The first round of the 2025 NBA draft has now wrapped up, with some surprises and some very expected outcomes. As expected, the Mavericks picked Cooper Flagg as their No. 1 pick, and as many have expected, Ace Bailey slid down the ranks and was picked later than many had expected.
There were plenty of winners and losers after the first one, and here are some of the biggest ones:
The 3 Biggest Winners and the 3 Biggest Losers from the 2025 NBA Draft
Dallas Mavericks (Winner)
FLAGG CAPTURED!
WELCOME TO DALLAS, COOPER! @Academy // #FlaggCaptured #MFFL pic.twitter.com/NJ4RnsR6Lt
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) June 26, 2025
The most obvious winner for this year’s NBA draft is, of course, the Dallas Mavericks. They have two ageing stars in Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, with the team infamously trading away the team’s biggest star while he was at his prime. They needed a new star, and they may have gotten that with their No. 1 draft pick on Wednesday, Cooper Flagg.
Ace Bailey (Loser)
A few months ago, Ace Bailey was largely seen as a rival to Cooper Flagg, with some mock drafts seeing him go No. 2. He was largely seen as the No. 3 pick as the draft approached and was projected to go to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, his actions soon saw him slide down the ranks and be picked by the Utah Jazz at No. 5 instead.
While that slide was not as big as some mock drafts projected, it may still sting for a player to go down the rankings after being seen as the No. 3. What did he do? He cancelled his practice with the Sixers and would not take their calls, as well as ignore all other teams trying to reach out to him, leading Philadelphia and Charlotte to sour on him.
VJ Edgecombe (Winner)
While Bailey slid, Bahamian star VJ Edgecombe came out better overall, as he was picked No. 3 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, instead of his initially projected No. 4 or No. 5 with the Charlotte Hornets or the Utah Jazz. Teams have been raising his stock since Bailey started acting out, and his earlier selection proved so.
Tre Johnson (Loser)
Another person who many expected to gain from Ace Bailey’s slide was Tre Johnson, with several mock drafts even projecting him to be selected No. 3 overall instead of Edgecombe. However, not only did the Sixers select Edgecombe over him, but he was passed over by Charlotte and Utah, which meant that Johnson was selected after Bailey and did not gain anything from that slide at all.
Phoenix Suns (Winner)
Many projected South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles to be selected at No. 10, but he was instead selected at No. 9 by Toronto. However, the Suns still did not lose out, as they instead got to pick Duke seven-footer Khaman Maluach from South Sudan, a solid offensive and defensive choice.
Miami Heat (Loser)
The Miami Heat may not have gotten who they wanted for their No. 20 pick in Walter Clayton Jr. The Florida star and NCAA national champion was picked by Washington and traded to the Wizards instead, while the Heat had to settle on Kasparas Jakučionis from Illinois. Clayton worked out with the Heat twice and stopped talking with other teams, indicating that Miami was locking in on him.
Related: Paige Bueckers Playfully Roasts Cooper Flagg for Choosing Duke Over UConn
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