One year after one of the most predictable No. 1 picks in the history of the NBA, this year’s draft has plenty of intrigue at the top – and throughout the first round, for that matter.
And one year after Victor Wembanyama was the clear-cut top pick by the San Antonio Spurs, another Frenchman could go first overall with two of Wemby’s fellow countrymen routinely slotted into the top spot by many prognosticators.
But while Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have both been projected to be drafted at No. 1, it’s uncertain who will hear their name called first by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday.
Or if it will even be one of those French prospects with a number of Americans expected to be selected early.
One thing is for certain, though, and that's the most well-known American in this draft class – Bronny James – will not be the top pick.
The Atlanta Hawks will be picking first after surprisingly winning the draft lottery on May 12, despite having just a three per cent chance of securing the top pick after going 36-46 this past season and finishing in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Picking first for the first time since 1975, their decision at No. 1 will set in motion how the rest of the evening will transpire.
That is, if they keep the pick.
Atlanta general manager Landry Fields said last week that he isn’t planning on trading the top pick, but he’s listening to offers.
Risacher has recently been linked to the Hawks after excelling for his team in France’s top league and also in the EuroCup. The 6-foot-8 wing appears to have a high ceiling as both a catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist and is an exceptional defender. An excellent dribbler and ball-handler for someone of his size, the 19-year-old plays as a point forward, as he reads the floor well and is able to deliver crisp passes.
Atlanta could also choose to follow in the footsteps as San Antonio from a year ago and go with the elite rim protector in Sarr. With a 7-foot-4 wingspan, the versatile19-year-old brings not only length, but also athleticism, and has displayed marked improvements with his mid-range and 3-point shooting. He has the size of a centre at 6-foot-11, but shows the agility and ball-handling of a wing and can pull up from deep just as easily as he can drive to the hoop.
If the Hawks pass on Sarr, he would seemingly be a good fit for the owners of the second pick, the Washington Wizards.
Washington allowed a league-worst 123 points per game last season, and Sarr would provide an immediate upgrade on defense.
While either Risacher or Sarr are the overwhelming favourite to go first by most pundits, an American from the college ranks could end up being the second pick.
Reed Sheppard from Kentucky, Donovan Clingan and teammate Stephon Castle from national champion Connecticut all potentially could go to the Wizards at No. 2.
The 20-year-old Sheppard is a deadly shooter from 3-point range, and should make an easy transition to the NBA as he possess a high basketball IQ. Not only did the Big East freshman of the year lead all Division I American college players in 3-point shooting at 52.1 per cent, but he also displayed his athleticism at the NBA draft combine with a 42-inch vertical jump – the best among all participants. He’s only 6-foot-1, but he’s hard-nosed and tough and plays with an edge defensively, as he averaged 2.48 steals in 2023-24.
Castle will never be confused with Sheppard for his 3-point shooting – as he shot a mere 26.7 per cent from outside the perimeter on 75 attempts – but he is terrific at creating a shot off the dribble inside the arc – as he shot 54.4 per cent on all 2-point attempts as a freshman with the Huskies last season. Explosive with the ball in his hands, he also brings size and tenacity to the defensive end, and has the capability to guard just about anyone.
Clingan, however, may be the best defensive prospect in this draft class. The linchpin of the defense for the back-to-back national champions, the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder averaged 13 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.46 blocks per game and is an ultimate rim protector with his nearly 7-foot-7 wingspan. He’s physical near the basket, but is also quite agile for someone of his size.
Two of the more recognizable American collegiate players – notable for vastly different reasons – are nowhere to be found near the top of the draft boards.
The back-to-back American collegiate AP national player of the year, Zach Edey, dominated against the young men in college but is viewed as being a tad slow to do the same against grown men in the NBA. With a nearly 8-foot wingspan, the 7-foot-3 Canadian will likely still be tough to defend near the basket and if he can develop a long-range shot, he could one day become a serviceable player in the pros.
Possibly the biggest name in the draft class – and easily the biggest question mark – is the son of the one and only LeBron James.
Rarely do 6-foot-1 guards who averaged 4.8 points in 25 games in their one collegiate season as a freshman garner this much attention, but never before has the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer been in this position. The younger James performed well at the NBA’s draft combine – his 40 ½-inch vertical jump was the third best among all guards – and obviously has strong basketball bloodlines, but his game is a work-in-progress.
