Kicking off what looks to be like a GREAT draft season ahead of us with our first mock draft comparison for 2025! We have ‘way too early’ mock drafts from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Tankathon, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, and yours truly.
Cooper Flagg alone would make this an exciting draft, but this class is stacked so it will be even more fascinating to keep an eye on these mock drafts each month as these top world class draft analysts (that’s everyone we feature myself for the record) get more intel and scouting opportunities.
I was born and raised in Maine and have followed Flagg for a couple of years now, since he is by far the best high school player to ever come out of Maine. Needless to say (so I’ll write it instead of saying it), I can’t wait to see him play for Duke this season. Although his stats may not be as stellar as some imagine, he’ll always put his imprint on the game using his elite defense. If Duke can get solid point guard play from Tyrese Proctor along with consistent outside shooting from Darren Harris and Kon Knueppel, then it will give Flagg a lot more space and opportunity offensively.
Most eyes are focused on Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper at Rutgers as Top 5 picks, but besides athleticism, Bailey’s performances were unimpressive in the high school all-star circuit. His shot selection was especially bad and he’ll need to clean that up and prove that he can be a plus on the defensive end to stick in the top end of the lottery. Harper, on the other hand, looks like a stud who can help win NBA games from day one.
When it’s all said and done, the prize of the draft may very well be Nolan Traore, a true point guard from France. His performance in the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit flanked by VJ Edgecombe and AJ Dybantsa was elite. While some will nitpick his 3-point shooting, he’s an excellent scorer with a hoops IQ that is off the charts. He uses his speed, handle, and vision to create easy shots for others and control the pace of the game.
Meanwhile, I am very high on two other highly skilled, freshman point guards, Trent Perry (UCLA) and Kasparas Jakucionis at (Illinois). This should go down as THE BEST point guard draft ever!
Please note: the picks from Vecenie and O’Donnell do not include teams.
We are in the thick of a highly entertaining March Madness, with a fresh set of mock drafts to analyze and compare from Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Jeremy Woo (ESPN), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Ricky O’Donnell (SB Nation), the No Ceilings crew, Tankathon, and yours truly.
February has come and gone (quickly!) and we’re right in the heart of college basketball season and in-conference play. It’s time to analyze a new batch of mock drafts from Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), the No Ceilings crew, two from Ricky O’Donnell (SB Nation), Tankathon, and yours truly.
2026 has arrived and we’re back with new mock drafts from Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), the No Ceilings crew, Jeremy Woo (ESPN), Ricky O’Donnell (SB Nation), Tankathon, and yours truly.
We spend a lot of time following all of the top NBA Draft analysts for months as they post and tweet about intel and update their big boards and mock drafts leading up to draft day. But once that day comes and goes, it’s easy to shift focus to how the rookies will fit on their new rosters, summer league, and the next draft cycle, so, as always, I have compiled all of the final mock drafts so we can compare them to the actual 2024 draft order. See my full mock draft comparison for June featuring 22 total mock drafts (all link references below).
Here is the actual 2024 NBA Draft pick order versus the final mock drafts from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony, SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger, the No Ceilings crew, Tankathon, and our own Hoops Distillery picks:
ACTUAL
DRAFT
Tankathon
(6/26)
No Ceilings
(6/26)
SB Nation
(6/26)
B/R
(6/26)
The Ringer
(6/26)
ESPN
(6/26)
The Athletic
(6/25)
Hoop
Distillery
(6/23)
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Donovan
Clingan
