NBA Draft news & best available

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Good morning! Hope you enjoyed the live NBA Draft coverage from the After Dark crew last night. Need more? We’ve got more news and notes below.

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1. NBA Draft news, notes and best available players

Day one of the 2025 NBA Draft brought us through the first 30 picks, and even if the players were seldom wearing the hats of their new team, the first round was filled with notable storylines. Before we get into that, here’s a look at the selections:

Now. here are some notable headlines after round one:

• Cooper Flagg (No. 1 to Dallas), Kon Knueppel (No. 4 to Charlotte) and Khaman Maluach (No. 10 to Phoenix) became the third-ever trio from the same school to be selected in the top 10. The others to do it are Duke’s Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish and Florida’s Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah. Duke had freshmen selected both times.

• ESPN had some communication issues when it came to identifying Flagg before everything began.

• The legendary Montverde Academy team from 2023-24 that went 33-0 and won a national title had four players selected in the first round including Flagg, Derik Queen (No. 13 to New Orleans), Asa Newell (No. 23 to Atlanta) and Liam McNeeley (No. 29 to Charlotte). McNeeley got emotional on ESPN when his teammates were brought up.

• The record for most freshman taken in the first round was broken with 18 selections. The one-and-done is still alive! The Big Ten also had a conference-record eight first round picks.

• St. Joe’s forward Rasheer Fleming was a projected first-round pick but has slid to the second round.

• This is the first draft since 2007 John Calipari hasn’t had a player selected in the first round.

Need more NBA Draft content before the second round starts tonight? The After Dark crew has their list of the best available players remaining.

2. VCU lands 5th highest-rated recruit in program history

Phil Martelli Jr. has quickly shown at VCU he can recruit big time talent. After his hiring in late March, Martelli inked top-55 2025 recruit Nyk Lewis, the third-highest ranked HS recruit in program history. Then he made a splash in the 2026 class.

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