Who will be the No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft? Early projections say a Kentucky player.
The 2023-24 men’s basketball season is still about three months away from its first game, but the hype around the incoming Kentucky freshmen is already extendin beyond Lexington, looking ahead to their not-too-distant professional futures.
NBA Draft analysts expect that future to be particularly bright for a handful of Wildcats.
On Monday, The Athletic became the latest national outlet to post an NBA mock draft for 2024, and Kentucky freshman Justin Edwards was the No. 1 overall player on that list.
Edwards — a 6-foot-8 wing from Philadelphia — is the highest-ranked of several possible stars in UK’s top-rated recruiting class for the upcoming season. Edwards ended up as the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 class, according to the final 247Sports rankings, which pegged forward Ron Holland (G League) at No. 1 and point guard Isaiah Collier (Southern Cal) at No. 2.
The Athletic’s mock draft had G Leaguers Holland, Izan Almansa and Matas Buzelis in the 2-4 spots, with Collier rated as the No. 5 overall pick.
Early indications from basketball analysts at all levels are that the 2024 draft class will not be as strong as in recent years, with The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie pointing out in his mock draft this week that league scouts and executives have told him the top-rated prospect in the 2024 pool probably would have gone in the 6-9 range in this year’s draft, which featured players such as Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson and twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson at the top.
