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After spending the final few months of the 2024-25 season in a full-on tank-a-thon, fighting tooth and nail to hold onto their first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft pick instead of sending it to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Al Horford-Danny Green trade from year ago, the Philadelphia 76ers accomplished their goal: The pick fell inside the Top 6, then inside the Top 4 and finally at pick No. 3 overall.
Now, to say No. 3 is a bit of a lucky number for the 76ers would be a bit of an understatement. Allen Iverson played so well in the number that it found a home in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers have three NBA championships on their resume. And Joel Embiid was famously the third overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, with the league MVP forever going down as a franchise legend no matter how the rest of his career plays out.
And now? Well, there's nothing left for Daryl Morey, Elton Brand, and company to do but pick their favorite player, right?
Sure thing, but who will it be? With Cooper Flagg the longstanding favorite to go first overall, and Dylan Harper of Rutgers widely considered the top player among the others in this year's class, Philadelphia might not luck into a new franchise cornerstone in the same way the Dallas Mavericks or the San Antonio Spurs will, but as fans have seen year after year after year during The Process era, sometimes the NBA Draft has a way of surprising. While this may not be the next 2003 NBA Draft class, the 76ers should still leave the event with a quality player they can build around well into the future.
1. Ace Bailey
Though nothing in the NBA Draft is a guarantee, if there's a safe bet to go third overall in this year's running, it has to be Ace Bailey, the 6-foot-10 – or 6-foot-7.5, depending on who you ask – forward out of Rutgers.
Now, part of it has to do with Flagg and Harper being widely expected to go first and second overall, respectively, but Bailey will likely come off the board third overall because he's simply the third-best player in this year's class.
Playing on a Rutgers team that, though better than usual, didn't end up being world beaters despite having two of the top young players in the nation among their ranks, Bailey did a little bit of everything for the Scarlet Knights. Though lankey, still growing into his massive frame, Bailey showed he could score from all three levels, mixing it up in the paint as well as he shot it from beyond the arc, with numbers that, while good, should get better as he progresses at the NBA level.
Is Bailey a good passer at this stage of the game? No, he's more of a black hole than a point forward at this point, but to his credit, he can play some solid defense at the collegiate level, with his long arms and lateral quickness allowing him to step into solid defensive assignments right out of the gate.
After loading up on guards and guard-sized wings over the past few years, with the 76ers' top prospects, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Quentin Grimes, all standing 6-foot-5 or shorter, adding a forward sized player who can play either forward spot and slot in next to everyone from Joel Embiid, to Paul George, and even Guerschon Yabusele makes him a bet worth taking at pick No. 3. Even if he's nothing more than the team's fifth option offensively right out of the gates as a rookie, Bailey has the potential to become a much better player moving forward, which, at this point, is a all the 76ers can ask for.
2. VJ Edgecombe
Even if Bailey looks like the pick if everything falls the way they are expected to, there's a small, but growing contingent of the 76ers' fanbase who have already begun banging the table for VJ Edgecombe, a beat that will only grow louder until the NBA Draft arrives in June.
Standing 6-foot-5, Edgecombe wouldn't beat the guard-sized prospect allegations one bit, as his best NBA position is likely the same as Grimes, but the collegiate Baylor Bear is an intriguing prospect because of how he plays the game at both ends of the court. On defense, Edgecombe is NBA-ready, almost certainly ready to take on top assignments as a rookie, just like Grimes last fall. Edgecombe averaged 2.1 steals, .6 blocks, and a pair of offensive rebounds a night in 33 games of action and expanded that rebound total out to 5.6 when defensive boards were factored into the equation.
On offense, Edgecombe is less polished than Flagg or Harper, but he still averaged 15 points and 3.2 assists a night, hitting 43.6 percent of his shots from the field and 34 percent of his deep balls in 32.7 minutes of action a night. Edgecombe has a solid handle, can operate effectively off and on the ball, and most importantly of all, shows some explosiveness around the hoop, which could translate in a major way to the NBA level.
If the 76ers opt against keeping Grimes, which would certainly be a choice, then Edgecombe could be a ready-made replacement on a team-friendly deal, but if the former Maverick remains on the team, their on-court fit could be a bit less clear, especially with a pair of undersized guards in the backcourt.
3. Dylan Harper
As of right now, Harper is expected to be the second-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but what if he isn't? What if the Spurs decide that they loved the pairing of De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle as their lead guards and that Harper would be stifled as the third fiddle in a backcourt that may struggle to fully optimize the two players they already have, not to mention Chris Paul?
Well, if the Spurs decide they want Bailey, Edgecombe, or anyone else, the 76ers would happily hand in the card with Harper's name on it, as he's among the best prospects the NBA Draft has seen over the past few years.
Looking like a small forward with the handles of a floor general, Harper is everything NBA teams look for in a modern-day lead guard. Harper can score from anywhere, play on or off ball, and dish the ball to his teammates as well as getting his own shot, as his 19.4 points, 4.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game clearly prove.
Right out of the gate, Harper has plus size for the position on the defneisve side of the ball, even if he doesn't project as elite immediately, and his 2.0 stocks per game, 1.4 steals and .6 blocks clearly highlight a player with high basketball IQ who is always looking to make a play.
Would Harper be a strange fit with Maxey, McCain, and Grimes already on the team? Yes, but he's one of the two players in this year's class who look like they could be the focal point of a team moving forward and if that's what the 76ers want to acquire regardless of Embiid's future, then hoping he falls to them at number 3 has to be among their biggest wishes for the next 12 months of the NBA calander.
