Drake Powell is league-bound.

The former Tar Heel standout, who spent his lone college season with UNC, was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft Wednesday night. However, due to a three-team trade between the Hawks, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, Powell will be headed to Brooklyn.

“The Carolina Basketball family is so happy and thrilled for Drake and his family,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “Drake was a dream to coach, and this is just the start of a long and successful NBA career. The Brooklyn Nets are getting an elite player, who makes winning plays consistently on both ends of the floor, in addition to being a wonderful young man.”

Powell, a former five-star recruit from Pittsboro’s Northwood High School, elected to stay home and play for UNC – his parents’ alma mater – in college. Though the 2024-25 season as a whole for the Tar Heels was up and down, Powell provided a boost with his defensive capabilities and outstanding athleticism. The six-foot-six wing also showed flashes of his offensive game as the season progressed, finishing as the team’s second-best three-point shooter. His 37.9 three-point percentage ranked second on the team, behind only Ian Jackson.

This marks the second straight summer in which a Tar Heel has been selected in the draft, after Harrison Ingram was selected in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs in 2024. Powell is the 121st Tar Heel to be selected, which ranks UNC third among all schools for all-time NBA Draft picks. Only Kentucky and UCLA have more.

Powell is also the 55th first-round pick to come from UNC. Only Kentucky and Duke account for more.

With Brooklyn, Powell will potentially join two other former Tar Heels. Cameron Johnson is currently with the team, while Day’Ron Sharpe is entering restricted free agency after spending the first four years of his career with the Nets.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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