Former Tulane Star Expected To Be Picked in Second Round of NBA Draft
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The Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball team showed some improvements during the 2024-25 season.
So much so that multiple players entered the transfer portal and landed with a program within the power conferences, such as star freshman wing Kam Williams, who took his talents to the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC.
The offseason prior, another one of their standout performers, Sion James, opted to use his final year of eligibility to play with the Duke Blue Devils.
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He opted to play a supporting role alongside three players who ended up being selected in the top 10 of the 2025 NBA draft, Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick to the Dallas Mavericks, Kon Knueppel, the No. 4 pick to the Charlotte Hornets and Khaman Maluach, the No. 10 pick to the Houston Rockets, a selection that was included in the Kevin Durant blockbuster that will have him heading to the Phoenix Suns.
James, who started 32 out of 39 games played, averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.8 steals in 25.5 minutes per game as a glue guy for Duke.
Despite not stuffing the stat sheet, it is his defensive intensity, high basketball IQ and a willingness to do whatever the team needs to win that could lead to him hearing his name called early in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft.
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In a mock draft for the second night, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (subscription required) has predicted James will land with the Hornets, reuniting with Knueppel, with the No. 33 overall pick.
“James is one of the draft’s best bets to become a serious defender, as the big, physical guard can take on assignments across the positional spectrum with serious switchability and make disruptive plays with how strong his hands are. Offensively, it’s a bit more of an adventure, but he makes good decisions and has shown some improvement as a shooter over the last two years. The NBA playoffs showed that players such as this are in high demand,” Vecenie wrote.
At 22 years old, he can be plugged into an NBA rotation right away with his defensive chops and athleticism.
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With the NBA becoming more and more of a position-less sport at each passing season, players in the mold of James are becoming more and more important.
His defense is what will get him in the door of the NBA.
If he can continue developing offensively, he will have no problem securing rotation minutes for years to come.
For more Tulane news, head over to Tulane Green Wave On SI.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.