NBA Mock Draft: Banchero, Smith and Holmgren In the Mix For No. 1-
The top-three conversation is heating up with college basketball in full swing. Here’s our first look at how the 2022 draft could play out.
The following written content by JEREMY WOO
With top college teams in the thick of non-conference play and NBA executives canvassing the country to check up on prospects, it’s time for the first official mock draft of the season.
If you haven’t been paying much attention yet, the early headliners in this year’s draft are Duke’s Paolo Banchero (SI’s projected top pick) and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, with Auburn’s Jabari Smith already playing his way into the top-three conversation. It’ll be a while before we have a great feel for the actual depth of the class, but there’s genuine excitement around the league surrounding all three players right now, particularly Banchero and Smith, who have had impressive moments early in the season.
This year’s draft process in particular is going to require some collective evaluatory patience, particularly with college freshmen, given the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted game schedules and player development over the past 18 months or so. Per usual, this exercise aims to project what might happen if the draft took place on a given day, and serves as a gauge of how the NBA broadly views prospects in the present moment.
The mock draft is based heavily on intel and conversations with executives, scouts, and others around the NBA, as well as my own evaluations of each prospect, which in many cases dates back several years between in-person viewings and film review. At this stage, team need is only a small factor in how I project the draft, but that aspect comes into stronger consideration as the season goes on and the picture begins to crystallize.
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The draft sequence was created using the NBA standings entering Monday’s games. Note that there are only 59 selections in this draft due to Milwaukee forfeiting its second-round pick this year.
1. Rockets: Paolo Banchero, PF, Duke
Height: 6′ 10″ | Weight: 250 | Age: 19 | Freshman
Banchero entered the season atop my early Big Board and has emerged as the early favorite to hear his name called first on draft night. At present, it doesn’t seem like his recent arrest for involvement in a DWI will directly affect that, noting that he was not the driver. It’s way too early to call this a foregone conclusion, but Banchero has made a strong case for himself on the court in the early going, showcasing his full range of talents in a marquee win over Kentucky in the Champions Classic that was attended by essentially every key decision-making figure in the league. He’s productive and exceptionally skilled for a player his size, with the capacity to handle, shoot and make plays for teammates while creating mismatches for opposing frontcourts. Read more from Sports Illustrated.
