He NBA Draft 2023 promises to mark a before and after for the North American league. Not only for presenting in it one of the best projects that have appeared in the preview of one of those events, the French Victor Wenbanyamabut also for offering a handful of other young players who could change the direction of the franchise that choose them.
while we We are approaching the indicated date of June 22it is time to analyze the scenario and project the names with the best chances of being selected in each position. Here’s Sporting News’ 2023 Mock Draft.
1) Victor Wembanyama
- Position: Interior.
- Country: France.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,26 metros.
- Equipment: Metropolitans (France).
- In one line: A player with completely unique and unrepeatable characteristics, both in defense and attack, who seems to come out of a video game, with a rating of 99 in all areas.
- A statistic: At 19, he leads the French league in points (21), rebounds (9.7) and blocks (3.2).
2) Scoot Henderson
- Position: Base.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,88 metro.
- Equipment: G League Ignite.
- In one line: Base with enormous physical, athletic and technical conditions, who would be the first pick in the vast majority of Drafts.
- A statistic: In his first year in the G League, he had games of 12, 14 and 16 assists.
3) Brandon Miller
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,06 metros.
- Equipment: Alabama (NCAA).
- In one line: A tall, shooting and talented forward, straight out of the Paul George and Jayson Tatum mold.
- A statistic: 44% accuracy in triples of catch and shoot.
4) Amen Thompson
- Position: Base.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Overtime Elite.
- In one line: Super athlete, with great height and passing ability.
- A statistic: His 7.9 assists per 36 minutes lead the 2023 Draft class.
5) Jarace Walker
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,04 metros.
- Equipment: Houston (NCAA).
- In one line: Huge defensive potential, already with a very good three-point shot on firm footing.
- A statistic: He allowed just 31% from the field in one-on-one defensive actions.
6) Ausar Thompson
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Overtime Elite.
- In one line: Another huge athlete like his brother Amen, although more guard than quarterback.
- A statistic: He averaged 3.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes.
7) Cam Whitmore
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 18 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Villanova (NCAA).
- In one line: A tank from the physical, with many virtues to create with the ball in his hands, but with an irregular launch.
- A statistic: He threw 62% from the field in penetration actions with the ball, when the average for a project emerged from the NCAA is 48% accuracy in those shots.
8) Keyonte George
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,93 metro.
- Equipment: Baylor (NCAA).
- In one line: Scoring guard, who also has very good passing vision, but must work on his shot selection and defense.
- A statistic: He made 3.3 individual creation shots in his rookie season at Baylor (average for NBA shooting guard-forwards was 2.2).
9) Anthony Black
- Position: Guardia.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Arkansas (NCAA).
- In one line: Versatile point guard with a lot of defensive talent, but lacking as a scorer/shooter.
- A statistic: He was 43% ahead of other NBA projection guards in steals, 15% in rebounds and 113% in blocks.
10) Taylor Hendricks
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,06 metros.
- Equipment: UCF (NCAA).
- In one line: Good shooting, athletic ability and defensive versatility, with a path that could follow in the NBA footsteps of someone like John Collins.
- A statistic: Scored 1.8 shots in catch and shoot per game, when the average for the other interiors in the Draft is 0.6.
11) Cason Wallace
- Position: Guardia.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,93 metro.
- Equipment: Kentucky (NCAA).
- In one line: 1-2 mature for his age, without much scoring talent, but with enormous defensive performance.
- A statistic: he had 2.2 steals per 36 minutes (1.5 was the average for other guards in the Draft).
12) Gradey Dick
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Kansas (NCAA).
- In one line: Fight with Hawkins to be the best pure shooter in the Draft.
- A statistic: He made 1.2 outside shooting shots on the move per 36 minutes (0.4 was the average for the other shooting guards-forwards in the Draft).
13) Jordan Hawkins
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 1,96 metro.
- Equipment: Connecticut (NCAA).
- In one line: Triplero specialist, both on firm foot, and above all, moving without the ball.
- A statistic: He shot 48% on shots in catch and shoot (average position: 38%).
14) Nick Smith
- Position: Guardia.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 18 years.
- Height: 1,96 metro.
- Equipment: Arkansas (NCAA).
- In one line: Tall guard and scorer, with flashes of Top 5 pick, but coming off a negative rookie season in the NCAA, with injuries and poor performance.
- A statistic: He shot 41% on shots in catch and shoot (average position: 36%).
15) Dariq Whitehead
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 18 years.
- Height: 1,98 metro.
- Equipment: Duke (NCAA).
- In one line: It didn’t live up to what was expected at Duke, but it has very high potential as a 3&D.
