Photo by Noah Clooten
The 2025 NBA draft is set to be held Wednesday and Thursday, June 25 and 26, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. By the end of the week, it is very likely that Devils Lake native Grant Nelson will be a member of an NBA team.
The draft consists of 59 picks — 30 on Wednesday and 29 on Thursday. Nelson has still been projected to go undrafted in most major mocks, although four of them had him ranked on their big board: No. 51 by CBS Sports, No. 62 by ESPN, No. 73 by The Athletic and and No. 96 by FanSided.
USA Today is the lone major outlet to project Nelson as a draftee, slotting him as the 59th pick by the Phoenix Suns.
If Nelson is not drafted, though, it’s almost a guarantee that he’ll sign with a team as an undrafted free agent. Players are free to do so following the conclusion of the draft. Nelson might sign a two-way contract, in which he could split time between the G League and the NBA.
Nelson is coming off his fifth collegiate season and second for Alabama. He averaged 11.5 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game, helping the Crimson Tide reach the Elite Eight a year after guiding them to the Final Four. He spent three years at North Dakota State University, where he accumulated more than 1,000 points.
The Devils Lake High School alum won North Dakota’s Mr. Basketball award in 2020. Only three North Dakota high school basketball players have gone on to play in the NBA: Phil Jackson from Williston, Les Jepsen from Bowbells and Glenn Hansen from Devils Lake. Hansen, though, played his high school ball for Grand Forks Central, so Nelson would be the first from Devils Lake High School.
Seven North Dakota-born players in total have played in the NBA. Tyler Johnson was born in Grand Forks but went to high school in California. Duane Klueh was born in Bottineau but went to high school in Indiana. Dalton Knecht was born in Fargo but went to high school in Colorado. Mark Landsberger was born in Minot but went to high school in Minnesota.
Nelson is aiming to become the eighth. One of his older brothers, Justin Thomas, recently told Eric Peterson of The Forum that the family will be gathering in Devils Lake on Wednesday and Thursday to watch the draft.
One of Nelson’s younger brothers is Joel, a recent Devils Lake alum who’s planning to play basketball and do track and field for Valley City State University. Joel Nelson helped Devils Lake boys’ basketball break a 99-year state title drought last year. Another of Nelson’s brothers, Leif, recently finished a college track and field career throwing javelin for Minot State University and the University of Southern California.
According to Thomas and The Forum, Nelson has worked out for 12 NBA teams: Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, Utah, Brooklyn, Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, Orlando, Cleveland, Memphis and Houston. All but Denver have a second-round selection.
The first round of the draft is set to begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Central Time). The second round begins at the same time on Thursday. The first round will be aired on ABC and ESPN, while the second round is exclusively on ESPN.
