Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Our updated ranking of the top 20 prospects still available after the first round of the NBA Draft is out, spotlighting talent that could reshape rosters on a budget.
- Each player comes with a detailed scouting report highlighting how they could contribute at the next level, from rim protection to offensive playmaking.
- The biggest debate centers around which of these second-round picks has the upside to become a future starter and impact player.
The success rate is inevitably lower but every year prospects go from second-round NBA Draft picks to key contributors. And while it may be harder to find a future star, the opportunity cost is a lot lower and, because they don't have guaranteed salary structures there is the potential to stretch out a contract and lock in a terrific value.
We already took a stab at projecting the biggest second-round steals before the draft started. But now that the first round is out of the way, we can really hone in on the most exciting prospects. Based on Chris Kline's NBA Draft Big Board, these are the 20 best prospects still on the board, plus a short summary from Chris on what type of player they are and how they can help their next team.
1. Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina
Height: 6'11
Weight: 227 pounds
Scouting report: Veesaar was the quiet engine behind UNC’s success as a junior. He is such a stabilizing presence on offense, with delicate footwork, sharp connective passing chops and a malleable, plug-and-play skill set. He will set sturdy screens, finisher efficiently at the rim (or on spot-up 3s), and broadly do the small things to facilitate winning. He’s not a great rim protector, but Veesaar isn’t a stiff either. He competes and puts up a wall on the interior, as best he can.
2. Meleek Thomas, SG, Arkansas
Height: 6'3
Weight: 190 pounds
Scouting report: Thomas was the perfect lower-volume complement to Darius Acuff in Arkansas’ backcourt. He’s a flamethrower from deep, with the twitchiness and feather-soft touch to attack the intermediate range with floaters and pull-ups. NBA scouts will want to see more playmaking at the next level, but Thomas is a rangy defender who should fit into a variety of offensive contexts, with the ability to heat up expeditiously.
3. Isaiah Evans, SG, Duke
Height: 6'6
Weight: 186 pounds
Scouting report: Evans is a confident movement shooter who should amplify any rotation he joins. He works effectively out of DHOs and coming off of screens. A more one-dimensional threat in years past, Evans made significant strides as a slasher and finisher at the rim this season. He doesn’t create many events on defense, but he has the length and motor to impact shots from the help side and handle challenging assignments. If he can become more of a passing outlet, there’s untapped potential here.
4. Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia
Height: 6'11
Weight: 237 pounds
Scouting report: Onyenso put up the highest block rate (17.4 percent) in college hoops as a senior. He’s coordinated for his size, able to fluidly navigate space, break up passing windows, and live in the shadows of opponents hoping to score at the rim. He also provides a functional rim-runner and lob threat on offense, with flashes of touch in the mid-range and even out to the 3-point line.
5. Braden Smith, PG, Purdue
Height: 5'10
Weight: 167 pounds
Scouting report: Smith is one of the most accomplished college point guards in recent history. He’s extremely undersized by NBA standards, but Smith is a crafty and decisive ball-handler with vision that spreads to all corners of the floor. He delivers a wide range of passes right into the shooter’s pocket, with preternatural timing out of the pick-and-roll. He can also shoot the cover off the ball, with real gumption as a defender, which he will hope compensates for his featherweight frame.
6. Baba Miller, PF, Cincinnati
Height: 6'11
Weight: 208 pounds
Scouting report: Miller needed four years to actualize his immense talent, but 7-footers with his processing speed and open-floor agility don’t grow on trees. Miller can grab and go in transition; he can score on cuts and coordinated drives, with an eye for flashy passes. He’s a potentially special athlete, able to handle a variety of assignments on defense. Four years of non-shooting, however, could compromise his appeal, as NBA defenders will largely ignore him on the perimeter.
7. Tamin Lipsey, PG, Iowa State
Height: 6'1
Weight: 200 pounds
Scouting report: Lipsey will need to find a team willing to gamble on a small guard with limited shooting chops, but his remarkable feel and defensive intensity clear a path to value at the next level. He’s built strong at the point of attack, with long arms and incredible technique to mirror ball-handlers and snuff out lazy passes. On the other end, he’s a prolific facilitator with unshakable poise and a nifty in-between scoring repertoire, although his low 3-point volume needs to improve eventually.
8. Bruce Thornton, PG, Ohio State
Height: 6'0
Weight: 223 pounds
Scouting report: Thornton has some real Jalen Brunson qualities to him, which could help scouts overlook his smaller stature. He has a wide, stout frame, which he uses to put defenders on his hip and take them out of possessions. He’s a prolific pull-up shooter, too. Thornton also battles at the point of attack on defense. If he were a bit quicker and perhaps a couple inches taller, he’d be a first-round pick. Even so, there’s some funky, unconventional upside here.
9. Ja'Kobi Gillespie, PG, Tennessee
Height: 6'0
Weight: 182
Scouting report: Gillespie is the basketball equivalent of a fireball. He will attempt (and make) deep, challenging 3s off the dribble. His confidence never wanes. He can beat closeouts and snake his way to points in the mid-range. Gillespie won’t pressure the rim much, but he’s enough of an outlier shooter to chart a path to NBA success. His size will be a challenge on defense, but Gillespie is hard to move once he’s in his stance. Factor in a healthy stock rate, and he might just hack it on willpower alone.
