Why is Sean Marks suddenly nervous for Brooklyn? Even despite the team trending towards the top pick of the NBA Draft?
The Brooklyn Nets hold a stronger chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick for the 2026 NBA Draft. Friday's loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks helps Brooklyn's chances.
The probability should win over general manager Sean Marks, as he can add a new franchise game-changer to the long lineup of prized 2025 Nets rookies.
So why does he feel nervous about the team's ping pong chances ahead of May 10?
Marks dropped a blunt admission with the YES Network regarding why he's in a rather nervous state.
"Look, I’m not going to lie and say I’m not nervous going into that,” the Nets GM told YES Network on Thursday. “I’m nervous for the way the ping pong balls land."
Marks does have every right to feel the unease. After all, the team with worst or second worst NBA record isn't a lock to land the top pick.
The Dallas Mavericks missed the playoffs with a 39-43 record one year ago. Yet the Mavs surprised many by winning the No. 1 selection on lottery night. Dallas went on to draft Cooper Flagg with the first pick and has since blossomed into the favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year.
The lottery system isn't set up to guarantee the team with the worst record wins the first pick, unlike the NFL.
Is Marks un-confident about the Nets' chances? There's still a level of optimism.
"But at the end of the day, it's like if you’ve done your work, if you’re prepared, and I give [assistant GM] B.J. Johnson and the rest of our amateur scouting department a lot of credit...they’ve put hours and hours and days and weeks into preparing for the last draft, just like they did this draft," Marks said.
He believes the Nets have a plan in place regardless of where the ping pong balls lie.
"So we’re going to be prepared, wherever they fall," Marks said. "Obviously, we hope for as high as possible."
The optimism remains for Marks, though.
"But at the end of the day, it’s exciting for us to see what other piece do we add to our team, and then go from there," Marks said.
Brooklyn last became projected to land at No. 3 overall, then taking Arkansas sharpshooter Darius Acuff Jr. at that spot.
But AJ Dybantsa could still become the selection if the Nets land at No. 1 overall.
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