NBA Draft

We have reached the midway point of the NBA season. Which 2023 NBA Draft prospects ought to be on the radar of every front office?  We are fast approaching the final stretch of the 2022-23 NBA season. The trade deadline brought about a whirlwind of change, the fallout of which won’t be fully realized until
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Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Victor Wembanyama seems to be the consensus No. 1 pick in almost every NBA Mock Draft. Which players could knock him off that spot by June? Almost every NBA Mock Draft you see right now is going to have Victor Wembanyama in the top spot. The 7-foot-2 French big
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  Jan 8, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. (3) reacts after scoring a basket during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports The No. 1 pick is almost certainly going to be Victor Wembanyama, but there’s a chance that pick could
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Injuries might be the only thing holding Nick Smith Jr. back from emerging as the best NBA Draft prospect in college basketball.  Nick Smith Jr. has played five games (119 total minutes) for the Arkansas Razorbacks. For reasons termed “right knee management,” Smith has been out indefinitely with no clear return date. Whether he returns
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A top-shelf athlete who contributes amply on both sides of the ball, Ausar Thompson is bound to outperform expectations for whichever team drafts him.  The NBA Draft is often much more of a guessing game than NBA scouts would probably like to admit. There are so many unknown variables at play, no matter how deeply
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A 43-point explosion has people taking another look at Emoni Bates draft stock. Can the former top prospect play his way back into the NBA Draft Lottery? There was a time when Emoni Bates was mentioned in the same breath as LeBron James, tabbed as one of the best high school players in the country.
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Now in the thick of the college basketball season, which NBA Draft prospects are rising and falling on our NBA Draft Big Board in the new year?  With conference play in full swing, we have reached the meat of the college basketball season. We have progressed from “interesting starts” and “tantalizing flashes” to increasingly solid
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Arguably the most complete guard in recent NBA Draft history, Scoot Henderson is much more than the projected consolation prize in the Winless for Wemby sweepstakes.  Scoot Henderson is almost universally pegged as the second overall pick in 2023 mock drafts. Were it not for the glaring generational talent of Victor Wembanyama, he would be
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A nutty athlete with a wing’s size and a point guard’s mind, Amen Thompson’s star potential jumps off the screen.  Some NBA and college basketball fans might have trouble watching Amen Thompson this season. He’s playing for the Overtime City Reapers, part of Overtime Elite — Atlanta’s six-team professional league for players 16-20 years old.
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Victor Wembanyama is a once-in-a-generation prospect who has the potential to contend for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the not so distant future.  Welcome to the Wemby Show. Next season will mark the beginning of a potentially historic career: at least, that’s what the NBA Draft hype machine would have you believe.
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(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) The 2023 NBA Draft will be the most hotly anticipated in years. How will the first round play out after the inevitable selection at No. 1?  With the new year on our doorstep, it’s never too early to look ahead to next summer’s NBA Draft. While there’s an obvious headliner
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The 2023 NBA Draft class is loaded with intriguing talent. Which players on our NBA Draft Big Board have the best chances of success at the next level?  The bulk of the conversation around the 2023 NBA Draft has revolved around one player: Victor Wembanyama. He’s a true singularity, the kind of player who comes
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Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images A superstar, injuries, and flawed greatness — that is the story of the 2019 NBA Draft so far.  Seldom has there been a stronger consensus on the No. 1 pick than there was in the 2019 NBA Draft. That was the year of Zion Williamson. He blew minds at Duke.
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(Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) The 2018 NBA Draft brought about a wave of new-age big men and elite offensive creators.  Every now and then, we get a batch of rookies with the potential to define a generation. The 2018 NBA Draft provided us with just that. A handful of the league’s most dominant and
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(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) The 2017 NBA Draft is most famous for the mystifying collapse of its No. 1 pick — and the multiple All-Stars who followed.  Multiple All-Stars and All-NBA players have emerged from the 2017 rookie class. None of them, however, went first overall. That unique honor was bestowed upon Markelle Fultz,
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Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports The 2016 NBA Draft yielded arguably the most scrutinized and debated rookie class in recent history.  A lot has happened since 2016, both in the world at large and in the NBA. It’s hard to imagine a more interesting and hotly contested collection of players than the 2016 rookie
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Victor Wembanyama and Scott Henderson faced off in a showcase of two top NBA Draft prospects. They were every bit as good as advertised. ESPN was likely hoping for something dramatic when they arranged to televise an exhibition game between the G League Ignite and the French team Metropolitans 92 — featuring a matchup between Scoot
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Montverde Academy’s Dariq Whitehead (0) reacts after forcing a turnover during the second half of the GEICO Nationals quarterfinal between AZ Compass Prep (Ariz.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.), Thursday, March 31, 2022, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.Montverde Academy defeated AZ Compass Prep 72-63.GEICO Nationals 2022: AZ Compass Prep (Ariz.) vs. Montverde
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Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports Saints: Alvin Kamara bracing for major NFL suspension by Mark Powell NBA rumors: Blockbuster Lakers-Nets trade for Kyrie Irving that would melt everyone’s brain by Alicia de Artola The Orlando Magic shocked the world by taking Duke’s Paolo Banchero with the first-overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. The Orlando Magic
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It’s NBA Draft night which means the trades winds will be whirling and deals will be made that alter the future of franchises all over the league.  Like a tree falling in the forest when no one is around to hear it, is it truly the NBA Draft without an onslaught of trades? Perhaps more
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NBA Draft rumors may have locked down the top few picks days before the draft. But there will definitely be surprises so keep up with our full NBA Draft results. NBA Draft rumors have been flying since the NBA Draft order was officially set with the lottery. The Orlando Magic landed the No. 1 pick,
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The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Player comparisons are an inevitable part of the NBA Draft conversation, a handy shorthand for communicating a large amount of information about a player’s physical tools, skills, possible NBA
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