2025 NBA Draft Combine: Five storylines as top prospects prepare to workout for pro scouts

Seventy-five players have been invited to participate in the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, which begins Sunday in Chicago,  presenting an opportunity for the top prospects both in the U.S. and abroad to showcase their skills in front of NBA decision-makers with a chance to build their respective stocks ahead of June’s draft.

A momentous week in Chicago will begin with the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday to settle how each team will pick inside the top 14 followed by measurements, interviews, drills and other on-court competition including scrimmages the remainder of the week.

It will serve as a big chance for players to establish rapport with front offices in a more intimate setting — much of the interviews and competition is done within the same square block — and also offer up plenty of opportunities for elbow-rubbing among evaluators and executives. Few forums produce as much scuttlebutt as created annually for this event, so we are expecting a full week of action to once again lay the groundwork for some movement as the landscape shakes and settles in the coming days and weeks.

2025 NBA Draft Combine: Updated prospect rankings and five players with most to prove in Chicago

Kyle Boone

Buckle up, baby.

Ahead of the week here are five things I’ll be eyeing. 

1. New participation rules

Per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed and enacted since the last NBA Draft Combine, all invited players — save for an excuse handed out by the NBA — must attend and participate in the combine for draft eligibility in an effort to increase participation and competition. The combine over the last few years has increasingly been a forum for top prospects to skip — sometimes for competition, sometimes for interviews, sometimes entirely — which the NBA is hoping to change. That new rule could give the event a major boost with star power like Cooper Flagg and others among the 75 who were invited.

2. G League Elite Camp call-ups

A total of 13 players the last two years have earned call-ups from the G League Elite Camp — the prelude to the combine, which this year features 45 invites — to the NBA Draft Combine. Those that have earned those elevations include former first-round pick Dillon Jones, Auburn star Johni Broome and former second-round pick Enrique Freeman.

The G League Elite Camp is a precombine showcase for players who may have missed direct combine invites but can play their way in. This year’s list is loaded with talent capable of playing their way up, which includes (among others) five names I’ll be watching who have a chance to do well in this setting:

• Lamont Butler (Kentucky)
• Sean Pedulla (Ole Miss)
• Dylan Cardwell (Auburn)
• Chucky Hepburn (Louisville)
• Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana)

Also worth watching will be Malique Lewis, Isaac Nogues, Lachlan Olbrich and Thierry Darlan — international prospects who have a big opportunity to showcase themselves this week in front of a big audience.

3. Top college teams watching closely

It’s a big week for every NBA team as they quite literally evaluate what may be the future of their franchises, of course, and ditto for college teams. And with the withdrawal deadline for college prospects still looming, the next week in Chicago may change the face of frontrunners in college basketball — with five names I’d circle as premier guys whose decisions may tilt the scales for which teams may enter the 2025-26 season as college basketball title favorites:

• Houston: Milos Uzan
• Michigan: Yaxel Lendeborg
• Duke: Cedric Coward
• Kentucky: Otega Oweh
• Florida: Alex Condon

Houston is No. 1 in Gary Parrish’s latest Top 25 (and one), and Duke, Michigan, Kentucky and Florida — all of whom await decisions from potential draft picks — are all in the top 15.

4. NCAA Tournament star Walter Clayton Jr. in the mix

No NCAA player more drastically improved their draft stock in the last two months the way Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. did down the stretch of the season. He averaged 22.3 points per game and shot 43.5% in the NCAA Tournament leading the Gators to a national title while playing superman in the second half of virtually every one of those games. He’s played his way from a potential second-round pick to a bona fide lottery prospect and can solidify his standing as one of the most versatile guards in the class with a strong week.

5. Top stay-or-go decisions to watch

In addition to the aforementioned players above whose decisions may quite literally change the trajectory and fortunes of some of the top college basketball teams next season, there are a handful of other players worth watching in Chicago this week with truly tough stay-or-go decisions. They include:

• Carter Bryant (Arizona)
• PJ Haggerty (Memphis, portal)
• Karter Knox (Arkansas)
• Drake Powell (North Carolina)

Bryant and Powell are two I’d say are more likely to stay in the draft than return — but Knox and Haggerty are wildcards. Knox has some interest with his size and versatility but evaluators want to see more. Haggerty is a big-name portal prospect seeking a giant bag but may not find as many suitors given the limited market at this juncture. Together, these four are among the more fascinating X-factors this week whose stock will be closely watched by teams (and yours truly) as we get closer to the withdrawal deadline.

Players invited to NBA Draft Combine