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Zaccharie
Risacher
1. ATL
Stephon
Castle
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
2. WAS
Alex
Sarr
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
3. HOU
Reed
Sheppard
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Zaccharie
Risacher
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Matas
Buzelis
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Stephon
Castle
4. SAS
Ron
Holland
5. DET
Ron
Holland
5. DET
Matas
Buzelis
5. DET
Matas
Buzelis
5. DET
Matas
Buzelis
5. DET
Donovan
Clingan
5. DET
Dalton
Knecht
5. DET
Matas
Buzelis
5. MEM (via DET)
Donovan
Clingan
5. DET
Zaccharie
Risacher
6. CHA
Tidjane
Salaun
6. CHA
Dalton
Knecht
6. CHA
Cody
Williams
6. CHA
Stephon
Castle
6. CHA
Dalton
Knecht
6. CHA
Stephon
Castle
6. CHA
Dalton
Knecht
6. CHA
Dalton
Knecht
6. CHA
Devin
Carter
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
7. POR
Dalton
Knecht
7. POR
Cody
Williams
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
7. POR
Cody
Williams
7. POR
Donovan
Clingan
8. MIN (via SAS)
Rob
Dillingham
8. SAS
Nikola
Topic
8. SAS
Devin
Carter
8. SAS
Tidjane
Salaun
8. SAS
Matas
Buzelis
8. SAS
Devin
Carter
8. SAS
Tidjane
Salaun
8. SAS
Tidjane
Salaun
8. SAS
Nikola
Topic
9. MEM
Zach
Edey
9. MEM
Ron
Holland
9. MEM
Ron
Holland
9. MEM
Cody
Williams
9. MEM
Ron
Holland
9. MEM
Tidjane
Salaun
9. MEM
Cody
Williams
9. DET (via MEM)
Matas
Buzelis
9. MEM
Matas
Buzelis
10. UTA
Cody
Williams
10. UTA
Devin
Carter
10. UTA
Nikola
Topic
10. UTA
Nikola
Topic
10. UTA
Devin
Carter
10. UTA
Ron
Holland
10. UTA
Rob
Dillingham
10. UTA
Nikola
Topic
10. UTA
Cody
Williams
11. CHI
Matas
Buzelis
11. CHI
Rob
Dillingham
11. CHI
Dalton
Knecht
11. CHI
Devin
Carter
11. CHI
Rob
Dillingham
11. CHI
Cody
Williams
11. CHI
Devin
Carter
11. LAL (via CHI)
Devin
Carter
11. CHI
Dalton
Knecht
12. OKC
Nikola
Topic
12. OKC
Cody
Williams
12. OKC
Tidjane
Salaun
12. OKC
Rob
Dillingham
12. OKC
Tidjane
Salaun
12. OKC
Zach
Edey
12. OKC
Nikola
Topic
12. OKC
Bub
Carrington
12. OKC
Tyler
Smith
13. SAC
Devin
Carter
13. SAC
Tidjane
Salaun
13. SAC
Tristan
da Silva
13. SAC
Ron
Holland
13. SAC
Zach
Edey
13. SAC
Kel'el
Ware
13. SAC
Ron
Holland
13. SAC
Ron
Holland
13. SAC
Tristan
da Silva
14. WAS (via POR)
Bub
Carrington
14. POR
Tristan
da Silva
14. POR
Kyshawn
George
14. POR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
14. POR
Tristan
da Silva
14. POR
Nikola
Topic
14. POR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
14. POR
Zach
Edey
14. POR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
15. MIA
Kel'el
Ware
15. MIA
Jared
McCain
15. MIA
Jared
McCain
15. MIA
Isaiah
Collier
15. MIA
Bub
Carrington
15. MIA
Rob
Dillingham
15. MIA
Bub
Carrington
15. MIA
Jared
McCain
15. MIA
Jared
McCain
16. PHI
Jared
McCain
16. PHI
Ja'Kobe
Walter
16. PHI
Rob
Dillingham
16. PHI
Bub
Carrington
16. PHI
Jared
McCain
16. PHI
Ryan
Dunn
16. PHI
Jared
McCain
16. PHI
Rob
Dillingham
16. PHI
Bub
Carrington
17. LAL
Dalton
Knecht
17. LAL
Zach
Edey
17. LAL
Zach
Edey
17. LAL
Zach
Edey
17. LAL
Ja'Kobe
Walter
17. LAL
Jared
McCain
17. LAL
Zach
Edey
17. CHI (via LAL)
Terrence
Shannon
17. LAL
Terrence
Shannon
18. ORL
Tristan
da Silva
18. ORL
Kyshawn
George
18. ORL
Bub
Carrington
18. ORL
Jared
McCain
18. ORL
Nikola
Topic
18. ORL
Bub
Carrington
18. ORL
Johnny
Furphy
18. ORL
Tristan
da Silva
18. ORL
Rob
Dillingham
19. TOR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
19. TOR
Bub
Carrington
19. TOR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
19. TOR
Yves
Missi
19. TOR
Kel'el
Ware
19. TOR
Kyshawn
George
19. TOR
Kyshawn
George
19. TOR
Ja'Kobe
Walter
19. TOR
Zach
Edey
20. CLE
Jaylon
Tyson
20. CLE
Kel'el
Ware
20. CLE
Johnny
Furphy
20. CLE
Johnny
Furphy
20. CLE
Kyshawn
George
20. CLE
Johnny
Furphy
20. CLE
Tristan
da Silva
20. CLE
Johnny
Furphy
20. CLE
Johnny
Furphy
21. NOP
Yves
Missi
21. NOP
Kyle
Filipowski
21. NOP
Kel'el
Ware
21. NOP
Kyle
Filipowski
21. NOP
Yves
Missi
21. NOP
Yves
Missi
21. NOP
Yves
Missi
21. NOP
Yves
Missi
21. NOP
Tidjane
Salaun
22. DEN (via PHX)
DaRon
Holmes
22. PHX
Tyler
Kolek
22. PHX
Tyler
Kolek
22. PHX
Tyler
Kolek
22. PHX
Ryan
Dunn
22. PHX
Tristan
da Silva
22. PHX
Ryan
Dunn
22. MIN (via PHX)
Isaiah
Collier
22. PHX
Isaiah
Collier
23. MIL
AJ
Johnson
23. MIL
Yves
Missi
