NBA Mock Draft 2.0

06/21/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Projecting Tomorrow Night’s 1st Round of the NBA Draft

Late June is draft-watch season for the NBA, and we’re just 24-36 hours away from Thursday’s big selection show. Everyone and their brother knows the No. 1 overall pick — Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs are about to secure their centerpiece for the future with a 7-foot-5 phenom that can shoot, dribble, pass, and defend. Beyond that, things are wide open. The consensus top-3 includes Wembanyama and G-League guard Scoot Henderson (both pictured above) along with Alabama forward Brandon Miller. The order is fluid, and plenty of trade rumors involving picks No. 2 and 3 are swirling.

Teams With Multiple 1st-Round Picks: The Pacers (7, 26 & 30) and Jazz (9, 16 & 28) have three first-rounders, each. Indiana also holds the No. 32 pick, and both teams could package trades to move up or defer for future picks. The Hornets (2 & 27), Blazers (3 & 23), Rockets (4 & 20), Magic (6 & 11), and Nets (21 & 22) all have two first-round selections.

Teams With No 1st-Round Picks: All of those teams with multiple picks had to come from somewhere. That leaves eight teams — the Nuggets, Suns, Celtics, Bucks, 76ers, Cavaliers, Bulls, and Timberwolves — without 1st-round selections.

Names & Teams to Watch: Wembanyama is the obvious main story in tomorrow night’s draft, but there’s little suspense to his situation. The biggest names to watch are Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson, and which teams might trade up to get them. There’s a lot of chatter around the Hornets and Blazers being potential sellers of the No. 2 and No. 3 picks. The Magic also own two lottery picks and could be ready to swing them for an established veteran or move up to get one of the top-3.

NBA Mock Draft 2.0

1. Spurs: F Victor Wembanyama (France)

2. Hornets: F Brandon Miller (Alabama)

3. Blazers: G Scoot Henderson (G-League)

4. Rockets: F Jarace Walker (Houston)

5. Pistons: F Taylor Hendricks (UCF)

6. Magic: G Amen Thompson (G-League)

7. Pacers: C Dereck Lively II (Duke)

8. Wizards: G Ausar Thompson (G-League)

9. Jazz: G/F Gradey Dick (Kansas)

10. Mavericks: G Anthony Black (Arkansas)

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11. Magic: F Cam Whitmore (Villanova)

12. Thunder: G Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)

13. Raptors: G Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)

14. Pelicans: F Bilal Coulibaly (France)

15. Hawks: G/F Jett Howard (Michigan)

16. Jazz: G Jordan Hawkins (UConn)

17. Lakers: G Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)

18. Heat: G Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)

19. Warriors: F Kris Murray (Iowa)

20. Rockets: G Cason Wallace (Kentucky)

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21. Nets: F Olivier-Maxine Prosper (Marquette)

22. Nets: G Keyonte George (Baylor)

23. Blazers: C James Nnaji (Spain)

24. Kings: G/F Ryan Rupert (New Zealand)

25. Grizzlies: G Marcus Sasser (Houston)

26. Pacers: G/F Leonard Miller (G-League)

27. Hornets: G/F Dariq Whitehead (Duke)

28. Jazz: F Noah Clowney (Alabama)

29. Pacers: F Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)

30. Clippers: F Jaime Jacquez Jr. (UCLA)

We’ll have the full NBA Draft Primer in today’s edition.

CBS Sports: NBA Mock Draft: Hornets Take Scoot, Miller Left for Blazers

The Ringer: 2023 NBA Mock Draft: Lottery Shuffling & Trade Rumors

Yahoo! Sports: NBA Mock Draft: Latest intel 2 Days Out & Analysis on All 58 Picks

Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images