Chosen twenty second general in June as a part of the Nets’ historic rookie haul, North Carolina’s Drake Powell has flown below the radar. The 20-year-old’s first look in black and white was delayed. He’s but to swimsuit up after sitting out Summer season League with what the group known as a minor left knee tendinopathy.
At Media Day, basic supervisor Sean Marks mentioned Powell had not but been cleared for 5-on-5 and would proceed ramping up by way of coaching camp, with hopes of taking part in within the preseason. Powell later instructed reporters his knee “felt good” and expressed confidence within the return-to-play plan set by Brooklyn’s medical employees.
Simply days earlier than the Nets’ preseason opener in opposition to Hapoel Jerusalem, head coach Jordi Fernández mentioned Powell had lastly progressed to the contact portion of follow. His standing for Saturday’s matchup at Barclays Middle stays unsure, however the rookie guard seems near a return.
“He’s been doing a great job. His body looks good,” Fernández mentioned. “Getting ready to better ramp up and just being cautious. He’s done a really good job. He’s an elite athlete, we believe the best athlete in the draft so it’s exciting to watch him take those steps and he is putting the work in, for sure.”
Amongst Brooklyn’s 2025 rookies, Powell is the wild card — a boom-or-bust prospect whose defensive ceiling jumps off the web page. Whereas Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf impressed scouts with talent and playmaking, Powell distinguished himself because the superior athlete, proudly owning a bodily edge the others couldn’t match.
Powell posted an NBA Mix-best 43-inch vertical, among the many highest ever, underscoring why he was as soon as projected as a lottery choose in early mock drafts. At 6-5 with a 7-foot wingspan, he positioned within the prime 10 in shuttle, dash and agility drills, and he grew to become solely the fourth UNC freshman to win Defensive Participant of the 12 months, becoming a member of Raymond Felton, Marcus Paige and Day’Ron Sharpe.
With Powell’s NBA training delayed, it stays unclear how his athleticism and defensive prowess will translate, and questions linger about whether or not his offensive ceiling can match his influence on the opposite finish. Now on the verge of full well being, he’s near embracing all the things Fernández and his employees try to instill and giving followers their first actual glimpse of the form of participant he could be.
“Yeah, it’s been great,” Powell mentioned. “You know, just being able to be a student of the game, still trying to learn different concepts to this new system that I’m in. But now being in it, I think that’s helped me 100%. It’s not saying that I learned everything, there’s still some things to learn, as it’s different being on the sidelines and now being on the court, but I’m just still taking it day by day. And most importantly, you know, I have trust in myself.”
Whilst he works again to full power, Powell is embracing the psychological facet of the sport, finding out ideas and determining how his talent set matches into Fernández’s system.
“I feel like I have a pretty good understanding. I’d say so,” Powell mentioned. “Just, given my time that I spent in North Carolina, you know, mid-range shots, they were, like, limited. He still wants us to take them, but you know, obviously not at a high clip, still want to get layups and threes, as many as you can. But yeah, as I get into the flow and start to understand the offensive system, I’ll start to have a better gauge about that.”
