2017 NBA Draft Primer
Every year, the lives of 60+ NBA Prospects are changed when they are selected during the NBA Draft. Last year, we were introduced to some of tomorrow's biggest and brightest stars including Ben Simmons, Malcolm Brogdon, and Brandon Ingram. Who will be the next Rajon Rondo, Paul George, or Draymond Green to enter the NBA from this class?
Last year, the draft really started at pick #3. Ben Simmons was the consensus #1 pick, and Brandon Ingram was not far behind and the obvious selection for #2. Boston made the first surprise pick with their third overall selection when they selected Jaylen Brown over players like Dragon Bender and Marquess Chriss. This years draft class is regarded as one of the best in recent memory. However, like last year, there is a lot of uncertainty after the first two picks.
Markelle Fultz is the sure-fire #1 overall pick in this years draft. He is a great scorer and all around solid offensive player. He enters the league with an NBA body and a likely chance to be selected by the #2 team in the Eastern Conference. Lonzo Ball is the odds on favorite to be picked second by his hometown Lakers. Both players should immediately fill the point guard role for their respective teams. Depending on who you ask, there are about 10-12 elite prospects in this class. See how they rank below!
Rank | Name | Position | Team/Nationality | Age | Height | Wingspan | Weight | NBA Skill Set Comp. | Best Case Scenario |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Markelle Fultz | Guard | Washington | 18.9 | 6'4" | 6'10" | 195 | Brandon Roy, Gilbert Arenas | James Harden |
2 | Jonathan Isaac | Forward/Big | Florida State | 19.6 | 6'11" | 7'1" | 205 | Marvin Williams | Draymond Green |
3 | Lonzo Ball | Point Guard | UCLA | 19.6 | 6'6" | 6'7" | 190 | Shaun Livingston | Rajon Rondo |
4 | De'Aaron Fox | Point Guard | Kentucky | 19.5 | 6'3" | 6'7" | 171 | Elfrid Payton, John Wall | Mike Conley |
5 | OG Anunoby | Forward | Indiana/Nigeria | 19.8 | 6'8" | 7'2" | 215 | Al-Farouq Aminu | Young Kawhi Leonard |
6 | Josh Jackson | Forward | Kansas | 20.3 | 6'8" | 6'10" | 200 | Andrew Wiggins | Andre Iguodala |
7 | Jayson Tatum | Forward | Duke | 19.2 | 6'8" | 6'11" | 204 | Rudy Gay, 32-year-old Carmelo Anthony | Paul Pierce |
8 | Dennis Smith | Point Guard | North Carolina State | 19.5 | 6'3" | 6'4" | 195 | Jeff Teague | Damian Lillard |
9 | Malik Monk | Guard | Kentucky | 19.3 | 6'4" | 6'4" | 190 | Zach LaVine, Jamal Murray | Lou Williams, Bradley Beal |
10 | Frank Ntilikina | Guard | Strasbourg/France | 18.8 | 6'5" | N/A | 175 | George Hill | Eric Bledsoe |
11 | Donovan Mitchell | Guard | Louisville | 20.7 | 6'3" | 6'10" | 210 | Norman Powell, Gary Harris | Avery Bradley |
