Top 30 2017 NBA Draft Prospects: Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball battle for No. 1
Washington's Fultz ahead of UCLA's Ball on our list of top NBA Draft prospects
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3 min read
Here we are on February eve, and the business of determining just which players will land in which NBA cities is steadily heating up. Teams will be answering many questions in the coming weeks, some knowable, others merely guesswork.
I would venture to say that the emergence of Joel Embiid within the Sixers' rebuild, a team that eschewed positional need at all costs and has been rewarded with a generational talent, might alter the balance every team weighs between "best available" and "best at position of need." Think of this as the "Sam Bowie/Michael Jordan" corollary for this generation.
Accordingly, here are the current projected top 30 NBA prospects expected to enter this year's draft, regardless of team:
- Markelle Fultz, Washington: Finding a player this complete in the draft is usually impossible. Finding one who is still 18 is miraculous.
- Lonzo Ball, UCLA: It's not just that he is a plus-passer. He's the best passer since Jason Kidd.
- Jonathan Isaac, Florida State: He is long, he blocks shots, he shoots 3-pointers, he's an elite defensive rebounder. He has turned his tools into skills already.
- Lauri Markkanen, Arizona: Not only is he setting records for 3-pointers by a 7-footer, he's doing it at a more accurate clip than Steve Novak.
- Dennis Smith, North Carolina State: Not just athletic, Smith is 22nd in the country in assist percentage, with lower turnover percentage than all but two ahead of him.
- Malik Monk, Kentucky: The big worry entering the season was his shot. He's just shy of a 50-40-80 season. No more worries.
- Robert Williams, Texas A&M: He uses his 7-foot-4 wingspan to block shots, is efficient around the rim and can make the entry pass with ease.
- De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky: The play-making is there, the 3-point shot isn't, but he'll be among the best point guard defenders right away. And that matters a ton in this league.
- Frank Ntilikina, France: As exciting and exotic as ever, probably higher in a year without so many sure thing point guards.
- Justin Patton, Creighton: Big men who shoot 70 percent from the field with range out to the 3-point line, Gumby arms and the ability to jump into passing lanes are rare.
- Jayson Tatum, Duke: Stronger and more confident by the game, and free-throw proficiency suggests 3-pointers are next.
- Josh Jackson, Kansas: In a league with scoring wings, somebody has to guard them. The offense is coming, too.
- Johnathan Motley, Baylor: He has dramatically broadened his offensive game as the focal point for Baylor, with rebounding and passing along for the ride.
- Josh Hart, Villanova: It's easy to lose sight of how impressive he is at everything, merely because we've been watching him do it for four years.
- Frank Mason, Kansas: Runs the Kansas offense while shooting better than 50 percent from 2-point range and beyond the arc.
- Isaiah Hartenstein, Germany: Has NBA-five size and plus range on his shot already.
- Ethan Happ, Wisconsin: Already does everything you want out of a wing, offensively and defensively, except shoot 3-pointers.
- Caleb Swanigan, Purdue: Too many skills, notably rebounding, to slip any further down this list, even if position at the next level is still TBD.
- T.J. Leaf, UCLA: Another paradigm-shifter, a big who can shoot 3-pointers like a two-guard, solid rebounder and defender.
- Ivan Rabb, California: So much raw skill, but only slipped this far because of no improvement over last season.
- Justin Jackson, North Carolina: Added a 3-point shot this season -- 40.1 percent; and despite playing at frenetic pace, never turns the ball over.
- Allonzo Trier, Arizona: Get ready for Trier to rise on future lists. Looks like the prototype Sean Miller player on both ends.
- Tacko Fall, Central Florida: Do not sleep on Fall, a brainy 7-6 efficiency monster at both ends, just because we haven't seen this before.
- Thomas Bryant, Indiana: Added to impressive freshman year by adding better rim protection and a 3-point shot.
- Tyler Lydon, Syracuse: Only 6-8, yet capable of defending 3s and protecting the rim on consecutive possessions, plus 44 percent from 3-point range.
- Zach Collins Gonzaga: Legit 7-footer over 70 percent from the field, plus rebounder and shot blocker for top team in the land.
- Miles Bridges, Michigan State: Will be prototypical three-and-D guy at next level.
- Mikal Bridges, Villanova: Added the 3-pointer this season to the standard Jay Wright package of intelligence at both ends.
- Alec Peters, Valparaiso: Scoring and rebounding out of the four spot, proven he can do it as the number one option, the free throw shooting and previous years suggests even better to come from distance.
- Harry Giles, Duke: Simply too talented to leave off this list, though how much he has struggled since returning from latest knee injury is cause for major concern.
