[NBA Draft]: 2023 Mock Draft Comparison, February (updated 2/16)

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-feb23/.

2/16 update: I knew more mock drafts were coming, but not this soon! Tankathon updated his picks just hours after I posted this #mockdraftcomp and then Sam Vecenie/The Athletic released his today. Vecenie has Jalen Hood-Schifino way up at #15 and Kobe Bufkin at #28. He also has Terquavion Smith dropping way down to the bottom of the 1st round and Nick Smith moving down to the late lottery. Lots to think about and analyze, as always To make that analysis a bit easier, I updated the pick variance chart. Not surprisingly, there’s high variance across the mid-lottery guys whose value differ greatly across mocks.

Sending good vibes and all of our support to Jeremy Woo who got laid off by Sports Illustrated yesterday, along with a bunch of other awesome writers (even one of my fav’s, Howard Beck!). All I can say is…it’s THEIR loss! We’ll be looking forward to Jeremy landing somewhere good soon, so he can pick up where he left off with his all-star level draft analysis.


The February mock drafts are here and so far, we have picks from Jonathan Givony/ESPN-Draft Express and two from Jonathan Wasserman/Bleacher Report who seems to be updating his mock every two weeks. Plus, I added our Hoops Distillery updated mock draft. Little to no fluctuation in production for Wemby or Scoot this month. Jarace Walker is moving up the boards after a run of great games proving his great versatility, and Brandon Miller seems to be solidly in the 3 to 5 range after Alabama’s run to #1 in the country. Meanwhile, Nick Smith was back in action this week for Arkansas, and Dereck Lively came back onto draft radars after a stellar performance against UNC.

Shout out to Tankathon‘s ‘box ‘Prospect Game Logs‘ page. If you haven’t checked this out, it’s a great tool, for those of us who are tight on time. What becomes a bit frustrating with the ESPN.com box scores is that it can be sorted it by either top 25 or by conference, but as teams move in and out of the top 25 it’s easy to miss a game or two.

Also, I highly recommend this post from @deanondraft called The Downside of Upside if you’re looking for some good food for thought as we approach the heart of draft season. Reading this immediately made me think of Gradey Dick, who most have going in the 10-15 range. Due to his size, basketball IQ and elite shooting he has a very high floor, but as @deanondraft points out, that does not mean he doesn’t also have a high ceiling. Based on this, would any of us really be surprised if he ends up the 3-5th best player in this draft over guys like Nick Smith, Cam Whitmore, or the Thompson twins? They all have less size, less production, less definable skills than Dick, but still have the perception of having higher ceilings based on more elite athleticism.

There will be more mock drafts posted in the coming weeks, so make sure to check back for updates and follow me at @hoopsdistillery on Twitter for update notifications. Also, if I’m missing any mock drafts that you feel belong alongside the ‘All-NBA level’ draft analysts I currently include, leave a comment or DM me on Twitter.

