The Sports Kernel

By: Ben Schubbe Over the next two nights, every team has the challenge of picking the right prospect(s) that will perform at a high-level in the NBA and fit their team culture. Unfortunately, not every pick will work out the way the team expects when they draft them.  In this article, I analyze some of the projected top picks in this draft class who have the potential to really stand out in the NBA and who are some of the hidden gems hanging around the late first round and second round.  Each graph in this article compares the current prospect pool for the 2025 NBA Draft to current rising stars and All-Stars from the previous five draft classes. Cooper Flagg, Duke, Freshman The clear choice for the Mavericks at #1 and the pick Nico Harrison desperately needed to replace Luka Doncic. Flagg's two-way play stood out all year at Duke, leading the team in all of the five main stat categories. He's a true competitor and winner, and that mentality will suit him well at next level, wh...

By: Ben Schubbe With the 2025 NBA Draft right around the corner, prospects are preparing themselves for the biggest leap in their young careers. Will they handle the transition well? Will they become a breakout star in the league? Many questions arise around each prospect this time of year and within this article I aim to provide data-backed reasoning as to who in this class could become a rising star and potential All-Star in the NBA. Although data can provide some clues as to who may breakout in the league, there are obviously so many more factors that come into play to decide the actual outcome of a player and whether they can reach their full potential. Overview In this article I analyze the current prospects against the rising stars and All-Stars from the previous five draft classes across basic and advanced stats categories. Rising stars is very subjective, so I determined the group of rising stars based on general consensus from following the NBA and the media. The data was sour...