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The NBA Draft cycle really has become a year-round phenomenon over the last decade, with the best prospects going overseas to play in worldwide tournaments and college teams working out earlier than ever with overseas trips.

So with the start of the college basketball season now 59 days away, it's time for the 2016 NBA Draft season to tip off. Within this post, you will find the top 150 players that I'm looking forward to seeing this coming season. 

At the top, you will find Skal Labissiere and Ben Simmons, the Nos. 1 and 2 players entering the college basketball season. These two players really are interchangeable at the top. Simmons is the more decorated of the two, known as the top player in his age group for the past few seasons due to his incredible skills and guard-like fluidity. He's a terrific point forward for the college game, and it's not tough to see a world where he goes on to be the No. 1 overall pick next June and then rocket himself into stardom as an NBA rookie. His ability to handle the ball and create plays for others is that strong, and really the only major question mark remaining about his game is the jumper. 

On the other side of that is Labissiere, the 7-foot Haitian big man who will be headed to Kentucky this fall. He's much more of a question at this point simply due to the fact that he hasn't played a ton of organized basketball over the course of the last two years. However, this past April at the Nike Hoop Summit, Labissiere reminded NBA scouts why he was so highly rated to start. He dazzled all week in Portland, running perfect pick-and-rolls/pops with international point guards, showcasing incredible athletic fluidity for a 7-footer, and knocking down jumpers with tremendous lift and a high, nearly unblockable release point. I think it's fair to say that he has more upside than anyone in this class, and that's why he's currently the No. 1 player on my board despite Simmons being more of a sure thing. The game just comes naturally to him, and it'll be fun to watch him get more experience under his belt this year. 

Ben Simmons figures to dominate college basketball this season. (USATSI)
Ben Simmons figures to dominate college basketball this season. (USATSI)

Beyond those two, it's worth noting that things are really wide open for the taking. Guys like Jaylen Brown and Dragan Bender, Nos. 3 and 4 on this board, could easily rise up to that level with strong seasons and become the No. 1 overall guy. Same with players like Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray and Brandon Ingram. Unlike the last two years, where it seemed like in the preseason there was a pretty set battle at the top (Jahlil Okafor vs. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins vs. Jabari Parker), I wouldn't necessarily count the guys below that top tier of two out. 

It also speaks generally to the strength of this class. From speaking to people around the league and from having personally scouted this class pretty extensively, this class does seem to lack the star power of the last two drafts, and it certainly lacks the excitement of the 2017 draft class, one that already has scouts drooling. Many of last season's collegiate stars have moved on to the NBA, and the 2015 high school class isn't one that inspires the masses. For this draft to move up onto that tier of strength, some players are really going to need to develop beyond what they've shown already.

A quick breakdown of who is included on this board:

  • 13 freshmen, including 10 in the lottery (I only rank freshmen that would be included within the top 50 prospects. The player that affects most is Jalen Brunson, who would have been the No. 52 prospect).
  • 27 sophomores
  • 27 juniors
  • 45 seniors
  • 38 international players, including four in the top-30

Also, a quick breakdown of tiers. Any preseason draft board like this is going to look different than the final product before the draft. Especially a board of 150 players, where you're really checking the margins for players who could become household names by the end of the year and for players that could eventually have lucrative European careers. Because of that, a tier system is often useful for grouping players that are relatively close in skill.

  • Tier 1: 1-4
  • Tier 2: 5-7
  • Tier 3: 8-14
  • Tier 4: 15-28
  • Tier 5: 29-56
  • Tier 6: 57-84
  • Tier 7: 85-125
  • Tier 8: 126-150

Without further ado, here are my top-150 guys to watch for the upcoming draft season:

