NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie forward Drake Powell is nearing the end of his rookie NBA season that was a tough one to experience for everyone involved. Brooklyn used the 2025-26 season to develop some of the younger players on the roster, including Powell, and he gave his take on what he learned over the course of the year that showed how the jump in competition.
“This is a different game than college, for sure. As far as the physicality, just the amount of games, I think. But, I just want to give credit to my vets,” Powell said prior to Thursday’s 123-94 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Powell is one of the players that has been seeing more playing time towards the end of the season as head coach Jordi Fernandez is trying to evaluate every player on the roster.
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“I think that [my] aggression just grew over time. Obviously, given more games that I was on the floor, more film that I watched, just listening to the feedback from my coaches,” Powell said when asked what he grew more comfortable with over time. “I just want to be aggressive in terms of getting to my stuff, breaking down the defense, and looking for my teammates as well.”
Powell, 20, heads into Sunday’s season finale at the Toronto Raptors with averages of 6.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 40.5% from the field and 28.7% from three-point land. While Powell looked to be further ahead on the defensive end than he was offensively, he still had to adjust on both sides of the court to what NBA basketball is like.
“Just simplifying everything and trusting my instincts. The game of basketball is just a game of reactions,” Powell said. Powell heads into this offseason with some remaining question marks about his game, but he sounds like he understands that he has to make significant improvements over the course of this upcoming summer if he’s going to be an impactful player for the team next season.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets rookie Drake Powell reflects on 2025-26 NBA season