2025 NBA Draft Combine: Location, how does it work, top players, how to watch

This weekend the NBA world descends on Chicago for the annual NBA Draft Combine, where thanks to a change in the CBA nobody is allowed to skip out — all the top names need to show up and participate to be draft eligible (as well as share medical records). It’s a big change from previous combines.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 NBA Draft Combine.

Where is the 2025 NBA Draft Combine

The NBA Draft Combine will occur from May 11-18 in Chicago, at the Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis hotel. This location is an annual tradition.

How to watch NBA Draft Combine 2025

All of the combine’s activities will be streamed on ESPN+. On May 14 at 2 p.m. Easter, there will be a broadcast from the combine on ESPN2, which will also be streamed on ESPN+.

How does the NBA Draft Combine 2025 work?

The NBA has invited 75 players to the NBA Draft Combine, and under the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), all of them have to “attend and participate fully” to be draft eligible. The league has defined “participate fully” as undergoing physical medical exams, sharing their medical history, taking part in the measurements, physical strength and agility testing, and shooting drills. Those players also have to do media interviews and have team meetings.

Every one of the 75 players in attendance will be officially measured for their height (without shoes), wingspan, and standing reach.

Next, there are athletic measures (something the top players used to skip, but no more). The players are measured for their vertical leap — both standing and a running max vertical — as well as being timed through a shuttle run, a lane agility test, and timed on a three-quarter court sprint.

For the NBA front office people who flood into Chicago this week, the most important part of the combine is interviews. That’s when they sit down with top players and others they are interested in and have a formal conversation with them.

The final days of the combine also see scrimmages, conducted by NBA assistant coaches, and not every player has to go through these (and top players will not). These games are a chance for players who are on the draft bubble to catch the eye of a scout or GM, maybe get themselves selected (or put in line for a camp invite and maybe a two-way contract).

NBA Draft Combine 2025 top players

The biggest names in the coming NBA draft will be in Chicago this week. That includes lock No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, as well as the next three on top of draft boards (what order they are selected could be impacted by the NBA Draft Lottery Monday night): Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey from Rutgers, as well as VJ Edgecomb from Baylor.

However, the combine doesn’t move the top of the draft. There will be 75 players in Chicago — more than can be drafted, there are only 59 picks this year — so the combine is a chance for a player farther down draft boards to stand out and help their stock.

The combine is a chance for a player who has slid to the late first round during the college season to improve his stock, or a player who might be undrafted could have a great scrimmage and draw the interest of a team.

One player to watch is BYU’s Egor Demin, the 6’9” point guard who may be the best passer in the draft, but scouts have questioned his ability to be a scorer and defender at the next level. If Demin can show an improved shot and good athleticism, it helps his cause.

Another is Florida point guard Walter Clayton Jr., a standout who helped his cause during the NCAA Tournament, jumping from a second-round pick to a first-rounder for many teams. How he does at the combine can cement that first-round status, or drop him back.

A lot of players will use the feedback they get from teams at the combine to determine if they should stay in the NBA draft or return to college. Names to watch on that front include Carter Bryant from Arizona, Karter Knox from Arkansas and Drake Powell from North Carolina.