NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets rookie forward Drake Powell has not had the kind of summer that he was hoping for after being selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Powell was unable to play for Brooklyn in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this summer due to left knee tendinopathy, but it sounds like he’s adapting to the league all the same.
“It’s been great. Just being able to be a student of the game, still trying to learn different concepts to this new system that I’m in,” Powell said to the media following Tuesday’s training camp practice. While rookies Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf were able to play in Las Vegas, Powell was held out as a precautionary measure so that he could be back for camp ahead of the 2025-26 season.
“Now being in it, I think that’s helped me 100%,” Powell continued. “It’s not saying that I learned everything, there’s still some things to learn as it’s different being on the sidelines and now being on the court, but just still taking it day-by-day. Most importantly, I have trust in myself.” While head coach Jordi Fernandez has not said whether Powell will be playing in Saturday’s preseason opener, Powell has progressed to contact.
“I’ve had one day of contact, which was yesterday,” Powell explained. Powell isn’t the only player dealing with injuries at this point of the preseason as Demin is dealing with a plantar fascia injury and forward Haywood Highsmith is recovering from knee surgery. Powell rose up draft boards during the pre-draft process because of how he tested in athletic and shooting drills, but his offensive development will be an interesting aspect to monitor moving forward. He doesn’t seem to be worried about the learning process.
“I feel like [I have] a pretty good understanding. I’d say so. Given my time that I spent in North Carolina, mid-range shots, they were limited,” Powell explained when asked about how he is adjusting to how offense in the NBA is being taught. “He (Fernandez) still wants us to take them, but obviously not at a high clip. [We] still want to get layups and threes, as many as you can.”