With the 2023-2024 NBA season coming to an end, it is also time to welcome new players. The NBA draft will be on June 26 & 27, 2024, which means everyone has already come out with their predictions. There have been a lot of ideas for what the future holds with these new prospects. Please remember that these are entirely my opinions, so feel free to have your own! I’d like to talk about some of the news and prospects regarding the draft. While many big names have entered this year, they have overshadowed other equally talented players.
To begin, Caleb Love recently undeclared for the draft. Now this has raised some questions as to why. Love was played a big role at UNC previously, and continued to make an impact in Arizona after transferring. He seemed ready for the league with a solid stat line, earning him the title of PAC-12 Player of the Year. However, he was not considered a high-draft pick, so it was probably a smart decision to withdraw and take another year of college. While it was an interesting choice, I believe he will greatly improve and leave a lasting impact in Arizona. He is definitely a player that can takeover the game, so if he continues to clean up his skills, he will surely be a high draft pick for 2025.
You might have already heard about all the gossip surrounding Bronny James, but if you haven’t, let me explain briefly: Bronny James is the son of Lebron James, who has eagerly been wanting to play with his son in the NBA. However, Bronny finished with an underwhelming season for his first year at USC; nevertheless, he has declared for the draft to have a chance to play with his father. Since Lebron’s contract with the Lakers is complete, he is now a free agent and can sign with whichever team selects his son. Now you are all caught up! In my opinion, I believe Bronny could be a worthy draft pick. Although he is not an outstanding player in the collegiate level, it’s possible he is better suited for the NBA play style. Although he doesn’t necessarily make a big impact on his team, I believe he could be a great role player in the NBA. He has a fairly simple dribble package that helps create opportunities for his fellow teammates. Additionally, he can play solid defense on some players to relieve his teammates from the pressures on defense. Bronny James can definitely be a defensive threat in the NBA. Additionally, drafting Bronny is essentially having Lebron on your team as well. This could create a super team; for example, if the Spurs select Bronny, they will have Lebron and Wembenyama in one team. Suhani Desai (11) shared, “It will be interesting to see which teams are willing to take Bronny in order also to get Lebron on their team.”
Another player I want to talk about is Xaivien Lee. You have likely not heard of him or seen him play. That is because he plays for Princeton, which is in the Ivy League. However, he has declared for the draft. He is a 6’3” guard with a solid game; Lee has some crafty dribble packages with tough finishes around the basket. He is a smart player on the court, which makes him a worthy draft pick. Although I don’t believe he should be an early pick because he still has a lot to develop, he can definitely be a solid second-round pick. If he strengthens up some more, he can get some good minutes in the NBA.
If you’re on Tiktok, you’ve definitely heard of Jared McCain before; he was a local SoCal basketball player who committed to Duke to play for his freshman year in the 2023-2024 season. Despite receiving backlash for being a “Tiktok player,” he played a big role on Duke and helped carry them throughout March Madness. I believe he is NBA-ready and can adjust and play for whichever team selects him.
Lastly, I want to discuss who I think will be drafted first: Alexandre Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher. These French players have so much talent that it could really go both ways. However, I believe Sarr will be the first pick of the Atlanta Hawks, with Risacher following second. Sarr is what Atlanta needs as he has a similar play style to Wembenyama which could really improve the team. Playing alongside Trae Young, they could create a dynamic offense while getting big stops on defense.
These are just a few of the NBA draftees that I included and are all entirely opinion-based. It will be so exciting to see what happens at the draft and what next season will be like!
