ESPN updates 2023 NBA Mock Draft following combine, workouts
During the week of May 15, basketball’s top prospects eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft gathered in Chicago to show off their skills at the NBA Combine. Players tested, interviewed, and worked out in front of the NBA’s top decision-makers, attempting to raise their stock ahead of the June 22 draft day. Prospects have also been participating in individual team workouts, and with the draft inching closer, ESPN has updated their 2023 NBA Mock Draft.
French phenom Victor Wembanyama is solidified as the surefire top pick of the 2023 class, as the 7-footer with a generational skillset has drawn comparisons to LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a prospect.
But the draft truly starts at the No. 2 pick, where ESPN believes the Charlotte Hornets will select Alabama forward Brandon Miller . Miller is the highest-ranked college prospect on ESPN’s mock, with many players in the G League or overseas. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, taking home the SEC Player and Freshman of the Year awards and making the Associated Press and John R. Wooden All-American teams.
Rounding out the top three is guard Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, a former five-star prospect from Marietta, Georgia who finished high school more than 1.5 years early to join the G League. Last season for the Ignite, Henderson averaged 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 21 games. Henderson’s athleticism has drawn comparisons to Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, and he notably led his team to a 122-115 win over Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 team with a 28-point performance.
Check out the lottery picks of ESPN’s latest updated 2023 NBA Mock Draft below, and to view their entire mock draft, click here.
ESPN’s 2023 NBA Mock Draft (Lottery Picks)
- San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama, Metropolitans 92
- Charlotte Hornets: Brandon Miller, Alabama
- Portland Trailblazers: Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
- Houston Rockets: Amen Thompson, Overtime Elite
- Detroit Pistons: Cam Whitmore, Villanova
- Orlando Magic: Ausar Thompson, Overtime Elite
- Indiana Pacers: Jarace Walker, Houston
- Washington Wizards: Anthony Black, Arkansas
- Utah Jazz: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana
- Dallas Mavericks: Taylor Hendricks, UCF
- Orlando Magic: Gradey Dick, Kansas
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Nick Smith, Arkanas
- Toronto Raptors: Jordan Hawkins, UConn
- New Orleans Pelicans: Dereck Lively II, Duke