Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston among projected first-round NBA Draft picks
Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston both came to Kentucky as five-star freshmen. Now, before playing a single regular season game, they’re both projected as first-round 2023 NBA Draft picks.
The Athletic‘s Sam Vecenie and Sporting News’ Kyle Irving both dropped updated mock drafts over the last 24 hours. In them, Wallace is considered a future Top 10 pick by both publications with Livingston expected to land in the late-first round. Vecenie’s mock draft extends to the second round, where two more Kentucky players made the cut: Oscar Tshiebwe (No. 39) and Jacob Toppin (No. 55).
Wallace is projected to go 9th overall to the Washington Wizards by The Athletic and 10th overall by Sporting News. Livingston comes in at 28th to the Houston Rockets by The Athletic and 27th by Sporting News. Notably, Kentucky sophomore forward Daimion Collins did not make either mock draft.
Looking at other mocks, ESPN released its own earlier in the month. The overall results are somewhat similar, but there were some interesting differences. Draft expert Jonathan Givony slotted Wallace at No. 13, Livingston at No. 27, Tshiebwe at No. 39, and Collins at No. 42, although with no Toppin to be found.
Wallace has long been thought to be a future lottery pick due to his defensive tendencies and offensive ceiling while Livingston has likewise been considered a future first-rounder due to his NBA-ready size and budding perimeter skills. Tshiebwe has been placed in the same range for about a year now, consistently falling in the early-to-mid second round. Collins and Toppin are the wildcards as we sit a couple of weeks out from the season opener, but they should both have plenty of opportunities to improve their stock this year with the draft still several months away.
The Athletic’s 2023 NBA Draft lottery projections
- Victor Wembanyama (Metropolitans 92) San Antonio Spurs
- Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite) Indiana Pacers
- Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite) Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas) Utah Jazz
- Cam Whitemore (Villanova) Houston Rockets
- Keyonte George (Baylor) Charlotte Hornets
- Dariq Whitehead (Duke) Orlando Magic
- Brandon Miller (Alabama) Detroit Pistons
- Cason Wallace (Kentucky) Washington Wizards
- Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite) New Orleans Pelicans (via LAL)
- Dillon Mitchell (Texas) Sacramento Kings
- GG Jackson (South Carolina) Portland Trail Blazers
- Tyrese Proctor (Duke) New York Knicks
- Dereck Lively II (Duke) Orlando Magic
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