As a freshman who will turn 20 years old before he’s drafted, Holmgren should be a college basketball star from day one with a huge spotlight to prove he’s worthy of being taken with the No. He’ll head to Spokane ready to play the four next to returning center Drew Timme in what should be the most intimidating front line in America. Holmgren is the biggest name in this class after a standout prep career in Minnesota that ended with him following in the footsteps of his former high school teammate Jalen Suggs by committing to Gonzaga. He may not have the highest ceiling in this class depending on how his shooting, on-ball shot creation, and perimeter defense pan out, but his physical tools and skill flashes are enough to make him our top prospect entering the year. It will also be interesting to monitor his lateral quickness defensively. He doesn’t have the shooting yet to be a dependable floor spacer.
He’ll be an immediate threat on grab-and-go transition opportunities, but the hope is that Coach K allows him to initiate the offense at times in the halfcourt.īanchero is a bit undersize for an NBA center right now, with a wingspan reportedly between 7’0.5 and 7’2. Banchero played more with the ball in his hands on the perimeter late in his high school career, showing off improved ball handling and the ability to lower his shoulder to create scoring chances on his drives. His real upside comes in his developing shot creation ability, though. He’ll be able to bully college players inside with his strength from day one while leveraging his passing out of the high post to find shooters. It will be fascinating to see how Duke uses Banchero.
He isn’t a dependable three-point shooter yet, but he’s been a good free throw shooter at the prep level and has started to take step-back threes off the dribble. His passing flashes have been tantalizing, and should become one of his defining traits. Listed at 6’10, 250 pounds by the Blue Devils, the Seattle native is already a monster interior scorer and rebounder, and has started to develop his perimeter skills. Banchero’s calling card is his rare offensive versatility for a player his size. He’ll be the centerpiece of Coach K’s final team at Duke, and will have every opportunity to prove he should be the No. Paolo Banchero, F/C, Dukeīanchero has the frame, power, and burgeoning skill to play in the NBA straight out of high school. This is how we project the 2022 NBA Draft class right now. I’ve had some misses, too, with Emmanuel Mudiay, Skal Labissiere, Josh Jackson, and Cameron Reddish at No. 1 in 2020, and Cunningham as the top pick in 2021. Sometimes it looks pretty good, like when we pegged Luka Doncic as the top player in 2018, Anthony Edwards at No.
We like to do a big board for next year’s class the day after the draft every year. While it currently seems unlikely this class will feature a prospect on the level of Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green, the 2022 class projects to have tremendous depth throughout the lottery.
The first 10 players on our board each have a legitimate chance to become the top pick with a strong season. The 2022 class is much more wide open at the top. 1 overall pick when we did our early mock the day after the 2020 draft. That means it’s time to take our first look at the 2022 NBA Draft class.Ī year ago, Cade Cunningham was an obvious choice to eventually be the No.