2016 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings
Rank Player School/Team Year POS HGT WGT DOB
1 Skal Labissiere Kentucky Freshman PF 7'0 216 3/18/96
2 Ben Simmons LSU Freshman F 6'9 229 7/20/96
3 Jaylen Brown California Freshman F 6'7 222 10/26/96
4 Dragan Bender Maccabi Tel Aviv Int'l 1997 PF 7'1 216 11/17/97
5 Kris Dunn Providence Junior PG 6'4 205 3/18/94
6 Brandon Ingram Duke Freshman SF 6'9 196 9/2/97
7 Jamal Murray Kentucky Freshman SG 6'5 204 2/23/97
8 Henry Ellenson Marquette Freshman PF/C 6'10 230 1/13/97
9 Jakob Poeltl Utah Sophomore C 7'1 242 10/15/95
10 Cheick Diallo Kansas Freshman C 6'9 220 9/13/96
11 Malik Newman Mississippi State Freshman G 6'4 180 2/21/97
12 Stephen Zimmerman UNLV Freshman C 7'0 235 9/19/96
13 Diamond Stone Maryland Freshman C 7'0 250 2/10/97
14 Furkan Korkmaz Anadolu Efes Int'l 1997 SG 6'7 175 7/24/97
15 Domantas Sabonis Gonzaga Sophomore PF 6'10 238 3/5/96
16 Caris LeVert Michigan Senior SG 6'7 200 8/25/94
17 Demetrius Jackson Notre Dame Junior PG 6'1 198 9/7/94
18 Damian Jones Vanderbilt Junior C 7'0 245 6/30/95
19 Taurean Prince Baylor Senior SF 6'8 215 8/22/94
20 Troy Williams Indiana Junior SF 6'6 193 12/31/94
21 Melo Trimble Maryland Sophomore PG 6'3 190 2/2/95
22 Isaiah Briscoe Kentucky Freshman PG 6'3 216 4/13/96
23 Vassilis Charalampopolous Panathinaikos Int'l 1997 F 6'9 230 1/6/97
24 Nigel Hayes Wisconsin Junior F 6'7.5 235 12/16/94
25 Ivan Rabb California Freshman PF 6'10 215 2/4/97
26 Buddy Hield Oklahoma Senior G 6'5 215 12/17/93
27 Malik Pope San Diego State Sophomore F 6'9 212 7/25/96
28 Sasha Vezenkov Barcelona Int'l 1995 PF 6'9 225 8/6/95
29 Justin Jackson North Carolina Sophomore SF 6'8 200 3/28/95
30 Marcus Lee Kentucky Junior PF 6'9 220 9/14/94
31 Amida Brimah Connecticut Junior C 7'0 230 2/11/94
32 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Kansas Sophomore SG/SF 6'6 191 6/10/97
33 Daniel Hamilton Connecticut Sophomore SG/SF 6'8 200 8/8/95
34 Dwayne Bacon State" data-canon="Florida Gators" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0"> Freshman SG/SF 6'6 202 8/30/95
35 Malcolm Hill Illinois Junior SF 6'6 230 10/26/95
36 Brice Johnson North Carolina Senior PF 6'10 185 6/27/94
37 AJ Hammons Purdue Senior C 7'0 275 8/27/92
38 Yogi Ferrell Indiana Senior PG 6'0 178 5/9/93
39 Egemen Guven Karsiyaka Int'l 1996 PF 6'10 210 9/25/96
40 Vince Edwards Purdue Sophomore SG/SF 6'8 225 4/5/96
41 Petr Cornelie Le Mans Int'l 1995 PF 6'11 220 7/26/95
42 Dillon Brooks Oregon Sophomore SF 6'6 224 1/22/96
43 Alpha Kaba Mega Leks Int'l 1996 PF 6'10 226 1/29/96
44 DeAndre Bembry St. Joseph's Junior SF 6'6 210 7/4/94
45 Jake Layman Maryland Senior SF 6'9 210 3/7/94
46 Ron Baker Wichita State Senior G 6'4 222 3/30/93
47 Timothe Luwawu Mega Leks Int'l 1995 SG/SF 6'7 205 5/9/95
48 Diego Flaccadori Trento Int'l 1996 SG 6'5 175 4/5/96