The elder James had previously said it would be a dream to play with his son, so do the Los Angeles Lakers pull the trigger at 17 to select the 19-year-old?
Well before the younger James joins his dad in the NBA, prospects Matas Buzelis, Dalton Knecht, Cody Williams and Devin Carter are all expected to be drafted.
Buzelis is a Lithuanian-American who opted to play for the G League Ignite in 2023-24 instead of continuing his career at the college level. Once considered the early favourite to go first overall in this draft, the 19-year-old is an excellent two-way player with good length and a strong motor. So why is he no longer the projected No. 1? He somehow forgot how to shoot from long range. After connecting on better than 40 per cent of his 3-pointers as a senior in high school, he made just 27.3 per cent of his 3-point attempts in his one season in the G League. The hope is he’ll be able to regain his shooting touch.
Knecht didn’t have the same issue as Buzelis last season. Knecht lit it up from deep in 2023-24, shooting 39.7 per cent from 3-point range as a transfer at Tennessee. With good size and the ability to create shots from just about anywhere on the court, the 6-foot-5 wing may have the highest upside as anyone in this draft class. His one drawback? His defense leaves something to be desired. If teams are willing to overlook his defensive shortcomings, he should excel in the NBA as an offensive playmaker.
Williams, meanwhile, brings it on the defensive end and can also shoot. Though he’s most dangerous with the ball in his hand by driving to the rim, he also proved last season as a freshman at Colorado that he can’t be given too much space on the outside, as he connected on 41.5 per cent of his 41 3-point attempts. The brother of 2022 lottery pick Jalen Williams by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 6-foot-6 Williams is also an excellent ball-handler and adept passer.
Carter is another projected lottery pick after earning Big East Player of the Year honours in 2023-24 at Providence. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists and is able to score in a variety of ways. His defence may be his best attribute, however, as he is able to defend just about anyone on an opposing team.
It’s been suggested that this particular draft is one of the least compelling in several years, with no “can’t-miss superstar” and lacks overall talent depth.
Yet those factors also make this draft a bit more interesting, with so many unknowns and a plethora of potential selection scenarios
Despite all the uncertainties, however, one thing can't be argued, and that is it’s anyone’s guess how this draft will unfold.
Lakers select Bronny James with second-round draft pick
The time has come for guard Bronny James, son of four-time NBA champion LeBron James, to begin his professional career.
The 19-year-old prospect won't have to look far for mentorship.
James was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, ushering in the next chapter of the years-long saga between the USC prospect and his future Hall of Fame father.
James has become a somewhat controversial prospect because his family ties appear to have as much influence over his NBA future as his on-court production.
The elder James said in January 2023 that it was a goal of his to play in the NBA with his son.
“I need to be on the floor with my boy,” he told ESPN. “I got to be on the floor with Bronny.”
In more recent interviews, James loosened his stance and opted for a more supportive and open-minded approach.
“Whatever his journey, however his journey lays out, he’s going to do what’s best for him,” LeBron said last May. “We’re going to support him in whatever he decides to do. So just because that’s my aspiration or my goal doesn’t mean it’s his. And I’m absolutely OK with that.”
Bronny’s NBA prospects became hazy on July 24, 2023, when he went into cardiac arrest during an offseason workout with the Trojans.
James was treated for a congenital heart defect in Los Angeles and New Jersey before being cleared to make his collegiate debut last December.
James, who was listed as 6-foot-4 at USC but measured 6-foot-1 ½ in socks at the NBA’s scouting combine, had an inconsistent freshman season with the 15-18 Trojans.
James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 games while shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
Despite lacklustre shooting numbers in college, James displayed a confident shooting stroke during combine workouts, and his 40.5-inch vertical leap illustrated some impressive explosiveness.
As a small guard with an inconsistent shooting touch, James’ contributions early in his career will mainly be on the defensive end of the floor. Throughout his season at USC, James showed the athleticism, toughness and intelligence to project as a good defender at the next level.
James has good length for his size, with a wingspan over 6-foot-7, and he carries plenty of muscle on his 210-pound frame – two features that should help him on the defensive end immediately.
“Size is really the only issue for him on defence,” an NBA general manager told The Ringer in April. “If he was actually 6-foot-4 or even a bit bigger, he’d have really excellent potential.”
The NBA community appears understandably torn on James’ future.
On one hand, small guards who struggle to shoot rarely get chances at the next level, and it’s even rarer that they make an impact. Without James’ strong family ties, he likely would have been advised to return to college to show improvement as a sophomore.