- A statistic: He shot 45% on shots in catch and shoot (average position: 38%).
16) Rayan Rupert
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: France.
- Age: 18 years.
- Height: 1,98 metro.
- Equipment: New Zealand Breakers (Australia).
- In one line: Possibly the best perimeter defender project of this Draft.
- A statistic: He averaged 2.4 steals in 19.4 minutes in the past U18 European Championship.
17) Adem Bona
- Position: Interior.
- Country: Türkiye.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,08 metros.
- Equipment: UCLA (NCAA).
- In one line: Athletic interior, definer and very outstanding in dirty work and defense.
- A statistic: He blocked 46% of the inside shots he defended (average for his position: 32%).
18) Terquavon Smith
- Position: Base.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 1,92 metro.
- Equipment: NC State (NCAA).
- In one line: Explosive guard with enormous range in his shot, but lacking in power, defense and shot selection.
- A statistic: He made 2.8 pick-and-roll shots per 36 minutes (position average: 1.5).
19) Brice Sensabaugh
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,98 metro.
- Equipment: Ohio State (NCAA).
- In one line: A forward with a lot of power and enormous ease in scoring, although with doubts about his lack of passing and defensive fit.
- A statistic: He made 1.1 shots from the low post every 36 minutes (average from his position: 0.3).
20) Jalen Hood-Schifino
- Position: Base.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,98 metro.
- Equipment: Indiana (NCAA).
- In one line: Tall point guard with exquisite pick and roll handling, to assist or throw from medium distance.
- A statistic: Scored 3 shots off the dribble (pullups) every 36 minutes (highest among projects in this Draft).
21) Sidy Cissoko
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: France.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 1,96 metro.
- Equipment: G League Ignite.
- In one line: Another of the good defensive forwards in this Draft, with some talent to play with the ball.
- A statistic: He averaged 1.2 blocks per 36 minutes (position average: 0.6).
22) Noah Clowney
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 18 years.
- Height: 2,08 metros.
- Equipment: Alabama (NCAA)
- In one line: In an absolute stage of development, but with interesting defensive potential and a solid-footed shooter.
- A statistic: He grabbed 8.4 defensive rebounds every 36 minutes (position average: 6.6).
23) Maxwell Lewis
- Position: Shooting guard.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Pepperdine (NCAA).
- In one line: Good combination of height, shot and creation with the ball.
- A statistic: 45% above average for the position in terms of assists and 52% above in terms of conversions in individual creation actions.
24) Kyle Filipowski
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,11 metros.
- Equipment: Duke (NCAA).
- In one line: Tall interior with talent to create and shoot from the perimeter, although little athletic ability.
- A statistic: 0.4 hits on shots on the move every 36 minutes (average for the position: 0.2).
25) Kris Murray
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 22 years.
- Height: 2,04 metros.
- Equipment: Iowa (NCAA).
- In one line: He doesn’t have the level of his brother Keegan, but he is an inside player with a good defensive contribution and a three-point shot.
- A statistic: 3.1 creation hits from the perimeter plus shots in catch and shoot every 36 minutes (average for position: 1.5).
26) Marcus Sasser
- Position: Guardia.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 22 years.
- Height: 1,88 metro.
- Equipment: Houston (NCAA).
- In one line: 1-2 athletic, defensive and with points in their hands, but somewhat caught between positions.
- A statistic: 48% accuracy in shots in catch and shoot (average for the position: 36%).
27) Colby Jones
- Position: Guardia.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 1,98 metro.
- Equipment: Xavier (NCAA).
- In one line: Tall and versatile guard, with good defensive contribution and creation with the ball.
- A statistic: He shot 50% from the field in individual creation actions (average for the position: 41%).
28) Dereck Lively
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 19 years.
- Height: 2,16 metros.
- Equipment: Duke (NCAA).
- In one line: Totally immature interior in his development, but with enormous athleticism and potential as a shooter/finisher.
- A statistic: 4.4 blocks every 36 minutes (position average: 1.9).
29) Trayce Jackson-Davis
- Position: Interior.
- Country: USA.
- Age: 23 years.
- Height: 2,06 metros.
- Equipment: Indiana (NCAA).
- In one line: Low interior with little shooting, but a very good defender and passer.
- A statistic: 4.2 assists every 36 minutes (average for the position: 2.2).
30) Julian Strawther
- Position: Eaves.
- Country: Puerto Rico.
- Age: 20 years.
- Height: 2,01 metros.
- Equipment: Gonzaga (NCAA).
- In one line: Shooting forward, rebounder and athletic, who must show that he can be a good NBA defender.
- A statistic: 47% accuracy in shots in catch and shoot (average for the position: 38%).
