Day after the 2021 NBA Draft, you know what that means?
Means it's time to start focusing on the 2022 NBA Draft! Scouting never stops, and there's plenty of high school/FIBA tape to look through and advanced scout reports to read before college ball starts up later in the year.
Who are some of the big names to look at in next year's draft?
- Paolo Banchero
- Chet Holmgren
- AJ Griffin
- Yannick Nzosa
- Nikola Jovic
- Caleb Houstan
- Jean Montero
- Patrick Baldwin Jr
- Jaden Hardy
- Jaden Ivey
- Jabari Smith
- Ousmane Dieng
- Jalen Duren
- Peyton Watson
And then a bunch of guys who could have gone this year but withdrew: Roko Prkacin, Bennedict Mathurin, Ariel Hukporti, etc.
It's going to be an exciting draft cycle. Paolo Banchero is my pre-college Number 1 prediction, as he's got a super well developed 6'9 frame already and has shown some elite defensive indicators as well as pull-up shooting, intense athleticism, and great feel for the game on offense.
Chet Holmgren has obviously got a lot of pre-draft hype, and rightly so because he's a very good prospect - an elite rim protector with size who, despite his skinny frame, doesn't really shy from contact and who has flashed some signs of face up scoring that can be super valuable for a bigger guy. Will be interesting to see which way he leans during college; is he going all-Defense or will he focus on diversifying his offensive game? He's even got some decent handles in transition, though I wouldn't want him initiating in the half-court.
But despite Holmgren's incredible defense, he's not the best defensive big man prospect in this draft! That goes to Yannick Nzosa, imo. He's just a freak rim protector with lateral mobility skills despite his size (6'11 with a plus wingspan) and an insanely high level of defensive processing. He's shown some handles on offense and is a good passer, but the jump shot is more of a rumour than a fact right now so there's some limitation. He'll still be 18 in his first NBA game though so lots of room to improve there.
AJ Griffin is a kind of mystery character. On the one hand, he's a 6'7 lead ball handler with a super advanced handle who has posted insane STL/BLK numbers at the high school level (2.04stls and 2.2 blks per 70 in U17 play) who has shown all kinds of impressive shotmaking and self-creation ability. On the other hand, his passing is kind of whatever and the sample size we have to work with is very small: this is why he's a mystery - somehow, despite being such a highly touted draft prospect with so many enticing skills, there's very little tape of him compared to other major prospects over the last 2 years and there are rumours about knee problems. He had an ankle injury that kept him out much of last year also. Will need to see how that develops.
Looking forward to this draft cycle.