49 James Blackmon Jr Indiana Sophomore SG 6'3 185 4/25/95
50 Grayson Allen Duke Sophomore SG 6'4.5 185 10/8/95
51 Tim Quarterman LSU Junior G 6'6 187 10/27/94
52 Monte Morris Iowa State Junior PG 6'2 170 6/27/95
53 Chinanu Onuaku Louisville Sophomore C 6'10 246 11/1/96
54 Tyler Ulis Kentucky Sophomore PG 5'9 155 1/5/96
55 Marko Arapovic KK Cibona Int'l 1996 F/C 6'9 220 7/20/96
56 Tyrone Wallace California Senior G 6'6 198 6/10/94
57 Danuel House Texas A&M Senior SG 6'7 200 6/7/93
58 Dorian Finney-Smith Florida Senior SF 6'7 220 5/4/93
59 Malcolm Brogdon Virginia Senior SG 6'5 225 12/11/92
60 Xavier Rathan Mayes Florida State Sophomore SG 6'4 200 4/29/94
61 Kyle Wiltjer Gonzaga Senior PF 6'10 236 10/20/92
62 Perry Ellis Kansas Senior PF 6'8 222 9/14/93
63 Devin Robinson Florida Sophomore SF 6'8 190 3/7/95
64 EC Matthews Rhode Island Junior SG 6'4 190 10/3/95
65 Theo Pinson North Carolina Sophomore SG/SF 6'6 188 11/5/95
66 Shawn Long Louisiana-Lafayette Senior F/C 6'10 248 1/29/93
67 Zach Auguste Notre Dame Senior PF/C 6'10 240 7/8/93
68 Axel Bouteille Chalon Int'l 1995 F 6'6 195 4/14/95
69 James Webb III Boise State Junior F 6'9 200 8/19/93
70 Denzel Valentine Michigan State Senior SG/SF 6'5 223 11/16/93
71 Fred VanVleet Wichita State Senior PG 6'0 200 2/25/94
72 Kaleb Tarczewski Arizona Senior C 7'0 243 2/26/93
73 Kennedy Meeks North Carolina Junior C 6'9 280 2/5/95
74 Gary Payton II Oregon State Senior PG 6'3 175 12/1/92
75 Isaiah Taylor Texas Junior PG 6'3 168 7/11/94
76 Lauri Markkanen HBA Marsky Int'l 1997 PF 6'11 225 5/22/97
77 Rico Gathers Baylor Senior PF/C 6'8 275 1/7/94
78 Georges Niang Iowa State Senior F 6'8 231 6/17/93
79 Moussa Diagne Fuelenbrada Int'l 1994 C 6'10 220 3/6/94
80 Alex Poythress Kentucky Senior F 6'8 238 9/6/93
81 Ivica Zubac Cibona Int'l 1997 C 7'0 240 3/18/97
82 Paul Zipser Bayern Munich Int'l 1994 PF 6'8 200 2/18/94
83 Wang Zhelin Fujian Int'l 1994 PF 7'0 251 1/20/94
84 George De Paula Pinheiros Int'l 1996 PG 6'6 200 5/24/96
85 Mamadou Ndiaye UC Irvine Junior C 7'6   9/14/93
86 Marcus Paige North Carolina Senior G 6'2 175 9/11/93
87 Guerschon Yabusele Roanne Int'l 1995 PF 6'8 240 12/17/95
88 Nedim Buza Telenet Oostende Int'l 1995 SF 6'8 200 5/10/95
89 Isaac Copeland Georgetown Sophomore F 6'9 187 6/13/95
90 Daniel Ochefu Villanova Senior C 6'11 245 12/15/93
91 Lucas Dias Pinheiros Int'l 1995 SF 6'10 214 7/6/95
92 Georgios Papagiannis Panathinaikos Int'l 1997 C 7'1 240 7/3/97
93 Isaiah Whitehead Seton Hall Sophomore SG 6'4 195 3/8/95
94 Isaia Cordinier Denain Int'l 1996 SG 6'5 190 11/28/96
95 Juan Hernangomez Estudiantes Int'l 1995 F 6'9 220 9/28/95
96 Zak Irvin Michigan Junior SG/SF 6'6 215 9/5/94
97 Ante Zizic Cibona Int'l 1997 C 6'10 210 1/4/97
98 Trevon Blueitt Xavier Sophomore SG/SF 6'6 215 11/5/95