23. MIL
Terrence
Shannon
23. MIL
Kel'el
Ware
23. MIL
Jaylon
Tyson
23. MIL
Ja'Kobe
Walter
23. MIL
Kyle
Filipowski
23. MIL
Kyle
Filipowski
23. MIL
Jaylon
Tyson
24. WAS (via NYK)
Kyshawn
George
24. NYK
DaRon
Holmes
24. NYK
Ryan
Dunn
24. NYK
DaRon
Holmes
24. NYK
Baylor
Scheierman
24. NYK
Isaiah
Collier
24. NYK
Kel'el
Ware
24. NYK
Tyler
Kolek
24. NYK
Yves
Missi
25. NYK
Pacome
Dadiet
25. NYK
Terrence
Shannon
25. NYK
Baylor
Scheierman
25. NYK
Ryan
Dunn
25. NYK
Tyler
Kolek
25. NYK
Kyle
Filipowski
25. NYK
Terrence
Shannon
25. NYK
Baylor
Scheierman
25. NYK
Pacome
Dadiet
26. OKC (via NYK)
Dillon
Jones
26. WAS
Isaiah
Collier
26. WAS
Kyle
Filipowski
26. WAS
Kyshawn
George
26. WAS
Isaiah
Collier
26. WAS
Tyler
Kolek
26. WAS
Isaiah
Collier
26. WAS
Pacome
Dadiet
26. WAS
Kel'el
Ware
27. MIN
Terrence
Shannon
27. MIN
Johnny
Furphy
27. MIN
Isaiah
Collier
27. MIN
Terrence
Shannon
27. MIN
Johnny
Furphy
27. MIN
Baylor
Scheierman
27. MIN
Baylor
Scheierman
27. PHX (via MIN)
Ryan
Dunn
27. MIN
Kyshawn
George
28. PHX (via DEN)
Ryan
Dunn
28. DEN
Tyler
Smith
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
28. DEN
Jaylon
Tyson
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
28. DEN
DaRon
Holmes
29. UTA
Isaiah
Collier
29. UTA
Jaylon
Tyson
29. UTA
Tyler
Smith
29. UTA
Tyler
Smith
29. UTA
Pacome
Dadiet
29. UTA
Jaylon
Tyson
29. UTA
Tyler
Kolek
29. UTA
Kyshawn
George
29. UTA
Baylor
Scheierman
30. BOS
Baylor
Scheierman
30. BOS
Ryan
Dunn
30. BOS
Pacome
Dadiet
30. BOS
Pacome
Dadiet
30. BOS
Jonathan
Mogbo
30. BOS
Terrence
Shannon
30. BOS
Jaylon
Tyson
30. BOS
Kel'el
Ware
30. BOS
Kyle
Filipowski
Summary of all transactions leading up to and during the draft:
2026 big boards are here! Well, to be fair, Wass posted one back in August for B/R. But now, college hoops season has arrived and we have six boards to compare, including picks from Jonathan Wasserman (JW Scouting and Bleacher Report), Jeremy Woo (ESPN), Adam Finkelstein (CBS Sports), and Tankathon.
After the always-unwelcome late-summer break, the college hoops season has finally begun — and with it comes a fresh batch of mock drafts from ESPN, SB Nation, No Ceilings, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Tankathon, and yours truly. There’s tons of talent to watch this year, including Caleb Wilson and Neoklis Avdalis, who have already turned…
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @hoopsdistillery for posts, original artwork, and other reserve NBA content:
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter, then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site athttps://hoopsdistillery.com/bigboardcomp-june24/
6/26 update (2): Two more new boards from Keandre/Hoop Intellect and also from Tankathon. We’re now up to 17 boards for the month of June!
6/26 update (1): New boards from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report and John Hollinger/The Athletic as well as a major update from Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer. Reed Sheppard at the top on all three of these boards–and Ron Holland at #1 for Wass and Hollinger!
6/24 update: New board for the month of June from Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation and an updated one from the No Ceilings crew. Should be a bunch more in the next 48 hours, so stay tuned!
6/21 update: Four new big boards added today including updates from Tankathon, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN–plus, a new board for this month from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic who released his 2024 draft guide. ICYMI- No Ceilings released their 2024 draft guide as well.
Lots of disagreement at the top in this ‘eye of the beholder’ draft classic with Risacher, Sarr, Castle and Topic at #1 across these big boards.
6/15 update:Keandre/Hoop Intellect released an updated big board for June. With only 11 days to go until the draft, we now have five big boards to compare! Keandre is holding strong with Ron Holland at #2 and Rob Dillingham at #3, both higher than consensus. The way I think of big boards being the higher up the board, the higher the potential upside for the prospect, this Holland pick makes a ton of sense. Do other analysts honestly feel like Dalton Knecht‘s ceiling is higher than Holland?!
