Amari Williams receiving more love as a potential NBA Draft pick

It certainly feels like Koby Brea will become Mark Pope‘s first NBA Draft pick as a head coach, but could Amari Williams be the second?

We’re beginning to trend that way as we’re now less than two weeks out from the start of the two-day draft. A fresh mock draft update on Thursday morning by way of The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Williams just sneaking his way into getting picked. Vecenie projects the former Kentucky center will go to the Houston Rockets with the final pick of the draft at No. 59. He also has Brea going 49th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This isn’t the first major outlet to mock Williams as a draft pick, either. Late last month, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report called for Williams to land on the New York Knicks with the 50th overall pick. With dozens of potential second-round picks electing to return to college (Otega Oweh included), it’s opened up more room for someone like Williams to shoot up the draft boards.

Updated the 2025 NBA Mock Draft.

Have a couple of trades in here to account for what I think is probably the smartest path for Philadelphia as they chart their plans over the next two weeks.

(Link in tweet below) pic.twitter.com/HSt2vah21q

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) June 12, 2025

Brea certainly feels like someone who is going to hear his name called on draft night. At this point, it’s a matter of where he’s going to land, not if he’ll get drafted. Brea averaged 11.6 points per game as a Wildcat in 2024-25 on 43.5 percent outside shooting. Here is where a handful of updated two-round mock drafts have the former Kentucky sharpshooter landing.

• Yahoo! Sports: 38th, San Antonio Spurs
• Bleacher Report: 42nd, Sacramento Kings
• ESPN: 54th, Indiana Pacers
• The Athletic: 49th, Cleveland Cavaliers

Williams isn’t being mentioned nearly as often as Brea in these mocks, but his name is popping up more and more within draft circles as we inch closer to draft day(s). The talented team over at No Ceilings dropped an updated Big Board last week that ranked Williams at No. 59. Also last week, On3’s James Flecther said that the seven-footer is a “name to watch” for the Cavaliers at either No. 49 or No. 58.

During his lone season at Kentucky, the 23-year-old Williams averaged 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 22.8 minutes per outing. He shot 56.1 percent from the field and 62.3 percent from the free throw line. Despite an inability to shoot from distance, his potential as a rebounder, playmaker, and defender has intrigued NBA teams.

The 2025 NBA Draft is set for June 25-26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.