The NBA G League held its draft for the 2025/26 season on Saturday afternoon. Players who signed NBAGL contracts and whose rights weren’t already controlled by a team were part of the draft pool.
Affiliates from all 30 NBA teams took part in the draft, along with the unaffiliated Mexico City Capitanes.
Dillon Jones, who was a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft, was selected No. 1 overall by South Bay, which is the Lakers’ G League affiliate.
The 23-year-old small forward was drafted out of Weber State by Oklahoma City with the 26th pick last summer. He appeared in 54 games as a rookie, but only played 10.2 minutes per night and averaged 2.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
The Thunder traded Jones to Washington in June to clear a spot on their roster. The Wizards waived him last weekend and still owe him $2,753,280 for the remainder of the season.
Drafting Jones to South Bay won’t prevent another NBA team from signing him, since holding a player’s G League rights doesn’t mean teams control his NBA rights. However, it will give the Lakers a chance to take a first-hand look at him before potentially offering a standard or two-way contract.
With the second pick, the Osceola Magic selected Tyler Smith, who lost a battle for the Bucks’ final roster spot and was waived last Sunday. The 20-year-old power forward was reported to have several two-way offers to choose from, but none of those have materialized yet. Smith, who started his career with the now-defunct G League Ignite, was taken with the 33rd pick in last year’s NBA draft.
The Wizards’ affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, had three of the next four picks, selecting Ace Baldwin at No. 3, Nolan Hickman at No. 5 and Cam Carter at No. 6.
Two notable second-generation players were selected in today’s draft. Jamal Mashburn Jr. was taken at No. 8 by the Westchester Knicks, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, whose father Shareef serves as G League president, went to the Stockton Kings at No. 29.
Here are the full 2025 G League draft results:
Round One:
South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Dillon Jones- Osceola Magic (Magic): Tyler Smith
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Ace Baldwin
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Adama Bal
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Nolan Hickman
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Cam Carter
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Stefan Todorovic
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jamal Mashburn Jr.
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Ethan Taylor
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): A.J. Hoggard
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Kario Oquendo
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Kenan Blackshear
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Vinicius da Silva
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Josh Cohen
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Cearius Warren
- Osceola Magic (Magic): Ebenezer Dowuona
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): John Harge
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Tray Jackson
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Jaden Seymour
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Chris Mantis
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Tyrin Lawrence
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): JP Pegues
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Olisa Akonobi
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): No pick
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Selton Miguel
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): O’Mar Stanley
- Noblesville Boom (Pacers): Ben Coupet Jr.
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Des Watson
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Jabri Abdur-Rahim
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Carter Whitt
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): J.Z. Zaher
Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).
G League training camps open on Monday, with this year’s NBAGL Tip-Off Tournament getting underway on November 7. The Tip-Off Tournament will be played over about a month-and-a-half and will be followed by the G League regular season, which begins on December 19.