The Athletic
(2/16)
Tankathon
(2/15)
B/R
(2/14)
Hoops Distillery
(2/12)
ESPN
(2/4)
B/R
(2/1)
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
1. HOUVictor
Wembanyama
2. DETScoot
Henderson 
2. SASScoot
Henderson 
2. SASScoot
Henderson 
2. SASScoot
Henderson 
2. DETScoot
Henderson 
2. DETScoot
Henderson 
3. SASBrandon
Miller
3. DETBrandon
Miller
3. CHAAmen
Thompson
3. DETAmen
Thompson
3. SASAmen
Thompson
3. CHAAmen
Thompson
4. CHAAmen
Thompson
4. CHAAmen
Thompson
4. DETJarace
Walker
4. CHAGradey
Dick
4. CHABrandon
Miller
4. SASAusar
Thompson
5. ORLJarace
Walker
5. ORLAusar
Thompson
5. ORLBrandon
Miller
5. ORLNick
Smith 
5. ORLAusar
Thompson
5. ORLCam
Whitmore
6. INDCam
Whitmore
6. INDJarace
Walker
6. INDGradey
Dick
6. INDBrandon
Miller
6. OKCNick
Smith 
6. TORBrandon
Miller
7. WASAnthony
Black
7. ORLNick
Smith 
7. NOPCam
Whitmore
7. NOPJarace
Walker
7. INDJarace
Walker
7. NOPNick
Smith 
8. NOPAusar
Thompson
8. NOPKeyonte
George
8. ORLNick
Smith 
8. ORLAnthony
Black
8. ORLKeyonte
George
8. INDJarace
Walker
9. TORKeyonte
George
9. WASCam
Whitmore
9. TORKeyonte
George
9. WASCason
Wallace
9. TORCam
Whitmore
9. ORLKeyonte
George
10. OKCGradey
Dick
10. TORGradey
Dick
10. WASAusar
Thompson
10. TORKeyonte
George
10. WASAnthony
Black
10. WASGradey
Dick
11. ORLCason
Wallace
11. PORAnthony
Black
11. PORTaylor
Hendricks
11. OKCCam
Whitmore
11. NOPGradey
Dick
11. PORJett
Howard
12. PORNick
Smith 
12. UTACason
Wallace
12. UTACason
Wallace
12. PORAusar
Thompson
12. LALCason
Wallace
12. OKCGG
Jackson
13. UTARayan
Rupert
13. OKCBrice
Sensabaugh
13. OKCAnthony
Black
13. UTAJett
Howard
13. PORKyle
Filipowski
13. UTACason
Wallace
14. LALJalen
Hood-Schifino
14. GSWDariq
Whitehead
14. GSWJett
Howard
14. GSWTaylor
Hendricks
14. UTAJett
Howard
14. PHXBrice
Sensabaugh
15. ATLJett
Howard
15. ATLJett
Howard
15. UTAGG
Jackson
15. ATLRayan
Rupert
15. UTABrice
Sensabaugh
15. ATLTaylor
Hendricks
16. UTAKris
Murray
16. LALKris
Murray
16. LALBrice
Sensabaugh
16. UTAKyle
Filipowski
16. NYKRayan
Rupert
16. LALMaxwell
Lewis
17. GSWBrice
Sensabaugh
17. NYKKyle
Filipowski
17. ATLKris
Murray
17. LALKris
Murray
17. ATLMaxwell
Lewis
17. NYKAnthony
Black
18. NYKJordan
Hawkins
18. UTARayan
Rupert
18. HOUJalen
Hood-Schifino
18. NYKBrice
Sensabaugh
18. NYKKris
Murray
18. GSWKris
Murray
19. PORTaylor
Hendricks
19. HOUTerquavion
Smith
19. NYKJordan
Hawkins
19. HOUMaxwell
Lewis
19. GSWTaylor
Hendricks
19. UTAKyle
Filipowski
20. BKNMaxwell
Lewis
20. MIAGG
Jackson
20. PORDariq
Whitehead
20. PORDariq
Whitehead
20. PHXJalen
Hood-Schifino
20. LACJordan
Hawkins
21. LACDariq
Whitehead
21. BKNKel'el
Ware
21. BKNMaxwell
Lewis
21. BKNGG
Jackson
21. MIADariq
Whitehead
21. NYKKel'el
Ware
22. MIAGG
Jackson
22. PORTaylor
Hendricks
22. MIARayan
Rupert
22. MIATerquavion
Smith
22. SACColby
Jones
22. MIATerquavion
Smith
23. SACColby
Jones
23. SACDereck
Lively
23. SACRicky
Council
23. SACDereck
Lively
23. LACJames
Nnaji
23. SACDariq
Whitehead
24. INDJulian
Phillips
24. BKNNoah
Clowney
24. BKNTerquavion
Smith
24. BKNColby
Jones
24. INDGG
Jackson
24. INDNoah
Clowney
25. MEMJames
Nnaji
25. MEMMaxwell
Lewis
25. MEMColby
Jones
25. MEMKel'el
Ware
25. BKNLeonard
Miller
25. BKNJalen
Hood-Schifino
26. INDDereck
Lively
26. INDColby
Jones
26. INDBilal
Coulibaly
26. INDJordan
Hawkins
26. HOUJordan
Hawkins
26. MEMColby
Jones
27. BKNKyle
Filipowski
27. UTALeonard
Miller
27. UTAKyle
Filipowski
27. UTANoah
Clowney
27. MEMDereck
Lively
27. HOURayan
Rupert
28. HOUKobe
Bufkin
28. CHAJalen
Hood-Schifino
28. CHANoah
Clowney
28. CHAJalen
Hood-Schifino
28. UTATerquavion
Smith
28. UTAMarcus
Sasser
29. LACLeonard
Miller
29. LACMarcus
Sasser
29. LACMarcus
Sasser
29. LACLeonard
Miller
29. CHADillon
Mitchell
29. CHALeonard
Miller
30. INDTerquavion
Smith
30. INDBilal
Coulibaly
30. INDKel'el
Ware
30. INDJulian
Phillips
30. INDKel'el
Ware
30. INDJalen
Wilson
Pick VarianceHighLowVariance
Kyle
Filipowski
132714
Rayan
Rupert
132714
Jalen
Hood-Schifino
142814
Taylor
Hendricks
112211
Terquavion
Smith
193011
Anthony
Black
71710
GG
Jackson
122410
Maxwell
Lewis
16259
Kel'el
Ware
21309
Dariq
Whitehead
14239
Ausar
Thompson
4128
Nick
Smith 
5127
Gradey
Dick
4117
Cam
Whitmore
5116
Brice
Sensabaugh
13185
Cason
Wallace
9134
Jarace
Walker
484
Jett
Howard
11154
Noah
Clowney
24284
Colby
Jones
22264
Leonard
Miller
25294
Brandon
Miller
363
Keyonte
George
8102
Kris
Murray
16182
Amen
Thompson
341
Victor
Wembanyama
110
Scoot
Henderson 
220

