Our ESPN draft insiders break down the twists, turns and trades of Wednesday’s first round.
Author: Michael
Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland impressed in the second half with a fine outing off the bench against Juventus (Chandan KHANNA)
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City demonstrated their Club World Cup credentials with a 5-2 victory over Juventus on Thursday while Vinicius Junior starred as Real Madrid beat Salzburg 3-0 to secure a spot in the last 16.
Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia beat Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 to pip Salzburg to the last berth in the knockout phase, as Al Ain battled to a 2-1 win over Wydad Casablanca in the day’s other game.
The Dallas Cowboys went to great lengths to shure up the interior of their offensive line this spring. After the retirement of Zack Martin, Dallas had a Hall-of-Fame size hole in their starting lineup. Before eventually spending the No. 12 overall selection on Alabama guard Tyler Booker, the team went to great measure to ensure they had options.
First, the team tendered Brock Hoffman, an exclusive rights free agent who started nine games over the last two seasons for the club.
Adam Finkelstein, Gary Parrish, and Kyle Boone
There’s probably not a Nikola Jokic in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. There could be. But it’s unlikely.
Could there be a Draymond Green (35th pick in the second round in 2012) or a Manu Ginobili (57th pick in the second round in 1999)? It’s possible. But that’s also difficult to know today.
However, several players with first-round potential slipped into the second round and were drafted by teams hoping to find that rare gem. Some of those picks impacted some overall draft grades following the completion of this week’s draft.
The U.S.
NEW YORK — Mohamed Diawara, you are a New York Knick.
The Knicks entered the 2025 NBA draft with no first-round pick and only the 20th pick in the second round (pick No. 50 via Memphis) to improve a championship-contending roster through the draft.
They opted to trade back, sending pick 50 to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for pick No. 51, where they selected Diawara, a 20-year-old 6-foot-9 forward from France who has close ties to rising Knicks sophomore Pacome Dadiet. The Knicks took Dadiet 25th overall in 2024.
The rhythm is smoother, the message is clearer and the potential is undeniable.
And Oologah football coach Sam Noble is taking it all in stride.
Through two weeks of Tuesday team-camp dates at Claremore, Noble has seen tangible signs of growth as he enters his second season leading the Mustangs. The foundation laid in Year One is already paying dividends.
“Things are much easier,” Noble said. “Now, having a full season, I’ll be able to kind of look back and say, ‘OK, I need to reflect on this and do better here and there.’ This summer’s not as chaotic.
Jonathan Givony joins SportsCenter with Scott V
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