The Brooklyn Nets came into the 2025-26 NBA season with the task of trying to develop all five of their rookies from the 2025 NBA Draft at the same time. Brooklyn not only had the biggest draft class in NBA history after taking five rookies in the first round and not trading any of them away, but they also may have some mixed results because of the depth.
“None of the Brooklyn Nets‘ collection of five first-round picks have overly impressed to this point, although they have shown steady progress and improved shooting efficiency as the season has gone along,” Greg Swartz wrote for Bleacher Report while giving Brooklyn’s rookie class a C-. Guard Egor Demin and forward Danny Wolf have been the standouts for the Nets so far this season, but Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, and Ben Saraf have had their fair share of struggles.
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“Wolf’s combination of three-point shooting (38.1 percent) and passing make him a unique talent at nearly seven feet tall,” Swartz continued. “Egor Dёmin has been better since being inserted into the starting lineup… and won’t turn 20 until March. Overall, however, this has been a disappointing collection of first-round picks. Quantity over quality has not worked out so far for Brooklyn.”
While some could argue that the Nets’ rookie class as a whole has been underwhelming due to only two of the five rookies standing out amongst the rest, others could argue that the season is still young. Demin, coming off arguably his best game of the season by dropping 23 points in Monday’s 120-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors while making seven three-pointers, is averaging 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 39.2% from the field and 36.5% from three-point land.
Wolf seemed to be catching his stride in the beginning of December, but he has had some rough games to finish the month along with Powell looking like he’s hitting the rookie wall. Traore, who has seen regular playing time as of late, is showing signs of growth while also displaying how much he has to improve handling the basketball and feeling the game out.
Saraf, who began this season in the starting lineup before being relegated to the bench, has been most of his time in the G League as he hasn’t figured out a way to get back into head coach Jordi Fernandez’s rotation. Ultimately, the Nets still have plenty of the season left and playing time could open up following the trade deadline, but for now, it seems that some are down on Brooklyn’s rookie class as a unit.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets be worried about their 2025 NBA Draft rookies?