New Orleans Pelicans select Asa Newell in 2025 NBA Draft, trade to Atlanta Hawks

Georgia F Asa Newell was very productive in his lone season in the SEC. That’s now led him to being a top selection tonight in the NBA Draft.

The New Orleans Pelicans selected Newell in the 2025 NBA Draft. They did so with the No. 23 overall pick, but will be shipping him to the Atlanta Hawks.

Newell started in all of the 33 games this past season as a freshman forward for UGA. He would average 15.4 points (54.3% FG, 29.2% 3PT), 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 steals, and 0.9 assists per game, leading in scoring and rebounding for the Bulldogs. He was also second in field-goal percentage, top-ten in rebounding, and top-twenty in scoring in the conference, which earned him a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Newell, a native of Destin, Florida, played in high school at Montverde Academy as an upperclassman and Choctawhatchee as an underclassman. He was a Five-Star+ prospect coming out as the No. 12 recruit in the 2024 cycle. He also rated as the No. 2 PF in the class, behind only Donnie Freeman (IMG Academy – Syracuse), and the No. 4 player out of Florida, after Freeman and two of his high school teammates in Cooper Flagg (Duke) and Liam McNeeley (UConn). That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That also made him the top signee for Georgia since Anthony Edwards back in 2019.

What NBA Draft experts are saying about Asa Newell

Newell is one of the higher-upside prospects in this draft considering his overall versatility at his size, plus wingspan length, of 6’9″, 224, writes On3’s James Fletcher coming out of the NBA Draft Combine. Still, as for a lot of bigs trying to make it in the association, a question is whether or not he can stretch it, which he tried to show with nearly three attempts per game while in Athens.

“Asa Newell has the potential to blossom into a valuable frontcourt player, given his unique combination of size and mobility. To maximize his skillset, Newell will need to translate his offensive touch to the 3-point line and stretch the floor,” wrote Fletcher back in May. “He can then serve as the second big in defensive sets who is able to roam and deter opponents.”

RotoWire.com expects much of the same based on their draft profile for Newell. They think he’s likely to add that three-point shot which, once he does to pair it with the rest of his game, will better determine his floor and ceiling as a pro.

“Newell is most comfortable offensively in the paint as a talented finisher, including some mid-range jumpers, and he’s an elite offensive rebounder. He’s working on his 3-point range, but his generally good touch suggests that development shouldn’t be an uphill battle. Defensively, he’s dynamic and athletic enough to guard multiple positions and should be able to switch at the NBA level. Newell makes hustle plays with effort and athleticism on both ends of the floor.”

“Newell should be able to find minutes in the NBA through his defensive versatility and pure effort on both ends of the floor. His development path could be affected by how he balances wanting to shoot 3-pointers versus pounding the offensive glass for putbacks. That gives him a range of outcomes”