12 | Zach Collins | Big | Gonzaga | 19.6 | 7'0" | 7'1" | 230 | Serge Ibaka, Jason Smith | Marc Gasol |
13 | Jarrett Allen | Big | Texas | 19.1 | 6'10" | 7'5" | 224 | Joffrey Lauvergne | Al Horford |
14 | Lauri Markkanen | Big | Arizona/Finland | 20.1 | 7'0" | N/A | 225 | Channing Frye | Poor Man's Dirk |
15 | Rodions Kurucs | Forward | FC Barcelona B/Latvia | 19.4 | 6'8" | N/A | 190 | Nicolas Batum | Danilo Gallinari |
16 | Terrance Ferguson | Forward | Adelaide | 19.1 | 6'7" | 6'9" | 186 | Trevor Ariza, Terrence Ross | |
17 | Jawun Evans | Point Guard | Oklahoma State | 20.7 | 6'0" | 6'6" | 177 | Ish Smith, D.J. Augustin | Chris Paul |
18 | Jonathan Jeanne | Big | Nancy/France | 19.9 | 7'2" | 7'7" | 210 | Willie Cauley-Stein | Marc Gasol |
19 | Justin Patton | Big | Creighton | 19.9 | 7'0" | 7'3" | 226 | Kelly Olynyk | Poor Man's Karl-Anthony Towns |
20 | Luke Kennard | Guard | Duke | 21.1 | 6'6" | 6'5" | 202 | Nik Stauskas | Wesley Matthews |
21 | Ike Anigbogu | Big | UCLA | 18.6 | 6'10" | 7'6" | 230 | Bismack Biyombo | Tristan Thompson |
22 | John Collins | Big | Wake Forest | 19.7 | 6'10" | 6'11" | 225 | Trevor Booker, Nene | Amar'e Stoudemire |
23 | Harry Giles | Big | Duke | 19.2 | 6'11" | 7'3" | 222 | J.J. Hickson | Jermaine O'Neal |
24 | Justin Jackson | Forward | Maryland/Canada | 20.3 | 6'7" | 7'3" | 230 | Robert Covington | Kelly Oubre Jr. |
25 | D.J. Wilson | Big/Forward | Michigan | 21.3 | 6'10" | 7'3" | 240 | Perry Jones III | Tayshaun Prince, Lamar Odom |
26 | Semi Ojeleye | Forward | SMU/Nigeria | 22.5 | 6'7" | 6'10" | 235 | Stanley Johnson | Jae Crowder |
27 | Derrick White | Guard | Colorado | 22.9 | 6'5" | 6'8" | 200 | Patty Mills | Malcolm Brogdon |
28 | Isaiah Hartenstein | Big | Zalgiris/Germany | 19.1 | 7'0" | 7'2" | 225 | Andrew Nicholson | Channing Frye |
29 | Hamidou Diallo | Guard/Forward | NY Rens | 18.8 | 6'5" | 6'11" | 190 | T.J. Warren | Andrew Wiggins |
30 | Johnathan Motley | Big | Baylor | 21.9 | 6'9" | 7'4" | 230 | Joffrey Lauvergne | Kelly Olynyk |
31 | Justin Jackson | Forward | North Carolina | 22.1 | 6'8" | 6'11" | 194 | Matt Barnes | Otto Porter |
32 | Anzejs Pasecniks | Big | Gran Canaria/Latvia | 21.4 | 7'2" | N/A | 230 | Willy Hernangomez | Jusuf Nurkic |
33 | Frank Mason | Point Guard | Kansas | 22.3 | 5'11" | 6'3" | 185 | Jameer Nelson | Eric Bledsoe, Kyle Lowry |
34 | Tyler Lydon | Forward/Big | Syracuse | 21.1 | 6'10" | 7'0" | 225 | Mirza Teletovic | Donyell Marshall |
35 | Ivan Rabb | Big | California | 20.3 | 6'10" | 7'2" | 215 | Trevor Booker, Ed Davis | Mason Plumlee |
36 | Bam Adebayo | Big | Kentucky | 19.8 | 6'10" | 7'3" | 250 | Bismack Biyombo | Bismack Biyombo |
37 | Tyler Dorsey | Forward/Guard | Oregon/Greece | 21.3 | 6'4" | 6'5" | 180 | ||
38 | T.J. Leaf | Big | UCLA | 20.1 | 6'10" | 6'11" | 220 | Trey Lyles | David Lee |
