April 30, 2025
Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
Will the Sixers land one of Rutgers' projected top-five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft?
We are officially less than a month away from the 2025 NBA Draft -- and 12 days until the NBA Draft Lottery, where the Sixers will find out whether or not they will keep their top-six protected first-round pick, which will belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of that range. The Sixers have a 64.0 percent chance of keeping their first-rounder, which is a good bet but not a slam dunk.
For now, the Sixers are projected to add a premium young talent to their organization in June. Let's take a look at some more recent mock drafts from national media folks -- the first two featuring simulated draft orders that benefitted the Sixers, the last sticking to the pre-lottery order. Today's focus is on a pair of stars from Rutgers with lofty expectations.
Just as Duke phenom Cooper Flagg is without a doubt the top prospect in this year's class, Harper is the consensus No. 2 player who should hear his name called second regardless of how the order shakes out. If that were to prove untrue, though, it may be with the Sixers picking second, as they already have Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and even Quentin Grimes in a young, loaded guard rotation. Would they invest a resource of this magnitude into the same position? Writer Zach Buckley makes the case:
"Harper pairs phenomenal footwork with craftiness and prodigious scoring ability around the basket. His high-end speed isn't blazing, but it can feel that way due to his ability to change pace in an instant and his turbo-charged quicks... In a multi-creator offense like Harper would have in Philadelphia, though, he could wreak havoc as a wing-creator who isn't overtaxed on offense and is therefore able to give more consistent defensive effort than he showed at Rutgers." [Bleacher Report]
It is not a bad point; Sixers head coach Nick Nurse relishes the chance to play as many quality shot creators as he can at one time, providing the team layers and optionality on the offensive end. Perhaps the biggest benefit of landing in Philadelphia for Harper would be that he would never be overextended in any capacity in his first few years.
MORE: How could Sixers handle a Harper/Maxey/McCain trio?
Harper's high-profile teammate, Bailey is one of the most polarizing draft prospects in recent memory. Some see a brilliant, jumbo-sized shot-maker and think about Kevin Durant. Others see a player with an extremely limited skillset otherwise and think about Michael Porter Jr., who is not a bad player by any means but has his share of significant flaws. Writer Kevin O'Connor points out that Bailey is far from a finished product:
"Bailey is a ridiculous shot-making machine, capable of splashing contested jumpers from every spot on the floor and with the swagger of a throwback bucket-getter. But his shooting consistency, plus his raw edges as a shot creator and defender, need sanding down to turn him into a full-on star." [Yahoo! Sports]
From a size and positional perspective, Bailey is an ideal fit with the Sixers. But as far as his skillset goes, Bailey has a lot of questions.
One of those questions, as writer Gary Parrish points out, is that Bailey struggles to impact the game when he is not knocking down tough jumpers:
"More evidence that Rutgers should've been better than it was is the fact that the Scarlet Knights finished with a losing record despite having two projected top-five picks. Bailey's upside is tremendous given that he's an electric shot-creator and shot-maker. It's just a matter of being more consistent with everything — and becoming more than just a scorer." [CBS Sports]
It will be interesting to see how Bailey, 18, views himself as a player when talking about his NBA future. Is he locked in on carving out a path to superstardom, or does he see how his size and shooting talent could lend themselves to him enjoying a terrific career as an offensive-oriented role player? Perhaps an even more interesting question: which of those perceptions would NBA teams rather Bailey have of his long-term prospects?
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Guerschon Yabusele | Paul George | Jared McCain | Tyrese Maxey | Andre Drummond | Quentin Grimes | Jared Butler | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Justin Edwards | Ricky Council IV | Eric Gordon | Lonnie Walker IV | Adem Bona
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