Illinois' Will Riley Selected by Washington Wizards in 2025 NBA Draft

Riley, the 2024-25 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, was selected by the Wizards with the No. 21 overall pick

May 14, 2025; Chicago, Il, USA; Will Riley talks to the media during the 2025 NBA Draft Combine at Marriott Marquis Chicago. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The experts had it backwards.

On a night when most projections saw Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis solidly in the lottery and teammate Will Riley as a late first-rounder with the potential to fall, it was Jakucionis who slipped and Riley who basically held form, selected by the Washington Wizards with the No. 21 overall pick.

In fact, Riley, a 19-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, went back-to-back with Jakucionis, who was chosen by the Miami Heat with the No, 20 selection. Fitting enough.

Will Riley is a Wizard 🪄

Back-to-back Illini are selected in the #NBADraft 👏 pic.twitter.com/puQYzLsb7q

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) June 26, 2025

Riley was a big piece for last season's 22-13 Illinois squad, which didn't quite live up to the highest expectations but in retrospect was able to push past quite a bit of adversity and bad juju to win 20-plus games and crack the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. He averaged 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 threes (32.6 percent), surging late in the season to earn the 2024-25 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year award.

After an explosive 31-point college debut against Eastern Illinois, Riley saw his production level off and then dip significantly as he struggled to adjust to more physical defenders and opponents who had eventually enough to build a college scouting report on him.

But Riley made his own adjustments as the season wore on, and averaged 15.9 points (on 48.1 percent field goal shooting) while boosting his playmaking contributions (2.9 assists) over Illinois' final 15 games. His 22 points against Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament were critical in boosting the Illini into the second round.

Questions remain about his athleticism, strength and ability to defend against NBA competition, but he has excellent length and elitre shooting range, which give him a chance to carve out a long – and possibly very productive – professional career.

Come back to Illinois on SI for news, analysis, social media reactions and more coverage of Illinois in the NBA Draft.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

A Look at Each Illinois NBA Draft Pick Since the Turn of the Century

Ty Rodgers' Injury: How It Will Shake Up Illinois' Projected Rotation

Brad Underwood, Bret Bielema, Shauna Green Feature in Chicago Cubs' 'Illini Night'