2025 NBA Rookie Profiles for Players Drafted from the West

Egor Demin (Brooklyn Nets, BYU)

At the age of 15, Egor Demin was already being described as “the best prospect in Russia,” which caught the eye of Real Madrid.

The allure of Los Merengues is hard to turn down for anyone, and the young Demin made the trip to the Spanish capital, where he played in Real Madrid’s B team alongside fellow 2025 draftee Hugo González.

Without his parents (who were both former basketball players) and in a foreign country, Demin worked tirelessly to adjust to his surroundings in Madrid.

Demin and González had some solid performances for the B team, but there was only room for one of these young prospects in their loaded first team squad.

Real preferred the local González, and Demin only played one minute of basketball for the Spanish giants, which caused him to rethink his future. Demin was offered a scholarship by BYU, a move he had never anticipated.

“I never could have imagined myself playing here,” Demin admitted.

The 6-foot-9 point guard became the first five-star recruit in BYU’s history, and averaged 15.2 points and 7.2 assists per game on 64.4% shooting from the field in his first five games to lead BYU to a 5-0 start.

He cooled off a bit against conference opponents, but came alive again in March Madness, leading his school to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since Jimmer Fredette’s historic 2011 season.

Demin’s main weaknesses as a player are his shot-making ability and three-point shooting (shot 22.1% in his last 28 games in college), but his passing vision and measurables make him a very intriguing prospect.

Demin recently claimed that the Nets were “a good fit” for him, but with Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr., two shoot-first players on the team, opportunities might be hard to come by.

Demin works best with the ball in his hands, and the Nets will have to be patient with him.

Cedric Coward (Memphis Grizzlies, WSU)

Irom virtual unknown to a lottery pick, the rise of Cedric Coward has been truly remarkable. Coward started out in Division III with the Willamette Bearcats before transferring to Eastern Washington after one season.

It took a season and a half for him to adjust, but Coward averaged 19.1 points on 59.8% shooting from the field in his last 10 games with the Eagles, and he followed his coach, David Riley, who was hired to replace Kyle Smith at Washington State.

Coward scored 17.7 points a night on 56/40/84 splits in his first six games before suffering an unfortunate shoulder injury, which ended his season.

While having entered his name for the 2025 NBA Draft, Coward committed to Duke and was projected to be a key piece for them before forgoing his commitment after a strong showing at the combine.

He was picked 11th overall by the Trail Blazers, but was traded to the Grizzlies for Yang Hansen.

Coward could be a perfect fit with the Grizzlies, and will play alongside fellow Washington State alum Jaylen Wells, who was my pick for the 2024-25 SuperWest Rookie of the Year.

Coward’s main weaknesses are his lack of athleticism and the level of competition he has faced throughout his career. But his character and motivation remind me of another player who was doubted for attending a small school, Damian Lillard.

Coward is a perfect fit for the Grizzlies, as they needed another wing who could contribute at both ends, and one could envision him starting alongside Wells sooner rather than later.

Carter Bryant (San Antonio Spurs, Arizona)

A consensus four-star recruit, Carter Bryant committed to Arizona and showed his ability as a team player.

His stats were mediocre, but his 37.1% three-point shooting is an asset, and his form and overall shooting stroke suggest he’ll be an even better shooter at the next level.

Bryant’s biggest ability is on the defensive end, where he averaged 1.9 stocks (steals+blocks) per game in just 19.3 minutes per game, and has shown that he can be a disrupter.

However, he’s still a project offensively, which is why the Spurs are a great fit for him.

He can develop slowly next to a strong team, and while I’m not saying that he can become a Kawhi Leonard-type player, the pieces are certainly there, and the Spurs were the ones who developed Leonard from a raw talent to a Finals MVP.

Nique Clifford (Sacramento Kings, Colorado State)\

After three unimpressive seasons with the Colorado Buffaloes, Nique Clifford transferred to Colorado State and went off.

His first season with the Rams was good, but his second season was even better, as he put up 21.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 9.5 rebounds a night while shooting 49.2% from the floor and 41.3% from deep in his last 19 games, leading his team to a 16-3 record.

This led to him being drafted by the Thunder with the 24th overall pick, and he was traded to the Kings for a 2027 first-round draft pick.

Clifford is the first prospect in this list so far who can consistently create his own shot, and his rebounding is also a huge strength. He can become an even better version of Josh Hart, and we all know the value Hart can bring to a contender.

Clifford’s biggest weakness is his age, as the 23-year-old might not get too much initial playing time on a Kings team looking to make the playoffs.

Maxime Raynaud (Sacramento Kings, Stanford)

Nique Clifford won’t be the only SuperWest rookie on the 2025-26 Kings, as he’ll be joined by Maxime Raynaud, who committed to Stanford after finishing high school in his native France and became a star in his final two seasons.

The 7-1 Parisian averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 35.0% from beyond the arc in his junior and senior seasons at Stanford.

Despite the monster stats, Raynaud fell in the draft due to his defensive ability, or lack thereof. Raynaud isn’t particularly fast, and isn’t that good at protecting the rim, either.

Combined with his age (22), those factors caused him to slip to the 42nd overall pick, where he was taken by the Kings. It’s unclear whether he’ll have a path to playing time in Sacramento, but he could learn a lot from Domantas Sabonis.

Kobe Sanders (Los Angeles Clippers, Nevada)

The final SuperWest rookie picked in the 2025 NBA Draft was Kobe Sanders, who is the definition of a late bloomer. Sanders broke out in his senior season at Cal Poly, scoring more points than he had in each of his previous three seasons combined.

That breakout caused Sanders to bet on himself and enter his name into the transfer portal, as he transferred to Nevada.

He averaged 15.8 points and 4.5 assists per game in his only season there, and was picked 50th overall by the Knicks, who traded him to the Clippers for Mohamed Diawara.

Sanders is a good shot creator who knows how to get to the foul line, shooting 83.8% on 6.0 attempts per game over his last two seasons. A player’s FT% in college usually correlates with their ability to shoot threes at the next level.

However, Sanders is weak defensively, and his lack of pace is a huge red flag. He’s 23, so he’s not the youngest prospect ever, and might struggle to get playing time on a contending Clippers team.