As soon as the Sixers were awarded the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft during last week's lottery, everyone in our area turned their attention to mock drafts, big boards and scouting reports.
Over the last several days, PhillyVoice has spoken with different draft experts to get up to speed on the prospects the Sixers are expected to consider drafting, either at No. 3 or after moving down the board in a trade.
In case you missed any of these Q&As, consider this the place to be. A rundown of every prospect covered over the past week…
The frontrunners
Bailey is one of the most polarizing prospects in recent history. While some see a future superstar in the mold of Kevin Durant, others see a player with massive flaws that will prevent him from peaking beyond a high-level role player. Matt Powers from Swish Theory did as good of a job as anyone I have seen all year when it comes to explaining exactly how Bailey became such a polarizing prospect.
"Bailey is a deceptively complex evaluation, but a fun one. It is obvious to see the star upside with his stunning displays of elite shooting touch off of difficult angles as a big wing."
• V.J. Edgecombe, SG/SF, Baylor
Edgecombe has almost unfathomable explosiveness, as Maxwell Baumbach from No Ceilings described to us in great detail. But the Bahamian prospect has also experienced significant skill development, which has him firmly in the mix as high as No. 3 overall. The biggest question as far as Egdecombe's fit with the Sixers is whether or not he can regularly defend wings as to not further crowd the team's guard rotation.
"Edgecombe is obviously a ridiculous athlete. But what makes him so intriguing is the functionality of that athleticism paired with his mental processing of the game."
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The sharpshooters
Knueppel is considered one of the safest picks in this year's class. A lethal long-range shooter with crafty scoring chops, great feel and the ability to scale his role up or down at a moment's notice, it is extremely difficult to see Knueppel failing to become a quality NBA player. While it is often assumed high-floor prospects of this sort do not also have plausible star outcomes, Brian Geisinger of Split The Action provided significant evidence to the contrary with his extensive experience covering Knueppel at Duke.
"Star or not: guys who have these traits turn into impact players on winning teams."
Johnson could be an even better shooter than Knueppel — according to Ahmed Jama of Swish Theory, he just enjoyed the most impressive shooting season of any collegiate freshman in at least 15 years — but he has far more significant questions about the remainder of his game.
"He has as much potential as any prospect of the last decade to eventually lay claim to being the best shooter in the world."
The bigs
Maluach is an enormous athlete who, at first glance, looks like someone primed to be a stellar NBA center for many years. Logan Adams from Prospects & Concepts explains the nuances of Maluach's game and makes the case for him as Joel Embiid's eventual successor at center. However, Maluach should not be expected to ever play alongside Embiid. Is there a case to be made for picking him regardless?
"I don’t think he would spend much time, if any, with Embiid."
Perhaps more of a wild card, Queen has enough offensive skills that it is not inconceivable he is eventually able to coexist with Embiid in double-big lineups. Chuck Falck from Chucking Darts is an optimist when it comes to Queen's long-term NBA outlook because of how many unique traits he possesses as an offensive player at 6-foot-10.5 and 248 pounds.
"Queen has an argument as the best one-on-one player in the draft, bar none."
MORE: Will No. 3 pick prevent Sixers from keeping Yabusele, Grimes?
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