One of the biggest sports stories right now is the NBA Draft and the Shedeur Sanders saga. The former Colorado quarterback entered the 2024-25 college football season as a projected top-3 pick and had a good individual campaign overall.
Sanders was still slated to be a first-round pick days before the start of the NFL Draft on Thursday. Yet he was passed by every team among the first 32 picks. Things got worse for him on Friday, when he was not selected in either the second or third rounds.
Sanders will now be viewed as having the biggest slide in NFL Draft history. On the NBA Draft side, we’ve seen some players also have major slides, including former College Basketball stars such as Bol Bol and Kyle Filipowski in recent years.
Could we see something similar in the next couple of months for the 2025 NBA Draft? Here’s a look at a few prospects who could be in danger of sliding down the big board.
Will Riley - Illinois
The former 5-star prospect had a great start to this past season, scoring 31 points in his debut game against Eastern Illinois. Riley, a 6’8 wing, had a rough stretch in the middle of the year but did have a trio of 22+ points in three of his last five games. The concern with Riley is his lack of efficiency (33% 3PT), along with his defense. He was set to be a top-10 pick early on, but may slide down towards the end of the first round.
Egor Demin - BYU
As a 6’9 ball-handler, Demin led BYU with 5.5 apg and has plenty of pro potential. At the same time, Denim’s offensive game overall showed some weaknesses, including shooting under 28% from deep and not being much of a defender. He can still run an NBA offense, but is now far from a sure lottery pick.
Adou Thiero - Arkansas
Thiero led Arkansas with 15.1 ppg in a breakout campaign for the Razorbacks, but the team was arguably better when he was out with an injury in the final month of the season. The 6’6 forward is an elite athlete and capable defender, but his lack of shooting ability (21 made 3s in three years) is a glaring issue. Thiero’s first-round chances will be dicey if he stays in the NBA Draft.