How the Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury Might Help the Brooklyn Nets’ 2025 NBA Draft

The Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo through the All-Star break, which might end up helping the Nets in the draft.

Feb 2, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) runs down the court after dunking the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo through the All-Star break, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, in news that directly affects the Brooklyn Nets’ 2025 NBA Draft.

The Nets have their own first-round pick for the upcoming draft — but they have three additional first-rounders, one which comes via Milwaukee. That selection is currently projected to be the No. 19 overall pick, and Tankathon has Brooklyn’s draft starting at No. 6. With Antetokounmpo on the shelf, the logic goes that the Bucks could lose more games, and their pick could increase in value for the Nets. 

Milwaukee is 28-23 this season, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference, and has only won four of its last ten games. Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-high 31.8 points per game to go with 12.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.3 blocks. He had just been selected to his ninth all-star game, but will miss this year’s edition due to this left calf strain.

Antetokounmpo last played on Feb. 2. The Bucks are 2-1 without him since then. Meanwhile, the Nets are also 2-1 in that time span with four wins in their last ten games. That’s identical to Milwaukee, but the Nets are hoping for a high draft pick and the Bucks’ aspiration is a deep playoff run. 

In addition to the Bucks’ first-rounder, as well as their own, the Nets have two more incoming first-rounders via the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. As things stand, those picks will be No. 24 and No. 26 when late June rolls around. The draft lottery will take place on May 12.

In total, the Nets own 31 draft picks — 15 firsts, 16 seconds — over the next seven years. The team could have perhaps acquired additional draft compensation before the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline closed, but decided to stay put instead. The league’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) incentivizes having draft picks since its more restrictive conditions place an emphasis on cheaper, team-controlled rosters. 

“The ultimate goal here is at some point to be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re contending for a championship,’” Nets general manager Sean Marks said on Jan. 2 to The New York Post. “That’s what every team wants to be able to build up to do that. And hopefully with the flexibility that we’ve got and we’ll have an opportunity to do that at some point. When that is, I couldn’t answer.”

Marks was spotted watching Rutgers take on Illinois on Feb. 5, which featured potential top five picks Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey and Kasparas Jakucionis. 28 NBA scouts were reportedly in attendance for that game. Marks was also recently sighted in Utah evaluating VJ Edgecombe and Egor Demin, two potential top ten picks.

The New Zealand-born executive was named Nets GM in February 2016. 2025 will mark Marks’ highest draft pick since then, and it comes at a pivotal time for the franchise.

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