With the NBA's regular season nearly over as well as the NCAA's men's college basketball season having now concluded, many fans will now turn their attention to the draft. The draft always provides plenty of intrigue and this year's draft is no different.
Zaccharie Risacher is generally seen as the most likely candidate to be selected first overall in the 2024 NBA draft, but a recent development may call that into question. Since the beginning of February, he has been on a cold streak, which is certain to hurt his value because he is considered to be one of the best shooters in the draft.
Risacher has three games over that period where he's made zero field goals, including today's matchup against Blois. He also isn't doing much in the playmaking category either, with only 7 (!!!) total assists in two months' worth of games.
— Nick Kalinowski (@kalidrafts) April 7, 2024
Not just that, but as Nick Kalinowski points out, he has just seven assists over his last 16 games. While shooters aren't usually high assist players, it is hard for a starter at any level of basketball to tally just seven assists while playing big minutes over a 16-game span.
If not Risacher, then who could be taken first overall in the 2024 NBA Draft?
Without a consensus number one pick, who ends up going first might depend on who's selecting first. The Detroit Pistons need shooting and might still take Risacher. The San Antonio Spurs need playmaking and could talk themselves into Nikola Topic, while the Washington Wizards need talent across the board and may take big man Alexandre Saar.
Still, this year's draft has been labeled the worst ever. That is probably hyperbole, with the 2000 NBA Draft being among the worst in sports history.
Multiple veteran NBA execs say the same thing about this draft.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 1, 2024
It’s the worst draft they have ever seen.
Nevertheless, it seems clear that there is an unusual lack of elite prospects at the top but there are often a few surprises. Moreover, critics who often question the talent in a draft are usually focused on the top-10 and not the rest of the draft.
The 2013 and 2014 drafts saw two multi-time MVPs picked, with Giannis Antetokounmpo selected 15th overall in 2013 and Nikola Jokić chosen 41st in 2014. The 2013 draft especially benefited from having Antetokounmpo since there was a serious lack of star power in that class.
Ultimately, it could take several years for us to determine whether the criticisms about the 2024 draft are true or not. However, every draft class has several surprises and the 2024 class may prove no different, even if it may look lackluster at the moment.