10. Rafael Castro
Height: 6'9
Weight: 224 pounds
Scouting report: Castro is a slender, smooth small-ball five with an uncommon blend of offensive skill and defensive playmaking. He can switch on the perimeter, swoop in for weak-side blocks and cover a ton of ground as a malleable anchor on defense. On the other end, he displays excellent coordination and touch as a face-up scorer, with impressive vision to deliver passes on the move. If he can add strength to counteract limited explosiveness on the interior, he should carve out a real career.
11. Richie Saunders, SF, BYU
Height: 6'5
Weight: 205 pounds
Scouting report: Saunders’ senior season was cut short by a torn ACL, but he was the Robin to AJ Dybantsa’s Batman — a prolific movement shooter and offensive connector with rugged physicality and special anticipatory skills as a defender. He’s an older prospect and a limited athlete by NBA standards, but Saunders figures to thrive in a niche role offensively with the size, strength and IQ to get by on defense.
12. Nate Bittle, C, Oregon
Height: 7'0
Weight: 254
Scouting report: Bittle offers tremendous shot-blocking instincts and real volume as a 3-point shooter, which bodes well for his fit at the next level. He’s a big, physical drop coverage rim protector, a solid rebounder, and a skilled offensive connector. He can rifle sharp passes out of the short roll, beat mismatches with balletic footwork and finish with brute strength on the interior, all while his pick-and-pop utility is a natural boon for any team with a rim-pressure guard.
13. Ryan Conwell, SG, Louisville
Height: 6'2
Weight: 215 pounds
Scouting report: Conwell is an undersized off-guard who didn’t create much for teammates at Louisville, but there is NBA upside tied to his bullish defensive presence and flyaround shot-making. Conwell can drill deep 3s on the move, work DHOs and two-man tangos at the top of the key, and score in bunches. He didn’t generate a ton of stocks, but the on-ball defense is phenomenal and Conwell plays with a physicality that aligns with the direction of today’s NBA.
14. Duke Miles, PG, Vanderbilt
Height: 6'1
Weight: 175 pounds
Scouting report: Miles is a classic small guard with big talent, able to weave his way through traffic with creative, stop-start handles and a stout frame. He exhibits phenomenal vision and ball security as a playmaker, with the ability to sink difficult pull-up jumpers. Defensively, Miles compensates for his physical limitations with unbelievable handles and a nonstop motor. If he were a few inches taller and a couple years younger, he’d rank much higher.
15. Tobi Lawal, PF, Virginia Tech
Height: 6'7
Weight: 214 pounds
Scouting report: Lawal was a huge Combine riser, posting the second-highest vertical leap ever. He’s a rangy, twitchy athlete, with the mobility to contain ball-handlers on the perimeter and the bounce to impact shots on the interior. He will fly up the court in transition and clean up on lobs and easy rim finishes. He lacks polish skills-wise, especially out on the perimeter, but Lawal’s functional tools present major untapped potential in the second round.
16. Jalen Washington, PF, Washington
Height: 6'10
Weight: 225 pounds
Scouting report: Washington was primarily used as a bench spark plug across four years of college. That limited usage will be held against him, but Washington made his impact felt on both ends for Vandy. He’s a springy, flexible defender at the four spot. He needs to add more functional strength as a finisher and develop his ball skills offensively, but Washington flashed fun mid-range scoring at the PIT and he has the run-jump athleticism to thrive in transition and as a lob threat.
17. Quadir Copeland, PG, NC State
Height: 6'5
Weight: 205
Scouting report: Copeland is a voracious downhill scorer and facilitator, with off-beat footwork and a knack for mixing speeds to create favorable driving angles. He applies pressure on the rim and rifles passes all over the floor, with real flash and substance. He also has the size and athleticism to handle a variety of defensive assignments, with a special appetite for blowing up passing lanes. He will need to become more reliable from 3-point range, however. s.
18. Kylan Boswell, PG, Illinois
Height: 6'1
Weight: 226
Scouting report: Boswell is undersized and he’s a non-spacer on offense, which presents real logistical challenges at the next level. Even so, it’s easy to believe in his bully-ball strength and incredible feel. Boswell never turns it over and is comfortable on- or off-ball, always making the right decisions to keep the offense’s gears turning. He also competes hard on defense, able to get in a stance and wall off the point of attack, with the physicality to play above his listed height.
19. Jaden Bradley, PG, Arizona
Height: 6'3
Weight: 205
Scouting report: Bradley won Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior and was the beating heart of an elite Arizona team. He competes with feverish intensity on the defensive end, with long arms and the athleticism to consume ball-handlers at the point of attack. On the other end, he’s a quick downhill creator with solid distribution instincts. He will need to prove he can score enough at the next level, though, which starts with upping his 3-point volume.
20. Izaiyah Nelson, PF, South Florida
Height: 6'8
Weight: 219
Scouting report: Nelson bounced from Arkansas State to South Florida for his final college season, so strength of competition was never a selling point. That said, he’s a pogo-stick athlete with incredible fluidity in space, creating all sorts of havoc on the defense end. He’s mostly a run-jump kind of scorer on the other end, but can wipe the boards clean and do a lot of dirty work on the margins of a roster.
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