Drake Powell embodies what it means to be a Tar Heel.
Just hours after being selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2025 NBA Draft, the former North Carolina standout returned to Chapel Hill to attend Session 2 of the Tar Heels’ Summer Basketball Camp on Thursday — a true testament to his commitment to the UNC program.
With his selection, Powell becomes the 55th Tar Heel ever taken in the first round, placing UNC third nationally in all-time first-round picks. He’s also the first Carolina player drafted since Day’Ron Sharpe in 2021, ending the program’s longest NBA Draft drought since the early 2000s.
“The entire Carolina Basketball family is overjoyed for Drake and his loved ones,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “He was a coach’s dream — incredibly coachable, unselfish, and hardworking. This is only the beginning for him. Brooklyn is getting a high-impact player who consistently makes winning plays and is a terrific person.”
The Nets used the No. 22 pick — originally Atlanta’s via a multi-team trade involving Kristaps Porziņģis — to add Powell to their deep 2025 draft class. Brooklyn was aggressive on draft night, using all five of its first-round selections: Egor Demin (No. 8), Nolan Traoré (No. 19), Powell (No. 22), Ben Saraf (No. 26), and Danny Wolf (No. 27).
In his freshman season at UNC, Powell played in all 37 games, starting 24 of them. He averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 48.3% from the field, 37.9% from beyond the arc, and 64.8% from the free-throw line. He ranked third on the team in three-point shooting, trailing only Jae’Lyn Withers and Ian Jackson.
Still just 19, Powell turned heads at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, where he emerged as one of the top overall athletes. He posted the highest no-step vertical leap (37.5 inches) and the highest max vertical (43 inches), while also excelling in agility drills, placing in the top 10 in the sprint, shuttle, and lane drills.
Powell is now the 120th UNC player taken in the NBA Draft and just the eighth Tar Heel freshman to be selected, joining elite company that includes Marvin Williams, Brandan Wright, Coby White, and Cole Anthony
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