39 | Devin Robinson | Forward | Florida | 22.3 | 6'8" | 7'1" | 200 | Jerami Grant | |
40 | Caleb Swanigan | Big | Purdue | 20.1 | 6'9" | 7'3" | 247 | Jared Sullinger | 35-year-old Zach Randolph |
41 | Dwayne Bacon | Guard/Forward | Florida State | 21.7 | 6'6" | 6'10" | 202 | Devin Booker | 2013-14 Lance Stephenson |
42 | Cameron Oliver | Big/Forward | Nevada | 20.9 | 6'8" | 7'1" | 225 | Kenneth Faried | |
43 | Frank Jackson | Guard | Duke | 19.1 | 6'4" | 6'8" | 208 | Austin Rivers | |
44 | Sterling Brown | Forward | SMU | 22.4 | 6'5" | 6'10" | 230 | Arron Afflalo | Wesley Matthews |
45 | Josh Hart | Guard/Forward | Villanova | 22.3 | 6'5" | 6'8" | 204 | 40-year-old Vince Carter | |
46 | Jordan Bell | Big | Oregon | 22.5 | 6'9" | 7'0" | 227 | Udonis Haslem | Clint Capela |
47 | Mathias Lessort | Big | Nanterre/France | 21.6 | 6'9" | N/A | 250 | Montrezl Harrell | |
48 | Alec Peters | Big | Valparaiso | 22.1 | 6'9" | 6'11" | 225 | Kelly Olynyk | |
49 | Thomas Bryant | Big | Indiana | 19.8 | 6'10" | 7'5" | 240 | Kevin Seraphin | Jonas Valanciunas |
50 | Andrew Jones | Point Guard | Texas | 19.5 | 6'4" | 6'7" | 190 | ||
51 | Alberto Abalde | Forward | Joventut/Spain | 21.4 | 6'7" | N/A | 215 | ||
52 | Tony Bradley | Big | North Carolina | 19.4 | 6'10" | 7'5" | 248 | Jakob Poeltl | |
53 | Kostja Mushidi | Forward/Guard | Mega Leks/Germany | 18.9 | 6'5" | 7'0" | 210 | Malcolm Brogdon | |
54 | Arnoldas Kulboka | Forward | Bamberg/Lithuania | 19.3 | 6'9" | 6'11" | 201 | ||
55 | Wesley Iwundu | Forward/Guard | Kansas State | 22.4 | 6'7" | 7'1" | 205 | Kent Bazemore | |
56 | Monte Morris | Point Guard | Iowa State | 21.9 | 6'3" | 6'4" | 175 | ||
57 | Sindarius Thornwell | Forward/Guard | South Carolina | 22.6 | 6'5" | 6'10" | 210 | DeMarre Carroll | P.J. Tucker |
58 | Edmond Sumner | Guard | Xavier | 21.5 | 6'6" | 6'9" | 170 | Tony Wroten | |
59 | Kyle Kuzma | Forward/Big | Utah | 21.9 | 6'10" | 7'0" | 221 | Jeff Green | Marcus Morris |
60 | P.J. Dozier | Guard/Forward | South Carolina | 20.6 | 6'6" | 6'11" | 200 | ||
61 | Davon Reed | Forward | Miami | 22.1 | 6'6" | 7'0" | 208 | Iman Shumpert | |
62 | Vince Edwards | Forward | Purdue | 21.2 | 6'8" | N/A | 225 | James Ennis | |
63 | Jaron Blossomgame | Forward | Clemson | 23.8 | 6'7" | 6'10" | 214 | K.J. McDaniels | |
64 | L.J. Peak | Guard | Georgetown | 21.3 | 6'5" | 6'9" | 215 | ||
65 | Vlatko Cancar | Forward | Mega Leks/Slovenia | 20.1 | 6'8" | 6'11" | 210 | ||
66 | Kobi Simmons | Guard | Arizona | 19.9 | 6'4" | 6'6" | 170 | ||
67 | V.J. Beachem | Forward/Big | Notre Dame | 22.4 | 6'8" | 6'10" | 200 | Trevor Ariza | |
68 | Deonte Burton | Forward | Iowa State | 23.3 | 6'4" | 6'11" | 250 | Davis Bertans | Draymond Green |
69 | Jevon Carter | Guard | West Virginia | Patrick Beverley | Avery Bradley |