UNC’s Drake Powell found a new home with the Brooklyn Nets after a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, who selected him in the first round with the No. 22 overall pick Wednesday night at the 2025 NBA Draft.
Powell is the first North Carolina player to be drafted in the first round since 2021, when the Phoenix Suns drafted former power forward Day’Ron Sharpe. UNC has now produced 55 first-round draft picks.
“The Carolina basketball family is so happy and thrilled for Drake and his family,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said in a statement. “Drake was a dream to coach, and this is just the start of a long and successful NBA career. The Brooklyn Nets are getting an elite player, who makes winning plays consistently on both ends of the floor, in addition to being a wonderful young man.”
Last season, Harrison Ingram was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round with the 48th overall pick, ending a three-year draft pick drought for UNC.
ESPN projected Powell, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, would land with the Boston Celtics at the No. 28 overall pick, late in the first round.
The freshman averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in the 2024-25 season, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three.