99 Wayne Selden Kansas Junior SG 6'5 225 9/30/94
100 Marc Garcia Barcelona Int'l 1996 SG 6'6 180 3/7/96
101 Rade Zagorac Mega Leks Int'l 1995 F 6'8 205 8/12/95
102 Kostas Mitoglou Wake Forest Freshman F 6'10 225 6/11/96
103 Ilimane Diop Vitoria Int'l 1995 C 6'11 225 4/4/95
104 Kyle Collinsworth BYU Senior G 6'6 210 10/3/91
105 Jabari Bird California Junior SG/SF 6'6 199 7/3/94
106 Jonathan Motley Baylor Sophomore PF/C 6'9 230 5/4/95
107 Cat Barber NC State Junior PG 6'2 170 7/25/94
108 Anzejs Pasecniks Gran Canaria Int'l 1995 C 7'1 225 12/20/95
109 Josh Hart Villanova Junior SG 6'5 202 3/6/95
110 Hassan Martin Rhode Island Junior F 6'7 230 11/12/95
111 Kenan Sipahi Fenerbahce Int'l 1995 PG 6'4 180 5/26/95
112 Thomas Welsh UCLA Sophomore C 7'1 241 2/3/96
113 Jonah Bolden UCLA Freshman F 6'10 215 1/2/96
114 Michael Gbinije Syracuse Senior SG/SF 6'7 200 6/5/92
115 Jameel McKay Iowa State Senior F/C 6'9 220 9/14/92
116 Frank Mason Kansas Junior PG 5'11 185 4/3/94
117 Edin Atic KK Spars Int'l 1997 SG 6'6 187 1/19/97
118 Przemek Karnowski Gonzaga Senior C 7'1 294 11/8/93
119 Okben Ulubay Anadolu Efes Int'l 1996 SF 6'7 190 5/25/96
120 Joel Bolomboy Weber State Senior PF/C 6'9 230 1/28/94
121 Emircan Kosut Anadolu Efes Int'l 1995 C 7'1 220 7/3/95
122 Cameron Ridley Texas Senior C 6'10 265 10/27/93
123 Luke Kornet Vanderbilt Junior C 7'0 240 7/15/95
124 Winston Shepard San Diego State Senior SF 6'8 210 9/22/93
125 Sheldon McClellan Miami Senior SG/SF 6'5 205 12/21/92
126 Aleksa Ilic Sutjeska Int'l 1996 PF 6'8 180 9/17/96
127 Abdul Malik Abu NC State Sophomore F 6'8 230 9/16/95
128 Isaac Haas Purdue Sophomore C 7'2 297 10/2/95
129 Alex Caruso Texas A&M Senior PG/SG 6'5 185 2/28/94
130 Josh Scott Colorado Senior F/C 6'10 245 7/13/93
131 Jarrod Uthoff Iowa Senior PF 6'10 216 5/19/93
132 Jalen Jones Texas A&M Senior F 6'7 222 5/27/93
133 D'Vauntes Smith Rivera Georgetown Senior PG 6'3 225 12/20/92
134 Adin Vrabac Trier Int'l 1994 SF 6'8 198 1/27/94
135 Kellen Dunham Butler Senior SG 6'6 185 6/18/93
136 Wade Baldwin Vanderbilt Sophomore PG 6'3 194 3/26/96
137 Damion Lee Louisville Senior SG 6'6 200 10/21/92
138 Simone Fontecchio Bologna Int'l 1995 SG 6'6 200 12/9/95
139 Devin Thomas Wake Forest Senior F 6'8 245 5/17/94
140 Dusan Ristic Arizona Sophomore C 7'0 245 11/27/95
141 Reid Travis Stanford Sophomore PF 6'8 241 11/25/95
142 Mihajlo Andric Partizan Int'l 1994 SF 6'7 200 1/4/94
143 Maodo Lo Columbia Senior G 6'3 190 12/31/92
144 Brannen Greene Kansas Junior SG/SF 6'7 215 12/21/94
145 Luke Fischer Marquette Junior C 6'11 245 10/29/94
146 Berk Ugurlu Fenerbahce Int'l 1996 PG 6'3 190 4/27/96
147 Marius Grigonis Manresa Int'l 1994 SF 6'7 202 4/26/94
148 Shaq Goodwin Memphis Senior F 6'8 235 9/1/94
149 Robert Carter Maryland Junior PF 6'8 247 4/4/94
150 Marvelle Harris Fresno State Senior SG 6'4 210 12/16/93