6/11 update: New big board this afternoon from our friends at Tankathon. They have Zaccharie Risacher and Nikola Topic jumping Alex Sarr at the the top on this one.
June big boards are here with 17 days left until the draft! We have new picks from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, and No Ceilings to compare with many more coming throughout the month.
KOC has moved Stephon Castle up to #1 and No Ceilings has him at #2. Also interesting that ESPN has Zaccharie Risacher at #1, while he’s dropped down to #9 for KOC and #6 for No Ceilings.
Keep checking back for updates throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
The 2026 draft season has officially begun, and to kick things off we have mock drafts from SB Nation, No Ceilings, The Athletic, ESPN, Bleacher Report, Tankathon, and yours truly. We’ll have the pleasure of enjoying the elite trifecta of AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer, and Darryn Peterson will be vying for the #1 pick throughout…
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter,then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site at https://hoopsdistillery.com/mockdraftcomp-june24/.
6/26 update (3): Five more updated mock drafts including Tankathon, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer and the No Ceilings crew. We’re up to 22 mock drafts for June! Need to go hit the ice bath before working on the big board updates.
6/26 update (2): Sam Vecenie/The Athletic already re-updated his mock draft this morning, changing up the trades he had proposed in the 1st round. Updated pick variance chart below with Kel’El Ware going #30 to the Celtics.
6/26 update (1): DRAFT DAY is here! We’ll have updated picks throughout the day from all the best draft analysts so stay tuned. Sam Vecenie/The Athletic and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN both had updates yesterday. And ESPN’s dynamic duo even updated there’s this morning after the wild Mikal Bridges atomic bomb of a trade late last night. They now have Tidjane Salaun moving up and the Knicks taking Kel’el Ware at #24 since they’ll now have trouble signing Isaiah Hartenstein. Worth mentioning that the Vecenie mock update built in two trades–Memphis moving up to get Donovan Clingan and then Phoenix moving down twice in the 20’s to secure second round pick capital similar to Boston in last year’s draft.
6/24 update: (Deep breath)…here comes the run of final mock drafts and big boards as we approach 48 hours from the draft. New one here from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN that is stacked with great intel and different options that each team is considering. This mock is exactly the same as the one from last week with the exception of some movement in the 20’s. Ryan Dunn is moving up after a run of impressive workouts which included solid shooting:
6/23 update: Posting my final mock draft here as we are only 3 days away from the big day! I still have Stephon Castle at #1. As I tweeted a couple of days ago, IF the Hawks intend to trade Trae Young or Dejounte Murray then it makes sense to replace them in the backcourt (assuming a starting level guard isn’t coming back in the trade). With Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu in the fold, there’s no real reason to draft Clingan or Sarr and then make yourself have to go out and find a good Capela trade. I would try to replenish their draft capital by sending Young or Murray out, and possibly get a young rotation player too. Castle can be a long term starter at guard playing on and off the ball, giving them much more D which they desperately need, and in my opinion, is a better bet to the best player in this draft class. So for me, this is really just a best player available pick.
From all the intel coming in, sounds like Devin Carter is killing it in workouts, so I have him moving up to the Hornets at #6. If he is such a sure thing to be a top guard in this class, I don’t see how he lasts any later than #8 to the Spurs. For the Hornets, he can provide much needed leadership, toughness, and rebounding while filling in the ol’ Terry Rozier role which was always a luxury for Charlotte, since Carter, like Rozier, provides insurance for LaMelo Ball injuries.
Also, lots of chatter about what the Thunder will do at #12 now that they have Alex Caruso and won’t be needing to draft a guard. To me, it’s easy–I would draft Tyler Smith and develop him to give them a big wing/shooter that will fit in perfectly with their current style. Personally, I don’t see the appeal in Tidjane Salaun who appears to be a poorer shooting version of Smith that who also has a poor feel for the game–a quality that is unteachable. Both will need time to develop but Smith can play some minutes right away with that spot up shooting touch.
6/20 update: Two new mock drafts today from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic and Tankathon. Vecenie has Clingan going #1–something we’ve only seen on Ricky O’Donnell‘s latest mock. Very interesting movement at the top due to Sarr and Risacher’s lack of team workouts so far. I don’t doubt that the Hawks were impressed by Clingan, but sure seems to me like a classic misdirection play they’re using to lure teams like the Bulls, Grizzlies, and others to trade up.
Random side note: Of all the new picks this week, my favorite so far has been Ron Holland dropping to the Kings at #13 on the Givony/Woo mock. I highly doubt he’ll last that long, but as we all know, someone has to drop, and it could be him. Holland would fit in beautifully with the Kings whether they even after re-signing Malik Monk. He could be a slasher in the half court, complimenting Keegan Murray, and get on the break too, while providing lock down D on wings. This fit is so nice that maybe the Kings should consider trading up with the Jazz to get him! The Jazz might like Huerter, #13 and #32 for #9 and John Collins bloated contract, especially if they think Rob Dillingham, Nikola Topic or Tidjane Salaun will drop.
