Your Kansas City Star guide to 2023 NBA Draft: Live updates, analysis & pick tracker
The 2023 NBA Draft took place on Thursday with the San Antonio Spurs selecting highly coveted French big man Victor Wembanyama at No. 1 overall.
Wembanyama entered the draft as the most hyped prospect since LeBron James was selected No. 1 overall in 2003.
“This is the most highly anticipated player to ever enter the NBA,” said ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, “and this is maybe not only the greatest prospect in the NBA’s history, maybe the greatest prospect in the history of team sports.”
With those big words as the backdrop and a strong top three projected to lead the class, here’s what to know about the 2023 NBA Draft...
Wembanyama headlines strong NBA Draft top three
- No. 1 (ESPN big board) Victor Wembanyama, France (Metropolitans 92)
- No. 2 Brandon Miller, Alabama
- No. 3 Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
Victor Wembanyama, the 19-year-old, 7-foot-4 forward has played since 2019 in the LNB Pro A, the top men’s basketball league in France. During the 2022-23 Pro A season, he averaged 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds on 47% shooting for Metropolitans 92 of the Paris metropolitan area.
The Charlotte Hornets owned the No. 2 overall pick while the Portland Trail Blazers picked at No. 3. G League Ignite standout Scoot Henderson and University of Alabama product Brandon Miller were considered the best available prospects after Wembanyama, and Miller was ultimately the pick at No. 2.
Henderson, a 6-foot-2 point guard on the NBA’s developmental exhibition team, averaged 16.5 points on 42.9% shooting plus 6.5 assists for 2022-23.
Miller, a 6-foot-9 forward and the 2022-23 SEC Player of the Year, averaged 18.8 points on 43% shooting overall and 38.4% from three-point range, along with 8.8 rebounds.
Local prospects led by Kansas’ Gradey Dick
Kansas Jayhawks sharpshooter Gradey Dick was foremost among players from Kansas, K-State and Missouri on predictive draft boards. The 6-foot-8 forward, who averaged 14.1 points and shot 40.3% on three-pointers as a freshman, went No. 13 to Toronto.
Dick was joined by KU teammate Jalen Wilson in the draft. (Wilson went in the second round to Brooklyn.) The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year averaged 20.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in his fourth season in Lawrence.
Missouri Tigers guard Kobe Brown and Kansas State Wildcats forward Keyontae Johnson and guard Markquis Nowell were other locals who had a notable experience on Thursday. Brown was drafted 30th overall, Johnson went in the second round and Nowell quickly signed with the Raptors as an undrafted free agent.
Follow along here with The Kansas City Star’s live coverage and analysis — via Mason Young and Lawrence Price — of the 2023 NBA Draft...
This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 3:52 PM.
