The first round of the NBA Draft goes on Tuesday, June 23, from Brooklyn, N.Y. This year, the second round will be broadcast on Wednesday at 8pmET on ESPN and ABC.
As of Sunday night, AJ Dybantsa is a -425 favorite to be selected first by Washington, while Darryn Peterson is +300. Peterson could go to Utah (-130) with the second pick, as Cam Boozer (+180) is another possibility. This will go down as one of the best freshman classes ever.
Let’s take a look at the top five players by position in the NBA Draft, though the “wing” position is essentially the same as shooting guard/small forward. Also, there are many players who can play multiple positions. This is not a great draft for big men as Aday Mara from Michigan is most likely the highest center chosen and is +300 to go 8th.
Centers
1)Aday Mara, Michigan, 7-3, 260, junior. Exceptional size and a 3-point range. Very skilled for his size. Not very athletic.
2)Jayden Quantance, Kentucky, 6-9, 255, sophomore. Coming off a torn ACL at the end of his freshman season n at Arizona State. Has 7-5 wingspan, so he can play some center at 6-9.
3)Henri Veesaar, 6-11, 227, North Carolina, junior. Solid prospect who can stretch the floor. More than just a jump shooter but needs to get stronger. Defense is an issue.
4)Zuby Ejiofor, 6-8, 245, St. John’s, senior. Massive and undersized big with a 7-2 wingspan. Will be a strong rebounder right away.
5)Tarris Reed, 6-10, 265, UConn, senior. Big man with good size, with a 7-5 wingspan and a decent athlete. Not much of a shooter and struggles at the line.
Power Forwards
1)Cam Boozer, 6-8, 250, Duke, freshman. Very high IQ and powerful offensive player with a good wingspan at over 7-1. Can shoot the three, but will need to work on defense.
2)Caleb Wilson, 6-9, 210, North Carolina, freshman. Freak athlete who broke both hands last season at different times. Good wingspan at 7-0 and near-40-inch vertical. Needs to work on his 3-point shot, but has an incredibly high ceiling.
3)Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan, 6-9, 241, senior. He’s nearly 24, so he’s one of the oldest players in the draft. Has a 7-3 wingspan, which helps hide some limited athleticism. Very smart player who is underrated defensively and can create for others.
4)Karim Lopez, Mexico, 6-8, 222. One of the highest risers in the draft who just turned 19. Very rugged player who has a high upside. Not very athletic.
5)Hannes Steinbach, Washington, 6-10, 248, freshman. Another big man who loves to shoot. A native of Germany, who led college basketball with 11.8 rebounds per game. Good shooter, but limited athletically and a bit of a tweener.
Small forwards/wings
1)A.J. Dybantsa, BYU, 6-9, 217, freshman. Spectacular athlete with a 7-foot wingspan. Needs to work on the three-point shot and defense. Strong creator and can get to the basket with ease.
2)Nate Ament, Tennessee, 6-10, 210, freshman. Had a disappointing freshman season, making just 43% of his 2-point attempts and struggling as a finisher. Still has a high upside as he continues to fill out and can play multiple positions.
3)Dailyn Swain, 6-7, 211, Texas, junior. Swain is an all-around player who does many things well with a 6-10 wingspan. However, his lack of consistent perimeter shooting and high turnover rate likely place him late in the first round at best.
4)Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt, 6-6, 217, junior. Solid shooter who led the SEC in 3-point shooting at 45%. Average athlete and wingspan. Doesn’t do much else, but there’s always a place for a 3-point shooter.
5)Keyshan Hall, Auburn, 6-6, 227, senior. A very good iso player who shot about half his shots at the rim last year. Also shot 38% from 3-point range last season, but defense is a concern.
Shooting guards
1)Darryn Peterson, Kansas, 6-5, 200, freshman. Considers himself a point guard but hasn’t shown that ability in college, averaging just 1.6 assists. Exceptional creator, shooter, and just about everything else. Has a 6-10 wingspan and is a very good athlete. The problem has been durability and availability in college.
2)Brayden Burries, Arizona, 6-4, 215, freshman. Powerful two-guard who is an outstanding athlete and strong defender. Good three-point shooter who made 39% of his 3-pointers last season.
3)Cameron Carr, Baylor, 6-5, 184, sophomore. Father Chris Carr played in the NBA. Very good athlete with an incredible 7-1 wingspan. Needs to add some size to his frame, but with so few talented shooting guards in this draft, he might be taken higher than expected.
4)Isaiah Evans, Duke, 6-6, 186, sophomore. Strong shooter who might still be growing. Needs to get stronger or will just become a one-dimensional shooter.
5)Meleek Thomas, Arkansas, 6-3, 190, freshman. Thomas blew up in the NCAA’s, averaging 19ppg. A strong shooter who is a very good athlete with a 6-7 wingspan to make up for a lack of height. Weak defense will put him in the second round.
Point guards
1)Darius Acuff Jr. Arkansas, 6-2, 185, freshman. The strongest position of the draft, even if Peterson is more of a two-guard. Acuff is a powerful shot creator with a 6.6.5 wingspan and a very good distributor. Not the greatest defender, but neither is Jalen Brunson.
2)Keaton Wagler, 6-5, 188, Illinois, freshman. An athletic combo guard who is very smart. Will need to improve his strength and finishing at the rim. Takes some questionable shots and is not a great athlete.
3)Kingston Flemings, Houston, 6-3, 183, freshman. Very fast athlete who takes care of the ball. Solid defender who learned from a great defensive coach in Kelvin Sampson.
4)Mikel Brown, Louisville, 6-4, 190, freshman. Explosive scorer with a long reach (6-7.5) and good athlete (39.5 vert). Excellent left hand and should be able to get his shot off in the NBA with ease.
5)Christian Anderson, Texas Tech, 6-1, 180, sophomore. A polarizing prospect due to his lack of size. But he averaged over 18ppg and 7 assists in the Big 12. Has a 6-6 wingspan and over 40 inches of vertical. Will need to get stronger.
(odds from DraftKings)
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