6/19 update: 7 days away from the draft and we have two updated mock drafts this morning from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN. Both of these are stocked with intel and rumors are starting to swirl as the annual misdirection campaigns have started!
Interestingly Wass and Givony/Woo have the same top 5 picks: Risacher, Sarr, Sheppard, Castle and Buzelis. Castle moving up to #4 for the Spurs always made a ton of sense but with the radio silence from Castle’s camp about workouts he seemed to have slid out of that range in the mind of draft analysts.
Givony/Woo had Rob Dillingham at #6 in May and still have him at #8 to the Spurs in this one, even though he has dropped out of the top 10 on everyone else’s mocks. As with Nikola Topic, the lack of workouts due to injury makes for a lack of buzz being created.
Isaiah Collier looks like the guy who is dropping like a rock. Givony/Woo have him down at #26 to the Wizards which is the lowest he’s ever been, while Wass has him going to the Suns at #22. Great opportunity for a playoff team to buy low on such a talent!
6/18 update: We have updated mock drafts from Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer and Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation as of today (8 days away from the draft!).
KOC has the exact same top 11 as Wass from his 6/13 mock at B/R, interestingly. KOC also has Zach Edey at #12 to OKC and Tyler Kolek way up at #15 to the Heat.
O’Donnell whose last mock was based on what he’d pick released an update today with what he feels teams will do. He has Donovan Clingan going at #1 to the Hawks and Tidjane Salaun going to Utah at #10.
Also, looks like the Hoops Hype draft workout tracker is updated for 2024. Just weird though, because there’s no trace of it in the header links to ‘draft’ or ‘draft workouts’.
Lots more updates coming, so stay tuned — and don’t forget to check out our big board comparison.
6/15 update:Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report released an updated mock draft a couple and has Cody Williams going at #5 to the Pistons. He also has Kel’el Ware moving up to #13 to the Kings. Meanwhile, he has Nikola Topic dropping to the Heat at #15 and Isaiah Collier going all the way down to the Bucks at #23.
Also, this year’s green room invites were officially announced this week. Kyle Filipowski, Kyshawn George and Johnny Furphy seem like the most likely candidates to suffer through embarrassingly long waits:
6/11 update: New mock draft this afternoon from our friends at Tankathon. They are holding strong on Topic at #4.
Also, interesting to see the changes on our pick variance chart which shows agreement across mock drafts on Risacher, Sarr, Sheppard and Buzelis, who all seem to be locked in at the top. In contrast, there’s high variance, showing a good amount of disagreement, on players like Edey, Holland, Collier, and Dillingham.
6/10 update: Fresh picks today from Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation who has Ron Holland going #2 and Tyler Smith at #11 to his hometown Bulls. I really like these picks and feel strongly that the G League Ignite guys are being undervalued (by some at least) after their play went down with the ship of a poorly constructed roster. Matas Buzelis, Izan Almansa, and the aforementioned Holland and Smith, all have a ton of talent and a gained good experience against high level competition. I even like Thierry Darlan and would consider offering him a 2-way.
6/8 update: We have new pick from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, and yours truly bringing us up to six mock drafts to compare for June plus an updated pick variance chart.
Wass has Matas Buzelis moving up to #4. No Ceilings has Donovan Clingan moving up to #2 and Dalton Knecht going at #5. I have Stephon Castle going #1 to the Hawks (or whoever trades up to get him). And the random pick that stood out to me the most was Wass sending Cody Williams to the Kings. Imagine Fox, Williams, Murray, Sabonis and a real center–if C-Dub hits, that could work to resuscitate the Kings in the West!
Lots more interesting picks here across these mock drafts, and many more updates to come this month!
With only 21 days until this year’s (2-day!) NBA Draft, we have a fresh batch of picks to start the month of June, including Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, and Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer. Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard and Stephon Castle seem to be holding strong in the Top 5, with Tidjane Salaun and Devin Carter gaining momentum. Meanwhile Ron Holland and Rob Dillingham seem to be dropping into the late lottery.
Keep checking back as I’ll be updating this post throughout the month, and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
A comparison of the final 2025 mock drafts versus the actual NBA draft order. Featuring mock drafts from the best of the best at ESPN, The Ringer, B/R, The Athletic, SB Nation, No Ceilings, Yahoo Sports, Tankathon and your truly. We have archived a total of 18 mock drafts for June and 7 final mocks…
We’re officially in the high tide of mock draft season! With Draft Day only hours away, we now have 18 mocks to compare, including picks from The Athletic, SB Nation, No Ceilings, Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report, ESPN, Tankathon, The Ringer, and yours truly. Plus: our pick variance chart, green room invites, draft power rankings, and…
It’s finally draft day and we’re here with all the best big boards for your analytical enjoyment! We have twelve big boards total including picks from The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Hoop Intellect, the No Ceilings crew, The Ringer, SB Nation, Yahoo Sports and Tankathon.
