With the 2022 NBA Draft finished we’re taking a look a year into the future, and looking at the top prospects in our first NBA Mock Draft 2023.
The 2022 NBA Draft just wrapped and a new infusion of talent has been delivered to the NBA. Some fans are drooling over their team’s incoming rookies but others are already thinking about the next few years of a rebuild and a bevy of future draft picks waiting to be made.
Things are very subjective this early in the process but with just 364 days of scouting left, here’s we’re seeing things in our first NBA Mock Draft 2023.
The analysis of each individual player here relies heavily on the insights of draft experts like Brian Schroeder, Jeremy Woo, Kevin O’Connor and others. We’re way too early to match NBA teams with draft slots in any meaningful way so this is more of a big board format, No. 30-1. However, fans of the Hawks, Nets, Bulls, Rockets, Pacers, Knicks, Thunder and Magic should pay close attention, as those teams all could have multiple first-round picks.
And if you’re looking at any of these picks wondering what the heck I was thinking, just remember that mock drafts are made to be mocked.
Here’s how the non-lottery looks after trades in our latest NBA Mock Draft 2023:
30. Emoni Bates, Wing, Memphis
Bates was once one of the most highly-rated players in this class but graduated early and struggled through a rough freshman season at Memphis while he waits to become draft-eligible. He still has plenty of tools but he needs to prove it.
29. Juan Nunez, Guard, Real Madrid
Nunez is a polished floor general with exciting vision and ball-handling ability in the halfcourt.
28. Kadary Richmond, Guard, Seton Hall
Richmond has some individual scoring chops and can defend, but he needs to improve his vision, efficiency and outside shooting.
27. James Nnaji, Big, Barcelona
Nnaji’s appeal is all about his physical tools — size, strength, leaping ability and mobility. His game is still very raw but he’s an intriguing package.
26. Julian Strawther, Wing, Gonzaga
A solid wing scorer he has to continue to improve as a facilitator and finish efficiently as his usage ramps up to prove he can be a viable secondary creator at the next level.
25. Ousmane N’Diaye, Big, Dragons Rhöndorf
N’Diaye has great size but his appeal is his potential to play on the perimeter. He has a fluid handle and is a good outside shooter. As he rounds out his game, he could move up the board quickly.
24. Kris Murray, Forward, Iowa
The brother of Keegan Murray, Kris is similarly smooth and versatile and his game could really take shape this season as he steps into the void left by his brother.
23. Harrison Ingram, Wing, Stanford
Ingram is a versatile guard who can score and create but he struggled mightily to do so with any efficiency as a freshman. A bounce-back season could move him up into the lottery.
22. Kyle Filipowski, Big, Duke
Filipowski is a big with perimeter skills, an excellent outside shooter with developing handle and vision on the ball.
21. Terquavion Smith, Guard, NC State
Smith opted to withdraw from the draft and spend another year at NC State. He’ll need to improve as both a finisher and a 3-point shooter to maximize his draft stock.
20. Jordan Walsh, Guard, Arkansas
A phenomenal athlete with a strong outside jumper, Walsh has 3-and-D potential in the short-term and could develop more as a self-creator to reach his ceiling.
19. Matthew Cleveland, Guard, Florida State
Cleveland has a versatile, offensive-connector-type game that really needs a reliable spot-up 3-point game to pop.
18. Chris Livingston, Wing, Kentucky
Livingston is a powerful wing and an absolute terror in transition. He’s still polishing his game, searching for consistency with effort and defense and will be learning how to make an impact in the halfcourt.
17. Jarace Walker, Forward, Houston
Walker is a physical force, a powerful driver and finisher around the basket. He will need to round out his perimeter skills or develop as a defender to really reach his ceiling.
16. Amari Bailey, Guard, UCLA
Bailey is productive at both ends of the floor, hounding opposing scorers on and off the ball and scoring in transition. He’ll be looking to show he can hit from the outside consistently and create in the halfcourt.
Here’s how the lottery looks after trades in our latest NBA Mock Draft 2023:
14. Dillon Mitchell, Forward, Texas
Mitchell is another explosive athlete with defensive upside and versatility, still figuring out how he contributes consistently and efficiently to a halfcourt offense.
13. Keyonte George, Guard, Baylor
George is one of the best shooters in this freshman class but has upside as an on-ball creator as well. He’ll have a chance to carry a big offensive load at Baylor and could really move up if he shines.
12. Kel’el Ware, Big, Oregon
Ware has terrific size (7-foot) and athletic tools and is growing into his ability as a shooter and post-up threat.
11. Nikola Durišić, Wing, Mega Basket
Durišić is a big wing, with intriguing polish as a creator and shotmaker. If he can become a reliable spot-up threat it would really unlock him as a secondary creator and offensive connector.
10. Cason Wallace, Guard, Kentucky
Wallace reminds a bit of Tyrese Maxey, an explosive open-floor ball-handler with great defensive upside who is growing as a shooter and halfcourt creator.
9. Dereck Lively II, Big, Duke
Lively is already a strong rim protector, combining excellent size, wingspan, mobility and leaping ability. He has the potential to develop into more than just a rim-runner on offense with a soft shooting touch and potentially expanding range.
8. Ausar Thompson, Wing, Overtime Elite
Ausar is the twin brother of Amen (No. 4) and offers a very similar package, elite athleticism on the wing with slightly less polish on his traditional skill set.
7. Anthony Black, Guard, Arkansas
At 6-foot-7, Black has tremendous size for someone with the skills to play as a primary point guard. In addition to his handling and creation skills, he’s an excellent athlete and smooth 3-point shooter.
6. Cam Whitmore, Wing, Villanova
Whitemore is another strong athlete who plays with relentless energy and intensity on the wing. He’s still putting his skill package together but what he shows at Villanova could move him up draft boards.
5. Dariq Whitehead, Wing, Duke
Whitehead will need to prove he can be a consistent outside shooter during his freshman year but he looks like a skilled primary creator and on-ball scorer with good size in the backcourt.
4. Amen Thompson, Wing, Overtime Elite
Thompson is in the 100th percentile as an athlete and will have leaping and quickness advantages even against many fully mature NBA players. He’s still filling out and figuring out how to use his tools to make basketball plays but he might have the highest ceiling of anyone besides Wembanyama.
3. Nick Smith Jr., Guard, Arkansas
Smith Jr. looks like a potent three-level scorer, with a polished pull-up game and outside shot. As a freshman at Arkansas, he’ll need to prove he can create for others, defend consistently and continue to create against a higher level of competition.
2. Scoot Henderson, Guard, G League Ignite
His jumper is still developing but Henderson is a talented guard with great physical tools who can get himself to the basket at will and averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game for the G League Ignite, turning 18 during the season.
1. Victor Wembanyama, Big, ASVEL Basket
If you’re intrigued by Chet Holmgren, you’re going to love Wembanyama — a fluid 7-foot-2 forward with a 7-foot-8 wingspan, smooth ball-handling ability, a fantastic pull-up game and all the terrifying defensive upside that comes with being able to reach from one side of the court to other.