Where former Maryland center Derik Queen stands in 2025 NBA mock drafts

Ahmed Ghafir
Jun 24
4 min read

Former Maryland basketball center Derik Queen is set to become at least the fifth Terp in the league with the 2025 NBA Draft one day away.

Queen, a five-star Baltimore native who dazzled at Montverde Academy as a senior, became an instant star at Maryland where he went on to become the program’s first Big Ten Freshman of the Year selection after leading the team in scoring and setting the program freshman scoring record. Queen will now look to become the program’s first NBA Draft selection since Aaron Wiggins in 2021 and the first first-round selection since Jalen Smith the year prior, but the Maryland center finds himself sliding in updated mock drafts weeks after former Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas cautioned against a slip in mock drafts.

“Whoever gets him, you got a steal and if you’re not a smart general manager, he will slip in the [NBA] Draft like Jokic did,” Arenas said on All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes. “When you’re in these drafts and you’re playing one by yourself, you’re not going to see his skillset. The skillset that he has is a five-on-five game. So you’re sitting there playing by yourself, you don’t see his vision, you can’t see none of that. He looks too slow. You can’t see how he plays his body right.”

We take a look where Queen stands heading into Wednesday’s draft:

The Athletic: 10th, Phoenix Suns

The Suns acquired this pick in the Kevin Durant trade on Sunday. Sources across the league are scrambling to figure out what the Suns are looking for, but it would make sense for them to bring in bigs and lead guards given their needs. It’s believed that Suns are not done discussing trades, as well, given that their roster is wildly unbalanced across the wing.

Queen has come up in a few conversations as one to watch for here with the Suns, and it makes sense. He’s an incredibly skilled big who can dribble and pass at a high level as a creator. Defensively, he’ll be asked to do far more than he was at Maryland in the NBA and put in disadvantageous positions. Queen will need to work incredibly hard to become more capable on that end and even then, may not hit a high level because he lacks great physical traits. But some scouts see the idea of a playmaking center in the Alperen Şengün mold, a productive player who will average 20 points and 10 rebounds for a long time. There’s plenty of reason to buy into that. Simply put, Queen has been wildly productive at every stage of his career.

USA Today: 12th, Chicago Bulls

An active, physical big man, Queen has a soft touch around the rim with either hand but has a power game, too. He can run the court and handle the basketball well for a power forward-center. He is another potential first-round pick with good hands and footwork and has the mechanics to become a shooter who can stretch the floor. Queen had 27 points, five rebounds and two steals in a Sweet 16 loss to eventual champion Florida.

CBS Sports: 15th, Oklahoma City Thunder

Queen is the best player on the board at this point and so while the fit isn't a glaringly obvious one in OKC, Sam Presti isn't likely to let him pass, especially when there could be a trade market which allows him to push his draft assets down the road without taking up another roster spot now. Queen is a highly skilled big man, particularly as a dribbler and passer, whose potential will come in correlation to his defense, shooting and conditioning.

ESPN: 15th, Oklahoma City Thunder

Queen continues to receive mixed feedback on the workout circuit, with questions still hovering over his conditioning, shooting mechanics and competitive on-off switch. Although he is regarded as the most skilled big in the class offensively, he doesn't appear to be maximizing some of the factors within his control, and as a result, hasn't gathered much upward momentum during the pre-draft process.

Following the Suns' acquisition of the 10th pick, Queen's realistic range appears to start with the Suns at No. 10 and runs down into the teens, where at a certain point he becomes difficult to pass on.

The Thunder, pivoting to this draft fresh off winning the title Sunday night, is a team without any glaring roster needs but have been primarily linked by rival teams to big men, including Beringer and Sorber. Isaiah Hartenstein is under team control through 2026-27 (Oklahoma City holds a club option on the final year), and the idea of finding and developing a less expensive replacement holds weight, particularly with Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren both eligible to sign what figure to be hefty rookie extensions this summer.

Queen would simply be a bet on talent if he fell here, with the Thunder's elite defense providing ample cover for him, and Oklahoma City better positioned to weather risk than most.

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