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter, then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site athttps://hoopsdistillery.com/bigboardcomp-may24/.
5/28 update: Two new big boards added from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN and Tankathon. We now have 8 to compare for the month of May.
Reed Sheppard and Stephon Castle jumping Rob Dillingham and Nikola Topic for ESPN, while Zaccharie Risaccher, Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan hold strong in the top 3.
5/13 update:John Hollinger/The Athletic released his annual Top 20 which is always a must read! Lots of contrarian thinking here including Ron Holland at #1 and Alex Sarr down at #5. Or how about Zaccharie Risacher at #13 and Stephon Castle at #2.
It’s already draft lottery week and we have new big boards to compare from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony/ESPN.
It’s been a while since we saw a big board from Wasserman, and this one does not disappoint, with lots of interesting picks and players that are vastly different than the others. This includes Ron Holland at #1, Jared McCain at #7 , Tyler Smith at #12, and Pacome Dadiet at #15. Great food for thought, as always!
Check back for updates throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
Coming in hot with this month’s big board comparison, as June is just around the corner. Luckily, we have a fresh big board update from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (ESPN) as of this morning! We also have boards from Kevin O’Connor (Yahoo Sports), the No Ceilings crew, J. Kyle Mann and Danny Chau (The…
With a wild Draft Lottery in the rear view mirror we now have a full new batch of mock drafts from Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Ricky O’Donnell (SB Nation), Kevin O’Connor (Yahoo Sports), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Keandre Ashley (Hoop Intellect), Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (ESPN), Tankathon, J Kyle Mann and Danny Chau (The…
We’re back with the April edition of our beloved big board comparison with new boards from ESPN, The Ringer, Yahoo Sports, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and Hoop Intellect. Lots to chew on here as we approach the Draft Lottery!
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter,then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site at https://hoopsdistillery.com/mockdraftcomp-may24/.
5/31 update: New mock drafts from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN (the third of the month from each of them!) as new intel is coming in from team workouts. Both mocks agree with Risacher, Sarr, Sheppard in the Top 3 but diverge after that. Wass has Cody Williams moving up to #5 to the Pistons and Givony and Woo have Devin Carter moving up to #12 to OKC–both interesting picks. We now have 15 mock drafts for the month!
5/24 update: One more mock draft from Tankathon! We now have 13 for the month to compare and analyze.
5/22 update: Updated mock drafts from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report and Keandre/Hoop Intellect to add to this month’s collection. Post Draft Combine, looks like Jaylon Tyson and Baylor Scheierman have moved into the 1st round. And Risaccher and Salaun are re-establishing themselves after strong performances in the French league playoffs. Updated pick variance chart below clearly showing the disagreement in the lottery order.
5/13 update: Nothing more refreshing on a hot spring day than a fire hose of super high-quality draft content! As of this afternoon, we have A LOT of updated mock drafts from the best of the best including Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN,Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, and the No Ceilings crew!
New flash: Pacome Dadiet making his impact felt in this new batch of mocks for May!
The NBA Draft Lottery came and went with the Hawks beating the odds and moving up to #1, and in the process re-crushing the hearts of Pistons fans. The Rockets moved up and so did the Spurs, who now have #4 and #8, knocking the Raptors out of the lottery in the process. Needless to say, this is a GREAT time of year!
I’ve also added my own Hoops Distillery mock draft along with an updated pick variance chart. And in a “seriously, I’m not just trying to be contrarian” way, I still have Ron Holland going first instead of Alex Sarr. I think of it like this: yes, the Hawks may trade Trae or Dejounte, but that doesn’t mean they need to go with Sarr which would then entail trading Okongwu or Capela. Why not just keep both centers, trade one guard and pick Holland to replace them? To me this would fill a need, plus be a best player available strategy. I really don’t think Quin Snyder signed on for a rebuild, and I really doubt Tony Ressler has the patience for one.
Picks that make you go hmmm (from my mock draft):
Stephon Castle at #4 to the Spurs (along with Rob Dillingham at #8). And although I do have Reed Sheppard going #3 to the Rockets, I really have no idea what Castle has to prove to make people buy-in. I think he’s being nitpicked a bit too much. To me, his shot will be just fine AND even more importantly, he has a ton left in his bag that he didn’t break out at UCONN. Castle, Dillingham, Devin Vassell, Wemby, and whoever is going to sell A LOT of tickets and sell A LOT of apparel….and probably win some games too, eventually.
Cody Williams going at #6 to the Hornets. Ron Holland and Reed Sheppard may be better fits, but they were both gone in this mock. Honesty though, I sort of like this! Why not put Cody at 2-guard between LaMelo and Brandon Miller to supersize their wings? It’s really the same logic as those who had Castle going to Charlotte: a good defensive wing will be a big help with Ball and Miller being more offensive-minded.
