The 2023 might be considered one of the better draft classes in recent when everyone is retired or out of the league in the next two decades or so. That has already led scouts and analysts to believe that the 2024 NBA draft class won’t be nearly as good.
While that remains to be seen, there are plenty of good reasons to believe that it may be a much more interesting class. For starters, it will likely require a much more watchful eye to determine who will end up selected first overall. Some of the reasons are outlined below.
The 2023 vs. 2024 NBA Draft Class
The mystery behind this draft class certainly makes it more intriguing than 2023. We all knew Victor Wembanyama was the prize in that draft and that Scoot Henderson was the next best player — even if it was Brandon Miller who was selected next. This draft is a total toss up and the tiers of best players are completely muddled compared to this past draft. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus for the top-3 picks either. So far, there’s been a combination of Isaiah Collier, Ron Holland, Matas Buzelis, Justin Edwards, and Zaccharie Risacher all thrown around.
While Scott Henderson became the highest-picked player out of the G-League at No. 2, there’s potential for the G-League to have two of the top picks in the draft. With Holland and Buzelis both playing for Ignite and assuming they play well, they could go back-to-back in this draft. While those two should be the pride of Ignite, there are plenty of collegiate and overseas stars who will demand attention as well.
The 2024 NBA Class
Those collegiate stars to look for are outlined in a couple of lists we’ve given you already (here and here). Those lists feature several players who find themselves at Kentucky this year, including: Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw. Of course, there are plenty of other college players you should be watching for this season in newly minted UCLA Bruin Aday Mara as well as Duke’s cadre of players.
Names like Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski will be familiar. The Blue Devils also brought in freshmen like Jared McCain and Sean Stewart who should also make waves. USC will have a ton of talent this season, including Bronny James (if he comes back healthy enough to play), Isaiah Collier, and and Isaiah Collier. The latter of whom will likely end up a top-5 pick if his season goes as planned.
Some overseas names to know for this draft that could make their way into the first round are: Zaccharie Risacher, Bobi Klintman, AJ Johnson, and Alexandre Sarr. We’ll have to see how they all play in their respective leagues, but the 2024 draft class should actually be quite exciting and certainly more of a mystery at the top than 2023.
This One Is Not Clear Cut
With no clear tier of top players and not knowing how good the tiers are below it, the scouting for next year’s draft should be a ton of fun. There will be plenty of collegiate tape to wade through, but the play in the G-League will be infinitely more intriguing than when Henderson was the main prospect to watch. If Buzelis and Holland prove they are ready to play with grown men, their status as top-3 guys could be cemented and we could end up talking about everyone who belongs in the tier below them.
