The Early 2024 NBA Consensus Mock Draft

The Victor Wembanyama hype train goes from the NBA Draft to the Summer League and then the Association itself this fall. After Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 by San Antonio in last week’s NBA Draft, we’re naturally trying to stay ahead of the curve with the first consensus 2024 NBA mock draft.

Drawing upon the success of last week’s consensus 2023 NBA mock draft that nailed the top-four picks in order and had most of the lottery selections, we’re taking another spin at things with a way-too-early look at the big mock drafts out there.

While there are no official betting odds yet for the 2024 NBA Draft at the major U.S. sportsbooks, you can use this tool to get a step ahead for when the books do start offering these wagers.

For this article, we’re using seven mock drafts in all, which have been published to the following websites:

Our consensus picks are determined by the most agreement among the mocks. At this early juncture, the mocks are all over the place–especially outside of the top 10. For some picks, all seven sources have different players in a certain spot. For those, we will use a tiebreaker system that gives the nod to the player whose average draft position among the seven mocks is highest.

Many of the mocks also just listed the prospects in order. We’ll go with ESPN’s projections on which teams will be lottery-bound in 2024 to grab these players.

Before we get started, the most well-known name that will likely be in the 2024 draft is Bronny James. The son of LeBron, James isn’t among the top prospects in the draft class, but he’s projected as a first-round talent by all of the mocks and other talent evaluators.

But James’ draft result may end up being about more than talent. LeBron James has said that he would like to play alongside his son before he retires. He’ll be playing at USC this year–the same city where his father plays pro ball for the Lakers.

James recently signed a two-year deal with the Lakers, but for 2024-25, he’s on a player option. He could theoretically sign with the team that drafts his son. Making matters more complicated for the Lakers is that they do not own a first-round pick in the 2024 draft. They traded it to New Orleans as part of the package to acquire Anthony Davis in 2019. Does that mean the Lakers will make a trade to be able to draft Bronny James to appease his famous father into activating his player option for 2024-25? This will be a big story to follow next spring.

Three of the seven mock drafts have Buzelis going No. 1 overall, and the ones who do not have the 18-year-old going No. 2. The 6’11”, 190-pounder obviously has room to grow and fill out his frame, which is admittedly lanky at the moment. But he handles the ball like a guard, can shoot from long range, and grab rebounds.

Buzelis chose G League Ignite (home of this year’s No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson) over schools like Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida State. We’re seeing more prospects go this route due to more of a focus on basketball, its NBA rules, and the ability to workout with pros–which Buzelis is with trainer Chris Brickley and the recently retired Carmelo Anthony.

If Detroit lands the No. 2 pick, they will have far more lottery luck than they did in 2023. The Pistons finished the year with the worst record in the league but drew the No. 5 pick. Swingman Zaccharie Risacher was picked to go No. 1 by two mocks and second by three others. He was the youngest player at the Nike Hoop Summit (17 at the time). Despite that, he was said to be one of the most impressive–especially when you consider his age.

He’s a couple inches shorter than Buzelis but already weighs a bit more. He also can pass, play defense, and has a solid shooting stroke. Another year in France, which produced Wembanyama and No. 7 overall pick Bilal Coulibaly, will only help.

Holland was the highest collegiate player in this mock. But he decommitted from Texas and decided to go to G League Ignite. Holland shined during all-star season, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the Nike Hoop Summit and scoring 11 with six boards in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

He is said to be a better all-around athlete than Buzelis and Rizacher. However, his game is still developing, which gives the other two the nod ahead of Holland. One mock each has Holland at No. 1 and No. 2, but three have him going in the third spot.

The first of a handful of Kentucky stars goes off the board at No. 4 to the Indiana Pacers, as three of the seven mocks predict Justin Edwards being drafted here. Bleacher Report has him going third, but Yahoo has him at No. 8.

Despite Kentucky being inconsistent on the court over the past several years, there’s no doubting head coach John Calipari’s ability to attract talent to the Wildcats program and get players drafted in the first round. Edwards is a part of Kentucky’s recruiting class that’s ranked tops in the nation, and given the turnover in Lexington, he should earn a starting role.

Oklahoma City’s trade of Russell Westbrook to Houston will pay dividends next summer when the Thunder, who made the Play-In Series this year, will get a likely lottery pick from the Rockets. While they might not take point guard Isaiah Collier due to having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the fold, he is the consensus best player on the board in this spot, as three of the seven mocks have him going at No. 5.