Tyler Smith going to OKC at #12 which is much high than consensus, with the exception of Wasserman who had him at #12 too. I’ve been very high on Smith for a while now, as you’ll see if you look back at previous months mock draft comparisons. I’ve had him as high as #9. There’s just something about him that looked very functional and efficient compared to the dysfunctional and inefficient G League Ignite squad.
Disclaimer: I followed Ricky O’Donnell‘s lead with the (fantastical) pick of Izan Almansa at #30 to the Celtics. I love that match and the Celtics are desperately in need of someone to start grooming as an Al Horford replacement. Those are big shoes to fill, but Almansa has the basketball IQ to make it possible.
…….
Enjoy these mock drafts and the (always highly entertaining) Draft Combine this week!
We have new mock drafts to compare from Tankathon and Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer with only days to go until the official draft order is revealed at the NBA Draft Lottery (3PM EST on Sunday, May 12th). Needless to say, there will be many more updates this month as everyone and their mother will post updated mock drafts on Sunday afternoon.
Bub Carrington seems to be the hot name moving up the boards so far this month. KOC also moved up Nikola Djurisic and Pacome Dadiet up into the 20’s. As soon as the G League Elite Camp and NBA Draft Combine get going, there should be a lot more movement, so stay tuned, as always.
I highly recommend checking out the No Ceilings NBA site, as they are doing a great job with video breakdowns of prospects, including various with the prospects themselves (including a great one with Jamal Shead recently!). Keandre at Hoop Intellect has also done some excellent video breakdowns including Clingan, Holland, and Sheppard, On the podcast front, check out LockedOn NBA Big Board where Rafael and James Barlowe have been doing some cool episodes, as well as The Ringer NBA Draft Show with KOC and J. Kyle Mann (don’t miss the recent episode with John Fanta which was highly entertaining!). Loving all of this high-quality draft content!
Keep checking back as I’ll be updating this post throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
After an incredible March Madness run we have a new batch of mock drafts for April from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Kevin O’Connor/Yahoo Sports, Tankathon, and your truly. Carter Bryant and Collin Murray-Boyles moving up this month!
Here’s the March Madness edition of our big board comparison with new boards from ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, The Ringer, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and Hoop Intellect.
March Madness has finally arrived! And with it, a fresh set of mock drafts from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Kevin O’Connor/Yahoo Sports, No Ceilings, SB Nation, Tankathon, and your truly. Tre Johnson, Derik Queen and Jase Richardson moving up this month!
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter, then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site athttps://hoopsdistillery.com/bigboardcomp-apr24/.
4/23 update: New boards from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic and Keandre/Hoop Intellect give us a total of six for the month to compare. Clingan and Castle moved up quite a bit for these two, and Keandre has Ron Holland at #2 which is a lot higher than others.
April has just begun, but we already have new big boards from Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony/ESPN. After some memorable tournament runs, it’s no surprise that Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Zach Edey and Dalton Knecht are moving up. And for the most part, it’s Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland and Cody Williams who have dropped down a bit. Risacher, Sarr and Topic are holding strong in the top portion of these boards.
Check back for updates throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
Back with the February edition of our big board comparison with new boards from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Tankathon, No Ceilings, and Keandre Ashley/Hoop Intellect. VJ Edgecombe moving back into the top four! Carter Bryant also on the move.
Post-NBA trade deadline hangovers be damned! We’re back with new picks from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and your truly. Some new names emerging and lots to chew on here.
Starting off the new year with an update of our big board comparison with four new boards, including Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Tankathon, No Ceilings, and Keandre Ashley/Hoop Intellect. All kinds of differing opinions to sort out amongst this group. Jeremiah Fears is now in the top 12 across the boards.
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter,then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site at https://hoopsdistillery.com/mockdraftcomp-apr24/.
4/23 update: Updated mock draft from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN. Zach Edey moving up to #11 on this one, and Stephon Castle moving up to #8. Updated (and sortable) pick variance chart below.
With these tiebreakers completed, the draft power rankings shifted a bit too [via Tankathon]:
4/11 update: More new mock drafts to compare, including Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Tankathon, the No Ceilings crew, and a fresh one from me at Hoops Distillery. While most of the March Madness heroes have moved up,
I shifted the G League Ignite crew back to the top of my mock draft. I think Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis will wow execs in workouts and both have as much, if not more, star upside than anyone else–and at a position of super high value on the wing. I’m buying into Holland’s jumper, plus he is a two-way player which will make him helpful from day one. O’Donnell has Holland at #3 as well, so I can’t be totally crazy.
And as much as the Spurs need a point guard, Buzelis is too valuable to pass up on–and he himself is a point forward, although Ignite coaches didn’t give him an opportunity to show it. Could we see another experiment by Pop with Buzelis instead of Sochan while the Spurs tank for Cooper Flagg in the 2025 draft? Wouldn’t surprise anyone. All that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Spurs go for Stephon Castle.