James is not without upside, however, and he has shown rare explosiveness and defensive prowess that give some scouts hope he can be a long-time NBA contributor.
Celtics' Porzingis has surgery, out 5-6 months
The Boston Celtics will begin defence of their NBA championship without the services of standout center Kristaps Porziņģis.
Porzingis underwent surgery for a left ankle injury that sidelined him for much of the Celtics' run through the NBA Finals, the team announced Thursday. The one-time All-Star is expected to need five-to-six months of recovery time, which could delay his season debut into December.
The Celtics said in a statement that Porzingis' procedure was to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left ankle, an injury he sustained in Boston's win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the Finals on June 9.
Porzingis sat out Games 3 and 4 before returning for a limited role in the Celtics' title-clinching 106-88 victory in Game 5.
The eight-year veteran previously missed 10 play-off games with a strained right calf before returning for Game 1 of the Finals.
Porzingis will also miss next month's qualifying tournament for the Summer Olympics in Paris, where he was to compete for his native Latvia.
Acquired from the Washington Wizards last June as part of a three-team trade that sent former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart from Boston to the Memphis Grizzlies, Porzingis played a major role on a Celtics team that compiled the league's best regular-season record at 64-18 before going on to capture the franchise's first championship since 2008.
The 7-foot-2 Porzingis ranked third among Boston players in scoring at 20.1 points per game, shot 37.5 per cent from 3-point range and also averaged 7.2 rebounds in 57 games.
Porzingis, an All-Star with the New York Knicks in 2017-18, was limited to just seven games this post-season and averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds.
The 28-year-old is under contract for one more season after signing a two-year, $60 million extension shortly after last summer's trade.
Porzingis' injury will likely push veteran Al Horford into a starting role to begin next season. The 38-year-old Horford averaged 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists while starting Boston's final 15 post-season games and recently said he intends to return for an 18th NBA season.
French players go early, often at NBA draft
For the second year in a row, a player from France was selected first overall in the NBA draft.
As a testament to the NBA being a global game, a player from France was also taken with the second and the sixth pick in the 2024 draft.
The Atlanta Hawks started off Wednesday's draft from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn by selecting Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick, and the Washington Wizards followed their lead by taking fellow Frenchman Alexandre Sarr with the No. 2 pick.
The run on French players continued with the Charlotte Hornets selecting forward Tidjane Salaun with the sixth pick, making this the first time in modern history that a country other than the United States had three players selected in the top 10.
Risacher is a catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist and an exceptional defender on the wing, while the big man Sarr possesses the ball-handling ability of a wing and is an elite rim protector.
Salaun was the youngest player taken in the draft at 18 years old, and is considered an excellent athlete with a high motor.
There was one more player from France taken before the first round ended, with the New York Knicks taking Pacome Dadiet at No. 25.
With another Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama, being selected first overall last year by the San Antonio Spurs, this also marked the first time in NBA history consecutive No. 1 picks didn’t play collegiately in the United States.
It wasn't all players from France selected, however.
After the top two picks, the Houston Rockets took sharp-shooter Reed Sheppard from Kentucky, and the San Antonio Spurs used their first of two top-10 picks to select guard Stephon Castle from two-time defending American collegiate national champion Connecticut at No. 4.
Three picks later, Castle's team-mate at UConn, centre Donovan Clingan, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Spurs then used their second top-10 pick to take Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham at No. 8, but later traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Forward Ron Holland II, an American who skipped college to play in the G League, went three picks earlier to the Detroit Pistons at No. 5.
Perhaps the biggest - no pun intended - surprise of the first round was the Memphis Grizzlies taking Zach Edey with the ninth pick.
The 7-foot-3 Canadian is the back-to-back American collegiate AP national player of the year, yet was slotted to get picked much later by many experts.
The Utah Jazz rounded out the top 10 by selecting Colorado forward Cody Williams - a strong defender and adept ball-handler.
One name absent from the first round was Bronny James - son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James.
The elder James had previously said it would be a dream to play with his son, but his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, ended up taking Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick.
Knecht, a prolific scorer and an AP All-American this past season at Tennessee, was projected by many prognosticators to be a top-10 pick, but slid down the draft board.
The younger James hadn't been predicted to be selected in the first round, but could be taken at some point on Day 2 of the draft on Thursday.
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