He’s the top-ranked guard coming out of high school and lived up to that billing during all-star season. Despite being known as a pass-first point guard, he scored a game-high 25 in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He and Bronny James are expected to do big things with the Trojans this season.

Cody Williams, the younger brother of OKC guard Jalen Williams, shot up the rankings during his senior year of high school. He’s got length on defense and his size gives him versatility to guard teams’ best players regardless of position. There’s also the most consensus at this spot among all the lottery picks: four of the seven mocks have Williams going No. 6.

ESPN has the Spurs in the lottery in Wembanyama’s first year, and if they end up with in this spot, they almost will certainly not take Bradshaw since “Wemba” would likely have them covered at the center position. But three of the seven have Bradshaw at this spot, so we’re just sticking with the formula.

Another member of Coach Cal’s 2023 Kentucky recruiting class, Bradshaw is the top-ranked big man in the field, standing at 7’2″. His game is similar to Duke’s Dereck Lively II, who was a lottery pick by Dallas last week. He can shoot from 3-point territory, which is valuable as a seven-footer, but he broke his foot last month, which is an injury that’s of concern for big men. He should return before conference play begins for UK, but his mobility will be closely monitored.

Castle will be brought into the rotation in Connecticut to replace Jordan Hawkins, who won a national championship with the Huskies this past spring. He’s taller than Hawkins (6’6″) and loves to push the pace. He can also attack the basket with his quickness. With coach Dan Hurley having the Huskies back in the national picture, expect Castle to get lots of attention this college basketball season.

While the Rockets lost a first-rounder to OKC this year, they gain one from the Nets in the James Harden trade. Tyrese Proctor is the first name on our list that will be familiar to fans of the college game, as he returns to Duke for his sophomore season. The Australian guard was one of the youngest players in the NCAA last year, so an extra year of seasoning will do nothing but help his game and his stock.

Our consensus mock as back-to-back picks out of Duke, as three of our seven mock drafts have Filipowski going in the 10 spot. The 7-foot, 230-pounder also played for last year’s ACC tournament championship team but underwent double hip surgery after the season ended. He decided to return to school for another year instead of entering the draft while recovering from surgery.

Drawing comparisons to Keith Van Horn, Filipowski’s ceiling appears to be at around this position, as the other mocks who didn’t have him at No. 10 all have him dropping out of the lottery.

Clingan, who stands at 7’2″ and weighs 265 pounds, returns to UConn after helping the Huskies to a national championship last season. He came off the bench last season and will transition into a starting role. Clingan plays with intensity but knows when to not force it when openings in the paint collapse, so that kind of sixth sense will be important at the next level.

This is our first pick where all seven mocks projected a different player at No. 11, but Clingan won out thanks to some experts having him go higher, including ESPN at No. 8.

While Wemba drew all the headlines this year, the 2024 draft is where the Spurs can really get to the next level with two potential lottery picks. This one comes from Toronto in the DeMar DeRozan deal. This chas a good chance to be a solid pick for the Spurs because Toronto appears to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode after firing head coach Nick Nurse.

Walter is projected at No. 12 by two of the seven mocks, which is a strong consensus this far down! He can stretch the floor despite being 6’5″ at shooting guard. But height isn’t much of a concern because he excels at knocking down shots despite having a defender in his face. How his size will play in the NBA is a question, but the talent is there, and he’ll be battle-tested in the Big 12.

Wagner’s appearance in the McDonald’s All-American Game made him the first third-generation player to compete in that exhibition, joining father Dajuan (2001) and grandfather Milt (1981). He’s a bit undersized for the 2-guard at 6’4″, and his defense also needs some polishing.

Interestingly enough, the No. 13 spot at SB Nation is the only time that the name Bronny James appears in the lottery among all of the mocks we’re using.

The third player from G League Ignite projected into the lottery is Thierry Darlan out of Senegal. Yahoo is especially high on Darlan, ranking him sixth. So despite no consensus at the No. 14 spot, Darlan gets the nod based on a higher average draft position than players like Jared McCain, Mackenzie Mgbako, and Omaha Biliew.

Darlan was a part of the NBA Academy Africa before joining G League Ignite over other suitors like Kansas and Arizona. Darlan will be with other top prospects, which should raise his game. He would be ranked higher overall if not for a dislocated ankle he suffered over NBA All-Star weekend. However, he has already recovered from that injury and is back on the court.