Adrian Wojnarowski: NBA teams finding no red flags with Alabama's Brandon Miller

On3 imageby:On3 Staff Report05/16/23

The 2023 NBA Draft lottery took place on Tuesday night, determining the order of picks in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.

One big question mark surrounds who will be the player selected after projected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. Alabama star Brandon Miller is thought to be one such option, though how NBA teams deal with some question marks surrounding him will be key.

The Alabama basketball team was rocked during the season by news that Darius Miles had been charged with capital murder in a shooting that left one woman dead. Miller was at the scene of the shooting, though he was not charged with anything in connection to the crime.

ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski chimed in on ESPN’s NBA Draft lottery coverage on that.

“Teams have already spent a lot of time and resources on that particular event and the background of Brandon Miller,” Wojnarowski said. “And what I’m getting back from those organizations is not only did they not find anything that they would consider disqualifying to select Brandon Miller, they are finding a young man who they say is mature, focused, whose character and his habits are actually an asset in their evaluation of him.”

As a true freshman, Miller was sensational for the Crimson Tide. He averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game while guiding Alabama to the Sweet 16.

Miller was named the NABC Freshman of the Year, the USBWA Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year, an AP first-team All-American, a John R. Wooden All-American, the SEC Player of the Year, the SEC Freshman of the Year, the SEC Tournament MVP and a first-team All-SEC selection.

He basically won or was a finalist for every award worth mentioning.

And if Wojnarowski’s report is any indication, he’ll likely hear his named called very near the top of the 2023 NBA Draft come June 22.

“Certainly once the draft board is up and we see who’s picking second, third and fourth, they’re going to dig in even more,” Wojnarowski said. “But right now Brandon Miller is very much in play to be the second overall pick in this draft.”

The highest an Alabama player has been taken in the NBA Draft is No. 2 overall, with forward Antonio McDyess selected there by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1995.

More recently, point guard Collin Sexton was selected No. 8 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, by the Cleveland Cavaliers.