The Best Young NBA Draft Prospects

The NBA season is close to being over but don’t fear basketball fans; the sport won’t disappear from your thoughts with attention very quickly turning to the next generation of talent.

Here we take a few minutes to give you our thoughts on the best young NBA draft prospects.

Number 5. Jalen Suggs

Kicking off our list of the best young NBA draft prospects is a man that has taken the college scene by storm; Jalen Suggs. The Gonzaga point guard knocked down one of the most memorable shots in the history of March Madness along with leading his team to the Finals.

Suggs has displayed exceptional leadership skills at such a young age whilst his stats are pretty good too; he averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

He has benefitted from playing alongside two of the better college players but they do say that more quality around you the better you’ll be – particularly if you have quality yourself. Suggs will be a sought after player in the draft.

Number 4. Jonathan Kuminga

It’s been a funny time for Jonathan Kuminga. He has bounced around the draft pecking order and could easily have ended higher up our list or not in the top five at all. Instead he ranks in at number four. Many teams have him listed pretty highly on their boards given he’s been on of the best defensive players and courtesy of his rear guard versatility.

He has the length capable to guard all five positions, which is a talent that almost every team is looking for nowadays. On top of that, he is just 18-years-old entering this draft. The beauty of Kuminga is that he’s not just a defender; he showcased his offensive talent too in the shape of game averages of 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Number 3. Jalen Green

Jalen Green was initially the highest rated prospect when he exited high school and, although he’s third on our list of the best young NBA draft prospects he’s still one of the best talents around. Green ended up shocking a lot of scouts by opting for the G League over college; it’s worked out alright for him though. He averaged 17.9 points on a very high 46.1% shooting from the field and a solid 36.5% three point conversion.

Green has displayed a variety of dribbling moves and has proven to be able to create a shot for himself quite easily. The one question mark is his physical stature but a specially formulated training routine will solve that problem.

Number 2. Evan Mobley

He’s not sat at number one but Evan Mobley is by far the best center prospect in the draft and for good reason. The 7’0 big man out of USC was terrific last season; he almost immediately slotted in as the go to scoring option in his first year. Mobley put up 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game whilst leading his team to the Elite Eight.

Eventually, Mobley and co lost out to a Suggs inspired Gonzaga but Mobley earned plenty of plaudits. Some scouts have even compared him to Nikola Vucevic and Bam Adebayo. That is big praise.

Number 1. Cade Cunningham

Topping our list of the best young NBA draft prospects is Cade Cunningham. The 19-year-old point guard has long been expected to be the number one overall pick in this upcoming NBA Draft.

He led his college team to a 21-9 record along with a trip to the tournament despite them not being ranked that highly entering the year. He averaged 20.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, boasts a tremendous wingspan and stands at 6’8. It means in addition to sinking points he can defend the majority of positions pretty well.

He’s obviously not the finished article with his decision making letting him down on occasion but experience at the top level will fix that and then he really could go far. Who knows, maybe he could be part of the list of best point guards of all time in the future: edge.twinspires.com/nba/the-best-point-guards-in-nba-history/

There you have it the best young NBA draft prospects. Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments before.

Reynard Jenning

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