North Carolina freshman Drake Powell has decided to declare for the 2025 NBA draft, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
Powell has the option of testing the draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility and then withdrawing from the process next month in order to return to school. However, neither Givony’s report nor Powell’s own announcement (via Instagram) says anything maintaining his college eligibility, so it sounds like he intends to go pro.
A 6’6″ wing, Powell started 24 of his 37 games for the Tar Heels in 2024/25, submitting relatively modest averages of 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 25.6 minutes per game.
Although his counting stats didn’t jump off the page, Powell has shown off legitimate potential as a three-and-D player. He made 37.9% of his outside shots as a freshman and Givony describes him as one of the best perimeter defenders in the 2025 draft class.
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Givony and Jeremy Woo rank Powell 31st overall on ESPN’s big board of 2025 prospects, meaning he’s viewed as a borderline first-round pick at this point.
7 pts avg lol