Drake Powell, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks (who traded his rights to the Brooklyn Nets), was introduced to the New York media on Tuesday morning.
The former member of the UNC basketball program was joined by the Nets four, yes, four, other first round selections in what ended up being a historic round in terms of the number of selections they actually made.
While speaking to the media, Powell was asked about his low usage rate at North Carolina. Given he was the lowest-ranked scholarship player in terms of usage rate for last year's squad, Powell provided some insight as to how it impacted him:
"I'd say it really just kind of switched my mentality a little bit. You know, like you said, my usage rate, it dropped a lot once I got to North Carolina, but I was still playing, like, heavy minutes and being able to help the team be successful.
I really could have, you know, just sulked and just complained to the coaches. But like, what does that get done? That was really the way I thought. And so I just accepted the role that I was given with open arms and, yeah, I just wanted to be able to play it to the best of my ability to help the team be successful."
Obviously, it's important to realize that Powell went from being heavily utilized as a high schooler to barely being a factor offensively in his lone collegiate season. It could be a very difficult pill for some young players to swallow, but, as Powell mentioned, he embraced his role, doing whatever he could to help the team win.
Every basketball player wants the ball in their hands. The unfortunate thing is, there's only one basketball to spread around, and sadly, Powell was underutilized drastically. However, his "team first" mentality will help him in the pros, especially considering that guys who can help the team in multiple ways tend to find the most playing time.
Drake Powell can definitely impact the game in a variety of ways, as he'll have his opportunity to showcase his offensive skillset in the near future.