THE FIRST round of the 2025 NBA Draft has wrapped in Chicago earlier today AEST, with the first 30 players joining the premier basketball competition after an eventful evening that saw some surprising selections.

There were certain picks that were essentially formalities, such as Cooper Flagg being selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the first move of the night and the San Antonio Spurs adding point guard Dylan Harper with the second pick.

However, there were also some stunning moves, with the draft order getting a shake up following the top-10 and other teams shocking the NBA with some selections that were quite unexpected.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central is here to give you the biggest talking points to come out of the 2025 NBA Draft, starting with the Phoenix Suns getting one of the bigger sliders of the night.

Suns sort their big man rotation

Heading into the night, the Phoenix Suns were in dire need of some frontcourt contributors, having traded away Kevin Durant and holding a surplus of guards. However, in the span of minutes, the Suns had picked up their two centers of the future, first trading for Mark Williams in exchange for pick 29 and a future selection, while also drafting Duke Blue Devils big man Khaman Maluach, who was one of the bigger bargains of the night. Maluach could have gone as high as pick four, but fell to Phoenix with the final selection of the top 10. The best center in the draft class, Maluach is a defensive anchor and inside scorer, and thanks to the acquisition of Williams, will not be rushed in his development in the coming years.

Blazers’ stunner with 16th pick

There was no bigger surprise on the night than Portland’s move with the 16th overall selection, picking the biggest bolter of the draft. After agreeing to a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, who selected Cedric Coward, the Blazers stunned everyone by selecting Chinese big man Hansen Yang with their first pick of the 2025 intake. Yang has certainly impressed with his size and old-school style style of play, many expected him to be acquired on the second night of the draft, but instead, he walked to the stage from the audience, having his dreams realised earlier than many predicted in one of, if not the feel-good story of the first round.

Trades aplenty

The trading action was always set to be a key theme in the evening, and began with the Suns adding Williams in exchange for pick 29, which was used on Liam McNeeley. It continued when the Blazers and Grizzlies swapped picks 11 and 16 as mentioned above, while the New Orleans Pelicans moved up 10 spots thanks to a deal with the Atlanta Hawks with big man Derik Queen on the board at 13, which could be considered good value given his offensive talent. The Washington Wizards drafted Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr., and then traded him to the Utah Jazz for pick 21 and some later selections. The Wizards then added Illinois Fighting Illini wing Will Riley. Finally, the Sacramento Kings moved up by acquiring the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 24th pick and snagging Nique Clifford, who had dropped lower than expected.

Nets keep picks, add plenty of guards

The Brooklyn Nets came into the night with five first round selections, largely expected to bundle some of these together and move up the order. That did not eventuate, with Brooklyn using all five picks over the course of the night, and adding plenty of backcourt stocks to its roster. Beginning with pick eight, the Nets made a bit of a surprise selection when they picked Egor Demin, although positionally it makes sense, given the trade rumours surrounding D’Angelo Russell. That pick was followed up by the addition of Nolan Traore, marking the team’s second addition of an international point guard. Drake Powell was a welcome addition to the team’s wing stocks, while Ben Saraf was the third point guard drafted by the Nets. Brooklyn rounded out its night by moving to the frontcourt, drafting seven-footer Danny Wolf, who does have guard-like skills in an ironic twist.

Jazz take a punt on Bailey

One of the biggest discussion points heading into the draft was where Ace Bailey was going to end up, given he refused to work out with any team and had potentially hurt his draft stock as a result. After initially being slated as a top-three prospect, Bailey was viewed as more likely to fall to the sixth pick with the Washington Wizards, given he chose them as his preferred destination along with the Pelicans and Nets. However, the Jazz defied expectations by selecting Bailey with the fifth pick, and it was a strong showing of confidence in his talent. It may prove to be a strong fit too, with Utah offering plenty of offensive opportunity for the high-volume shooter.