References:

Tankathon

The Athletic [Sam Vecenie]

ESPN/Draft Express [Jonathan Givony]

Bleacher Report [Jonathan Wasserman] – February 1st

Bleacher Report [Jonathan Wasserman] – February 14th

Search #mockdraftcomp on Twitter for all past Tweets


Potential Movement of Draft Order (via Jonathan Givony/ESPN-Draft Express)

  • Charlotte’s first-rounder is owned by Atlanta if Charlotte’s pick falls between No. 17 and 30 in 2023. If Charlotte’s pick finishes between 1-16, Atlanta will instead receive Charlotte’s 2024 first-rounder, lottery-protected.
  • On draft night, Charlotte scored a protected top-14 protected first-rounder from Denver via Oklahoma City and New York in a three-way trade.
  • Houston has first-round swap rights with Brooklyn.
  • Houston owns Milwaukee’s first-rounder, which is unprotected.
  • Brooklyn owns Philadelphia’s first-rounder, which is unprotected.
  • Chicago’s first-rounder is owned by Orlando if Chicago’s pick falls between 5 and 30 in 2023. If Chicago’s pick finishes between 1-4, Orlando will instead receive Chicago’s 2024 first-rounder, protected for picks 1-3.
  • Portland’s first-rounder is owned by Chicago if Portland’s pick falls between 15 and 30 in 2023. If Portland misses the playoffs as expected, Chicago will instead receive Portland’s 2024 first-rounder, again lottery-protected.
  • Cleveland’s first-rounder is owned by Indiana if Cleveland’s pick falls between 15 and 30 in 2023. If Cleveland misses the playoffs, Indiana will instead receive Cleveland’s 2025 second-round pick and the Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick.
  • Dallas’ first-rounder is owned by New York if Dallas’ pick falls between 11 and 30 in 2023. If Dallas’ pick finishes between 1-10, New York will instead receive Dallas’ 2024 first-rounder, protected for picks 1-10.
  • Denver’s first-rounder is owned by Oklahoma City if Denver’s pick falls between 15 and 30 in 2023. If Denver misses the playoffs, Oklahoma City will instead receive Denver’s 2024 first-rounder, again lottery-protected.
  • Detroit’s first-rounder is owned by Oklahoma City if Detroit’s pick falls between 19 and 30 in 2023. If Detroit’s pick falls between 1-18, Oklahoma City will instead receive Detroit’s 2024 first-rounder, again protected for picks 1-18.
  • Oklahoma City has first-round swap rights with the Los Angeles Clippers.
  • New Orleans has first-round swap rights with the Los Angeles Lakers.
  • On draft night, New York gained two protected first-round picks, both via Oklahoma City: a top-14 protected originally from Washington, and a top-18 protected originally from Detroit.
  • Washington’s first-rounder is owned by Oklahoma City if Washington’s pick falls between 15 and 30 in 2023. If Washington’s pick finishes between 1-14, Oklahoma City will instead receive Washington’s 2024 first-rounder, protected for picks 1-12.

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