On the day of the 2025 NBA Draft, ESPN projects the Milwaukee Bucks to select Javon Small with the 47th pick. Recent reports suggest the Bucks have been working out a plethora of point guards, meaning the West Virginia guard could very well be on their radar.
Milwaukee will be without Damian Lillard for a large portion of the 2025-26 season. Kevin Porter Jr. is expected to decline his player option and hit the free market. Ryan Rollins is also a free agent, leaving the Milwaukee Bucks' backcourt very light at the moment.
Milwaukee needs guys that can help now and in the coming years, Small might fit that.
Javon Small is an experienced point guard the Bucks could use
Small played two seasons at East Carolina before transferring to Oklahoma State and then playing his senior year with the West Virginia Mountaineers. He averaged 18.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on shooting splits of .418/.353/.880.
Surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo with shooters is a must, and Small is a 35 percent career shooter from deep. The Mountaineers senior is a reliable catch-and-shoot guard, with a quick release that is effective in ball screens as a pull-up shooter.
At 6-foot-1, he may be slightly undersized, but his shiftiness with the ball and change of pace create good opportunities for himself. That speed is valuable in transition, especially for a Bucks team that has struggled in recent seasons to keep up with younger, quicker teams. Defensively, he can hold his own, fighting through screens and averaging 1.5 steals per game in his final college year.
There had been rumors that the Bucks were in the market for Dennis Schröder, but the latest reports suggest he may be headed to Sacramento, and as a result, Milwaukee may turn to the draft. Micah Peavy was also mentioned as a draft target, and he has a similar skill set to that of Small.
With the Bucks' only pick being late in the second round, as it stands, there will be a few names that jump out and some that could go undrafted, and Milwaukee will pick them up post-draft. We have seen great success with AJ Green and Ryan Rollins as two-way players, developing in the G League before earning a spot in the NBA. Small is a player that Milwaukee may not draft, but could easily sign as an undrafted player to see how he fares in the Summer League.
The Bucks can go in several directions in this year's draft. At the moment, workouts suggest they may lean towards taking a more experienced and NBA-ready point guard, unless they decide to trade into the first round. Jon Horst has been bold before; will he be bold again this year? Time will tell.