2018 NBA Draft Big Board: The Final Tiers

It feels like the Finals were yesterday, and yet draft week is already here! Having spent all season pulling my hair out to get to this final big board the only thing I can promise is that below you will find the unequivocal resource for all the 2018 NBA Draft prospects.  The tiers serve as a measuring stick to where I have each prospect relative to the competition. Hope you enjoy the board as much as I enjoyed putting it together and make sure to explore each prospects draft profile, which we have linked to their name. We only have the next 15 years to come back here and review how awfully wrong I was. The only certainty is to expect the unexpected and a whole lot of blockbuster trades on Thursday night at Barclays Center!

Tier 1: ‘Hall of Fame’

• Luka Doncic – NBA teams passing on the “Wonderboy” will be wondering what happened when he becomes a Hall-of-Famer.

Tier 2: ‘All-Stars Lurking’

• Jaren Jackson Jr. – A very young 3-and-D big that can legitimately develop into a league leading shot blocker AND three-point shooter.
• Mohammed Bamba – Longest wingspan in the history of draft combine measurements. A unique combination of defensive length and offensive potential that will require gym work to put it all together.
• DeAndre Ayton – A rare specimen of size, strength, agility, and fluidity results in an extremely high offensive ceiling, albeit with concerns over his defensive instincts and effort.

Tier 3: ‘The Maybe Superstars’

• Trae Young – A divisive college superstar with underrated vision and passing skill. Defensive limitations should not affect his offensive swagger.
• Marvin Bagley – Offensive supernova with elite skills and confidence that will rebound with the best of them even if his defense fails to improve.
• Mikal Bridges – A boring safe bet to translate into an above average two-way “role” player with Kawhi Leonard ceiling.
• Wendell Carter Jr. – A low maintenance starting center with flexibility to play in any offensive or defensive system.
• Zhaire Smith – Best shot-blocking guard since Dwyane Wade, the rising young stud played 4/5 in college and exhibits some of the most unique combination of skills I’ve ever seen in scouting.

Tier 4: ‘Elite Talents with Question Marks’

• Michael Porter Jr. – An elite offensive talent combines size and agility with a very bad back.
• Miles Bridges – Undersized wing with incredible bounce and an improved shot.
• Kevin Knox – Highly touted high school prospect with underwhelming freshman season at Kentucky, resurrecting his stock with impressive workouts.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Surprise star at Kentucky brings size and natural playmaking instincts to the point guard position.
• Robert Williams – An elite shot-blocking center with few frills to his game.
• Kevin Huerter – Draft combine darling exhibited smooth scoring and a sweet jump shot for a fluid athlete with his size.

Tier 5: ‘Rising and Falling’

• Donte DiVicenzo – Villanova’s NCAA tournament star and Championship MVP always seems to rise to the occasion.
• Collin Sexton – An effective college scorer that needs to prove to skeptics that his game is multi-dimension if he wants to become a starting caliber point-guard.
• Lonnie Walker IV – A tantalizing combination of potential and theoretical offensive skill with limited success and consistency so far.
• Jacob Evans – The prototypical 3-and-D wing with a high floor and relatively low ceiling.
• Troy Brown – A theoretical 3-and-D wing (if he figures out how to shoot) with low floor and high ceiling.

Tier 6: ‘The Unknown Quantities’

• Dzanan Musa – A streaky scorer in Europe with size and youth factor in his favor to balance out his subpar explosiveness.
• Anfernee Simons – A smooth operator with the shooting stroke and no game tape against college or professional competition.
• Mitchell Robinson – An absolute enigma combining an elite physical profile with a questionable desire and motor.
• De’Anthony Melton – Disregard the inconsistent shooting and you find yourself a diamond in the rough that can do all the little things on both ends of the floor.

Tier 7: ‘The Veterans’

• Khyri Thomas – 3-and-D combo guard with wing potential, albeit secondary playmaker ceiling?
• Keita Bates-Diop – Older prospect with elite length and theoretical shooting and defense.
• Chandler Hutchison – A college jack of all trades with role player glue guy written all over him.
• Jalen Brunson – National Player of the Year provides a steady hand at a position that requires his high IQ and quiet confidence.
• Aaron Holiday – Developing into an aggressive offensive and defensive difference-maker much like his brother in New Orleans.
• Jerome Robinson – The latest draft “experts” darling for contributing in all facets of the game at an above-average level.

Tier 8: ‘Long-Term Investments’

• Josh Okogie – Well-rounded shooting guard with impressive defensive and play-making potential.
• Melvin Frazier – Athletic wing with the length and experience to contribute as a rookie.
• Hamidou Diallo – Trending downward since playing for Calipari, the hope is he blossoms with more freedom in the league.
• Isaac Bonga – Young German with elite length and shaky shooting.
• Jarred Vanderbilt – A truly unique point-forward with a shockingly high rebounding rate.
• Gary Trent Jr. – A nice combination of size and shooting with Duke pedigree.
• Rawle Alkins – Strong wing with high motor and defensive grit.
• Elie Okobo – Latest French sensation that exhibits elite scoring potential.

For ‘best of the rest’ and all other tiers see below for the full big board: