and 2 teams who didn’t do enough

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Here’s who helped themselves and who didn’t in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 2025 NBA Draft has been dissected from every angle by now. At this point, all that’s left is to watch how this incoming rookie class performs at Las Vegas Summer League before heading to training camp to start their NBA careers.

Teams need to think about the future, not the present, when making their selections in the draft. Few rookies can even perform at a replacement level in the NBA. What a player looks like in year one is less important than how they project during their prime years. Patience is a virtue in the NBA, but it’s not always an easy one for teams or their fans to grasp.

Need some instant gratification? Here’s a look at the rookie classes that can help their teams right away. Check out our first-round instant grades, winners and losers, and best fits for more draft wrap-up coverage. We also have a 2026 NBA mock draft already out for the true draft heads. Now, let’s dive in to the teams who could see immediate returns from their picks.

5 teams that got better in the 2025 NBA Draft

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs were pushing for the play-in tournament in the Western Conference last year even with an underwhelming roster before Victor Wembanyama’s season-ending blood clot. San Antonio made its first big move at the trade deadline by acquiring De’Aaron Fox, and it added two more pieces who can help them for next season in Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant. Harper will be a day one starter as the No. 2 overall pick, and his downhill driving, point-of-attack defense, and spot-up shooting will be immediately helpful. I don’t love his fit next to two other shaky shooters in Fox and Stephon Castle, but he’s still likely going to be one of the five best players on the team from the jump. Bryant will need more time to develop especially on the offensive end, but he has a clear translation as a wing stopper defensively that should help get the No. 14 overall pick onto the floor early in his career. The Spurs are still slow-rolling their build around Wemby, but the roster already looks a lot better with Harper and Bryant on it.

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Orlando Magic

The Magic found two immediate rotation pieces in the 2025 NBA Draft despite not having their first pick until No. 25 overall. I viewed Jase Richardson as a lottery talent coming out Michigan State, and Orlando is the best possible fit for his skill set. Richardson is a deadly shooter coming to what was the worst shooting team in basketball last year, and the Magic’s long and ferocious defense is exactly what he needs behind him defensively. I think Richardson can handle backup point guard duties as a rookie, and pairing him with Anthony Black or Desmond Bane should give him the backcourt support he needs against bigger guards. I also loved the Magic’s second round pick, French wing Noah Penda. Penda isn’t very explosive athletically and he’s not a great shooter, but he’s long, strong, and super smart on both ends of the floor. The Magic love long defensive-minded wings, and Penda fits right in. His lack of shooting could be an issue, but he’s such a high-IQ passer that I think he can make it work. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in the rotation next season.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns needed two things entering the NBA Draft: size, and future star-power. They accomplished both by taking Duke center Khaman Maluach after he somehow slid to the No. 10 overall pick. Maluach was the No. 3 player on our board because he has both a safe floor and a high ceiling. He gives Phoenix a young big man who can soak up rotation minutes next season, and has plenty of upside if his three-point shooting can develop. The fact that the Suns also added a veteran center in Mark Williams from the Hornets puts Maluach in an even more advantageous position long-term, because he won’t have too much on his plate right away. I also loved the Suns’ two second round picks, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea. Fleming is a super long and strong forward who made a big leap as a shooter this past season at St. Joesph’s, while Brea is simply the best shooter in this draft class as a fifth-year senior who combines volume and accuracy from three-point range at a highly impressive level. The Suns are still in a terrible situation long-term without control of any of their first-round picks until 2032, but at least they can dream on Maluach’s upside while adding a few good young players to the roster.

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Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets don’t seem to be in any rush to accelerate their rebuild, meaning that all four players they drafted have a reasonable chance to see real rotation minutes next year. No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel is a wonderful fit between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, where he can provide off-ball scoring with his knockdown shooting, and an extra pinch of playmaking. Liam McNeeley was a fine shot at No. 29, too, and fits into lineups as a designated shooter if he can keep up athletically. No. 34 overall pick Ryan Kalkbrenner might be the team’s starting center now after it traded Mark Williams to the Suns. Kalkbrenner was one of my favorite sleepers this year, and his rim protection is NBA ready. Sion James also feels like a ready-made role player with a linebacker build and developing three-point shot (41.3 percent at Duke last season on very low volume with 75 attempts). The Hornets only won 19 games last season, and any upward mobility would have to come from Ball staying healthy and having the best year of his career. Even if that happens, all four Charlotte draft picks seem to have a role on this team.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz are done tanking after a 17-win season ended only in the No. 5 pick. Now they’re ready to simply “lose organically.” Utah is still going to be terrible next year ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft, but that should provide a runway for their three drat picks to get an opportunity. Ace Bailey may not have wanted Utah, but he slots right in at small forward with plenty of shots coming his way. The Jazz also traded up for March Madness hero Walter Clayton Jr., and his nuclear pull-up shooting gives Utah an option it didn’t already have in the backcourt. I would expect Clayton to get a ton of playing time as a rookie after the Jazz traded Collin Sexton to potentially open up minutes for him. Second round pick John Tonje is also a baller who got so many buckets on the wing during his one year at Wisconsin. The Jazz still stink, but their rotation got a little stronger after this draft.

2 teams who didn’t do enough in the 2025 NBA Draft

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Minnesota Timberwolves

You can make a case that the Timberwolves will head into next season as the biggest challenger to the Oklahoma City Thunder not just in the Western Conference, but in the league. This is a team that should be doing everything it can to incrementally increase its championship odds, and it doesn’t feel like they did it with either of their two first round picks. The Wolves took French center Joan Beringer with the No. 17 overall pick, and he feels years away from impacting an NBA floor as a shot-blocker and rim runner. Rudy Gobert will be a fine long-term mentor for Beringer, but there were other players on the board who could have helped more immediately. Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 draft pick) is another long-term rim protecting prospect who won’t help this year. I think Minnesota left better options on the board in both rounds.

Los Angles Clippers

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is one of the truly great stories in the NBA draft. A year ago at this time, he was coming off a forgettable sophomore season at Northern Illinois where he averaged only seven points per game in the MAC. Upon transferring to Penn State and blowing up in the pre-draft process, Niederhauser became a first-round pick to the Clippers at No. 30 overall. For as inspiring as his development is, this felt like a huge reach to me. Niederhauser just didn’t impact the game in many areas, and failed to generate anything resembling first-round buzz before his workouts started. The Clippers already have a great young center in Ivica Zubac who should be there for a long time, and they need more upside swings at wings and guards with limited draft picks going forward. Most of the names that went at the top of the second round would have been preferable in my estimation.