As soon as the NBA season concludes, attention turns to the fortunes of teams and players, and how they can look to rebuild for the upcoming campaign. Traditionally, the offseason has been a time for regrouping and assembling a team that can build on the successes of the previous year.
Even this far out from next year, there are betting markets available for next year’s championship winners. Honestly? It’s far too soon to make an accurate pick, but the NBA betting odds are one of the biggest sports betting markets in the US, and as is often the case with many of the top sporting leagues, there are outright markets you can access all year round.
Placing an NBA bet during the season might add a bit of excitement to your viewing, but during the offseason, it’s perhaps a better idea to use historic odds as a guide for how next season could shape up for a team.
Today, we’re going to look at the standout stars for next season and whether they will be able to dictate the fortunes of their franchise. With the 2025 NBA Draft already done, who are some of the standouts, and who are some of the names that could surprise us? Let’s have a look.
The best of Duke
Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg were the two standout names for Duke. Many of the freshman year highlights came courtesy of these two, and they’ve both already showcased immense promise. The Mavs won the draft lottery, and it was no surprise when they decided to snap up Cooper Flagg as their first pick.
Last season, the Mavs’ stats were certainly nothing to get excited about. However, the fact that they’ve managed to secure a seismic talent like Flagg could transform their fortunes. He’s one of the most complete prospects in recent memory, with his dunking, defense, and dribbling at a highly impressive standard.
He has already collected a flurry of impressive awards and accolades, including ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year – he’s one of fewer than five players to have landed both awards in the same season. It might take him a while to find his feet at the Mavs, but over the next few years, he is one of the standout players to watch. Even at this early stage of his career, he doesn’t appear to have many holes in his game.
In many ways, Kon has flown under the radar in the shadow of his teammate, who has garnered more headlines; however, this has not created disharmony between the two old roommates – quite the opposite. Although Flagg has a bit more about his game, Knueppel has the potential to become an underrated pick for the Hornets next year, so again, be sure to keep an eye out. The 7-foot-2 Sudanese number 10 pick Khaman Maluach could be a hidden gem that emerges from this crop of players, too.
Rutgers talent
The number two draft pick and new San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper has already created a polarizing response. Some Spurs fans are complaining that he doesn’t seem to have much about him, while others believe he was the best player among all the available talent in the 2025 draft.
Having watched Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, both five-star recruits at Rutgers, the criticism seems bizarre. Presumably, it’s stemming from people who are looking to stir up a storm, or those who just haven’t bothered watching enough of Harper. There are, admittedly, a lot of question marks about Bailey’s mentality off the pitch, and issues regarding overconfidence.
Bailey, who has been drafted by the Utah Jazz and was the number five pick, has all the hallmarks of a top talent, but his mentality and some of the comments he made about not wanting to end up at specific teams have come back to haunt him. If he can put this behind him and the Jazz can get him focusing on his basketball, then he could be one to watch.
Purely for the drama that could unfold, too, he could be a player to look out for next season, even if his performances on the court are anti-climactic due to not wanting to ply his trade for the Jazz. Danny Ainge doesn’t usually get it wrong, and he’s not one to back down either. If Ace has the right coaches and players around him, and can focus on his basketball, he could end up being the best pick from the 2025 draft.
Best of the rest
It can be challenging to determine which players will ultimately rise to the top from the draft, as players peak at different times. Steph Curry was drafted seventh in 2009 but has emerged as the best player from that year, and it’s not even close. Number one picks like Anthony Bennett fizzled into obscurity after a disastrous start to their NBA careers, while recent draft superstars like Victor Wembanyama have been able to hit the ground running – it’s all relative.
With this in mind, we’d have to look further down the draft list to highlight some of the potential hidden gems. Yang Hansen and Egor Demin could be overseas players who have a point to prove and can carve out a career for themselves in the NBA. Still, until these players immerse themselves within their respective franchises and get off to a strong start in the NBA, it’s hard to say which ones will be the top upcoming players to watch.
Final thoughts
This year’s NBA Draft was one of the most eventful in recent memory. It had dramatic twists and turns and has brought in several players who could reshape the league’s next generation. While the names we’ve discussed today will have a variety of different impacts throughout the 25/26 season, there are going to be names that turn into draft steals, some that will be expensive flops, and others that sit somewhere in the middle of this scale.