2018 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0: College basketball is here
By Owen Nelson
As the college basketball season begins, it’s time to take a look at the top 30 players in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Since my last NBA Draft Big Board, a lot has happened regarding Luka Doncic. The Slovenian showed his wide variety of skills at the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket and led his nation to the win in the final against Serbia.
It’s still up in the air whether or not this draft will be as stacked as that of last years. The potential is certainly there, however, the top players in this class must perform. They’ll all have a reason to perform to the best of their abilities every game because of the tight race for the number one pick.
There’s no consensus number one pick in this draft, unlike recent years. Markelle Fultz had the number one spot wrapped up after his MVP performances at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Ben Simmons was the number one prospect for years and was the only player with star potential from his draft class.
So far there are five players who are in the conversation for the top pick: Michael Porter Jr., Marvin Bagley III, Luka Doncic, Mohamed Bamba and DeAndre Ayton. All of these players possess the potential to be perennial All-Stars and the cornerstones for whatever team drafts them.
Every year there seems to be a top prospect who drops off during the season. In past years these players included Harry Giles III, Skal Labissière and Kelly Oubre Jr. The odds are that one of the top players in this class’ draft stock will plummet, but who will it be? Only time will tell.