2025 NBA Draft: Top 5 "Sleepers" ft. Alabama's 6-foot-4 prospect 

NBA Draft scouts have never searched for talent as thoroughly as they do today. Still, players always slip through the cracks and massively outperform their draft slots. It’s extremely valuable for NBA teams to identify these undervalued players and capitalize on their lack of recognition.

Midway through the college season, we’re planting our flag on the most underrated prospects in the 2025 class. We’ll base our approximation "sleepers," on the recent consensus mock drafts and big boards.

Let’s discuss Sportskeeda’s five favorite draft sleepers — players outside the top 30 on the mainstream boards (aside from one exception).

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2025 NBA Draft Sleepers

#1. Labaron Philon, G, Alabama

Pfeifer’s Range: 4-7

The mainstream outlets view Philon as a fairly high pick, but we believe that's underrating him. It’s easy to understand why mainstream scouts may not view Philon as a top pick in this draft. He ranked outside of the top 30 in the 2024 high school class and his raw counting stats — 11.6 points, 3.8 assists. 3.7 rebounds — don’t scream elite prospect.

Peeling back the layers, though, reveals one of the highest upside prospects in this class. Unexpected stars often boast multiple outlier traits and Philon fits that bill. At 6-foot-4, Philon’s elite rim pressure, processing speed and defensive potential all scream possible stardom.

Guards who create advantages and capitalize on them as scorers and passers often become NBA stars. His excellent passing numbers (27.6% assist rate, 2.4 assist-to-turnover) and 34.2% rim frequency are positive indicators.

Philon must improve his 3-point shot, but his volume (7.3 attempts per 100 possessions) and touch around the basket suggest a future improvement. Developing a reliable off-dribble jumper could turn Philon into a two-way star who far outperforms his college production and eventual draft slot

#2. Miles Byrd, F, San Diego State

Pfeifer’s Range: 14-20

Byrd is one of the breakout stars of the college season and at just 20 years old, he’s developing into a legitimate NBA prospect. The 6-foot-7 sophomore wrecks shop on defense, generating turnovers (5.2% block rate, 4.3% steal rate) with the best defenders in recent history. His versatility provides considerable upside — Byrd thrives as a pass lane jumper, on-ball stopper, or weak-side help defender.

Wings require more than stout defense to earn coveted NBA rotation slots, especially on great teams. Byrd’s 3-point shooting growth will offer some confidence there; he’s up to 36.4% from deep this season on a monster 12.6 attempts per 100 possessions, with many coming off movement or off the dribble.

His shooting and secondary pick-and-roll playmaking chops make it easy to imagine him slotting into an offense in a low-usage role.

Mainstream draft opinion hasn’t caught up to Byrd yet, but I’d wager it will soon enough. The NBA’s love for rangy 3 and D wings hasn’t gone anywhere, and Byrd looks like the next in line. He’s one of the prospects in this class I feel most confident in his likelihood to contribute in a rotation on high-level teams with his scalable toolkit, and that’s worth a much higher pick than he’s given credit for to this point.

#3. Darrion Williams, F, Texas Tech

Pfeifer’s Range: 20-30

Williams took on a feature offensive role for the Red Raiders this season and the results have been promising. He’s one of the country’s better passers as a bruising 6’6 forward, spraying passes from the post, in the pick and roll, and as a freelance cutter. Despite a usage uptick of over 10%, he’s still scoring with solid efficiency and rarely turning the ball over (2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio).

He sports high-end manipulation, willing to move defenders with his eyes and his body language to create windows to pass and score. That manipulation shows up on defense, where he’ll bait offensive players into poor decisions where he can win with his size and strength.

Most draft outlets view him as a solid second-round pick, likely due to his age and unspectacular outside shooting. But few college wings are as well-rounded as Williams while carrying genuine creation loads. Players like him often find roles in the NBA, whether doing it as a bench creator, defense-first slasher, or something even greater.

#4. Bennett Stirtz, G, Drake

Pfeifer’s Range: 18-25

By all measures, Bennett Stirtz is an anomaly. He and his Drake head coach, Ben McCollum, left D2’s Northwest Missouri State together and are lighting up college basketball. Stirtz is one of the country’s most impactful players while leading the NCAA in minute share, playing a staggering 98.5% of Drake’s minutes this season. Despite riding the bench for just 10 minutes this season, Stirtz has been one of college basketball’s elite pick-and-roll playmakers, shotmakers and defenders.

Stirtz has a case as the highest-feel offensive player in the entire class, evidenced by his 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio and 37.6% assist rate. His 19.2 pick and rolls per game rank second in the country and he’s producing great offense out of those chances (1.077 points per possession). With an elite handle, processing speed and skill, Stirtz weaves in and out of defensive shells to find teammates, draw fouls and score at the rim.

He hasn’t shot the ball particularly well from 3-point land (30.3%) but Stirtz’s great touch, confident 3-point shooting and free-throw numbers suggest shooting improvement. Stirtz’s unorthodox path shouldn’t deter scouts from viewing him as a serious NBA prospect. Players who dominate the college level with outlier traits like his feel and pick-and-roll skill shouldn’t be ignored.

#5. Anthony Robinson II, G, Missouri

Pfeifer’s Range: 25-35

Like Stirtz, you won’t find much discussion of Robinson across mainstream draft coverage. The sophomore guard plays under 25 minutes per game for the Tigers, averaging a pedestrian 10.3 points per game. But Robinson’s profile features several outlier traits, hallmarks of unexpected star developments. He draws fouls at an uncanny rate for a 6-foot-3 guard, posting a downright silly 97.1% free-throw rate and draining 78.8% of his shots at the stripe.

Robinson is an excellent passer with NBA-quality vision, leading to some of the nation’s most efficient offenses. Few pick-and-roll handlers create more efficient offense than Robinson, largely due to his decision-making, rim pressure and foul-drawing ability. His athletic tools shine on the defensive end, where he sticks to players like glue, recovers with his speed and generates tons of turnovers (4.5% steal rate).

He’s not much of a shooter yet, attempting less than four threes per 100 possessions, but he’s converted 40% of his low volume of attempts this season. There are so many pathways for Robinson to develop into an effective NBA player as a slasher, pick-and-roll passer, touch-shotmaker, defender, or any combination of the above.

He’ll more than likely return to college basketball next season, but a prudent team would try their hardest to draft him while his value is lowest.

All stats via Bart Torvik and Synergy