April has arrived with fresh picks and intel from the highly entertaining March Madness games. We have new mock drafts to compare from Tankathon, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN. Time to study up with Final Four weekend upon us!
We’re seeing Donovan Clingan jump up into the high lottery after a dominant showing by UCONN thus far. Dalton Knecht and Zach Edey have also moved up on this round of mock drafts after putting up huge numbers in high stakes games. Stephon Castle even moved up to #2 on KOC’s mock. On the flipside, Ja’Kobe Walter is dropping a bit, and there seems to be some mixed opinions on Zaccharie Risacher after a run of poor shooting in the French league.
Keep checking back as I’ll be updating this post throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
Happy New Year! We’re back with brand new mock drafts to compare from Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and your truly.
For this holiday edition of our mock draft comparison, we have new picks from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, Tankathon, and your truly. Some new faces this month, plus an intriguing battle of point guards in the 1st round.
We’re back with a December update of our big board comparison comparing four new boards, including Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN, Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, No Ceilings, Keandre Ashley/Hoop Intellect, and Tankathon. Labaron Philon, Derik Queen, and Egor Demin moving up on most boards, while Nolan Traore and Drake Powell are moving down.
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter,then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site at https://hoopsdistillery.com/mockdraftcomp-mar24/.
3/28 update: The month is almost over, but we have two new mock drafts to add to the pool–updated picks from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report and Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer. Wass has Ron Holland up at #4 and finally bought into Stephon Castle who has moved up to #8. He also has Jared McCain and Terrence Shannon going back to back at #11 and #12. KOC has Cody Williams moving up to #4 and Zach Edey at #12, while Reed Sheppard (#1 on his last mock) and Rob Dillingham (#8 on his last mock) have moved down to #9 and #11, respectively. He also has Kyle Filipowski way down at #25.
3/26 update: New mock draft from the Jeremy Woo + Jonathan Givony/ESPN with some very interesting picks after the 1st two rounds of the tournament, including Donovan Clingan going #5, Dalton Knecht at #8, Isaiah Collier at #10 and Zach Edey at #14. They are sticking with Risacher at #1 and Topic in the top 4 as well.
3/20 update: Added four new mock drafts to the post today including picks from Sam Vecenie/The Athletic, Tankathon, Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, as well as my own. We now have 7 total to compare–and I’ve updated my pick variance chart to help. There’s a variety of different pick orders across these mock drafts so make sure to take that into account. Based on pick order, it’s easy to see how certain players in the top 10 will shift up or down. The Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, and Hornets arguable need more guard help, while the Wizards, Blazers and Bulls need bigs or wings.
We’re back once again with the March edition of the mock draft comparison with all new picks from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, and the No Ceilings crew. KOC says he’ll be posting updates once a week with a (Tankathon sim) pick order, while Wass seems to be posting updates every two weeks.
Reed Sheppard has vaulted into the top five, and as high as the #1 pick for KOC. While the two biggest risers appear to be Devin Carter and Kel’el Ware, after some impressive performances to end the regular season. Meanwhile, Ja’Kobe Water has dropped down to the 13-16 range, and Johnny Furphy‘s momentum seems to have cooled off as well, moving down to the bottom half of the first round.
Keep checking back as I’ll be updating this post throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
For this month’s mock draft comparison, we have new ones from Ricky O’Donnell/SB Nation, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, No Ceilings, Tankathon, Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony/ESPN, and your truly.
Here’s the second edition of the big board comparison for 2025. For October and November we have four new big boards, including the first from the No Ceilings crew, Keandre Ashley/Hoop Intellect, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo/ESPN and Tankathon.
The college basketball and NBA seasons are about to begin and we’re fortunate enough to have updated mock drafts from Sam Vecenie/The Ahletic, Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Keandre Ashley/Hoop Intellect, Tankathon, and yours truly. Lots to look forward to already, as we wait impatiently for November.
Note: If the table is not loading correctly on your mobile device via Twitter, then copy and paste this link in your browser and view the post on my site athttps://hoopsdistillery.com/bigboardcomp-mar24/.
3/26 update: New boards from Keandre/Hoop Intellect and Tankathon to compare with the first grouping. Keandre has Ron Holland all the way up at #2!
Fresh big boards have arrived for March. We have boards from Kevin O’Connor/The Ringer, No Ceilings and Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony/ESPN. Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher still firmly at the top, while Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard have moved up across the board. And still seeing lots of disagreement on Ron Holland and Stephon Castle.
Check back for updates throughout the month and follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @hoopsdistillery.
We finally have enough 2025 big boards to compare–so lets get to it! Cooper Flagg is #1 across the board with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey close behind. We have boards from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report, Hoop Intellect, and Tankathon.