2018 NBA Mock Draft
by Frank Burlison
Is it too early to be already excited for next year’s draft? Absolutely not! Here’s our top 30 players in next year’s crop.
1. Michael Porter
6–9 PF/SF Seattle Nathan Hale/University of Missouri
Frank Says: Comparisons can be trite but this guy really does have a large mix of the best of Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum in his bag of basketball tricks. And time could prove him better than any of them in college and in the NBA.
2. Luka Doncic
6–8 SG/SF Slovenia/Real Madrid
3. Wendell Carter
6–9 PF/C Atlanta Pace Academy/Duke
Frank Says: By all accounts, Carter came oh-so-close to committing to Harvard, which would have gone a long way to putting the Crimson into the second week of the NCAA tournament and giving Tom Amaker the recruiting coup of all coups head up against his mentor in Durham. Let the Elton Brand comparisons commence come November.
4. DeAndre Ayton
6–10 PF Phoenix Hillcrest/University of Arizona
Frank Says: He’s not the jump shooter that Lauri Markkanen is but, when he’s of the mind, he’s a better all-around player.
5. Mohammad Bamba
6–10 Westtown, PA/Texas
Frank Says: Can this McDonald’s All-American make more of an impact on the Longhorns season than two McDs from the Class of 2016 (Jarrett Allen and Andrew Jones) did in 2016–17? When he was at his best, Bamba was worthy of all of the “he’s as good a big man as there is in the class” commentary uttered.
6. Mitchell Robinson
6–10 PF/C Chalmette, LA/Western Kentucky
Frank Says: He didn’t get quite the hype of the likes of Ayton, Carter and Mohammad Bamba over the past couple of years. But he could prove to be better than any of them three or four years from now.
7. Hamidou Diallo
6–5 SG University of Kentucky
Frank Says: So, you think Malik Monk threw down a lot of dunking nastiness during his one season in a Wildcats uniform, eh? Well, wait to you get a look at the hire-wire histrionics he creates for John Calipari in his only season in a Kentucky uniform.
8. Robert Williams
6–8 PF Texas A&M
Frank Says: If someone outside of Lexington bags SEC Player of the Year honors, this is going to be the fellow. And if there is going to a better college rebounder than Wendell Carter this season, this is the gentleman.
9. Jaren Jackson
6–10 PF LaPorte, IN/Michigan State
Frank Says: The combination of Jackson and Myles Bridges is a nice foundation on which to build the argument that the Spartans are going to be as a good a choice as any to win the 2018 national championship.
10. Myles Bridges
6–7 SF Michigan State
Frank Says: Typing this it’s still difficult to grasp the reality that Bridges decided NOT to join 14 of his fellow 2016 McDonald’s All-Americans in the 2017 draft. Wow!
11. Chimezie Metu
6–10 PF/C USC
Frank Says: The quick- and big-jumping Metu would have crushed it in all of the individual workouts he would have been invited to had he elected to dip his toe in the draft pool before making a decision to return for his junior season as Trojan.
12. Kevin Knox
6–8 PF/SF Tampa Catholic/Kentucky
Frank Says: The biggest challenge John Calipari faces in coaching this fellow during Knox’s only season in college will come in deciding what position he’s best suited for.
13. Trevon Duval
6–2 PG Bradenton, FL, IMG Academy/Duke
Frank Says: This guy is on track to feed Gary Trent Jr. and Grayson Allen for a whole bunch of deep shots, and for the likes for Wendell Carter for a gaggle of backboard-assaulting dunks. If you’re assuming that this is the most gifted “point guard-type” Mike Krzyzewski has had at Duke since he had Kyrie Irving, take a bow.
14. Colin Sexton
6–3 PG/SG Mableton, GA, Pepplebrook/Alabama
Frank Says: Compelling arguments could be made be made on behalf of several other players on this list as for being the best point guard in the class. But the “who is the fastest PG in the class?” question can be immediately put to rest with this guy’s name. No one in college will get from free-throw line to the opposite rim any faster this season.
15. Isaac Bonga
6–9 SF/PF Germany/Frankfurt
16. De’Anthony Melton
6–4 SG/PG USC
Frank Says: If you can recall, Russell Westbrook sort of “snuck up on people” during his sophomore season at UCLA en route to becoming the №4 selection in the 2008 draft. Now, this is not to suggest than Melton is going to have the same level of impact at USC but, as Westbrook high school coach (Reggie Morris Jr.) said after his Redondo team was beaten by Melton and Crespi in California playoff action during March of 2016 “he’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Russell since Russell”.
17. Troy Brown
6–6 SG/SF Las Vegas Centennial/Oregon
Frank Says: Brown’s presence will go quite a way softening the loss of Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey for Dana Altman. He may be one of the five best players in the Pac 12 by March.
18. Rawle Alkins
6–4 SG University of Arizona
Frank Says: The presence of so many higher profile freshmen in the Pac 12 last season meant that there are still a lot of people who under-appreciate how well Alkins and De’Anthony Melton played as freshmen.
19. Shake Milton
6–4 PG/SG SMU
Frank Says: The multitude of skills possessed by Milton with and without the ball in his hands is why the slippage from a 30-victory season won’t be nearly as steep as it might be otherwise.
20. Gary Trent Jr.
6–4 SG Napa, CA, Prolific Prep/Duke
Frank Says: The loss of Luke Kennard to the NBA would have been a much more significant hit to the Blue Devils’ hopes of a deep NCAA tourney in 2018 if this jump-shooter deluxe wasn’t in uniform.
21. Billy Preston
6–9 SF/PF Mouth of Wilson, VA, Oak Hill/Kansas
Frank Says: We’ll know by March if Preston has the same kind of impact in Lawrence that like-sized and like-gifted Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson did before checking out of classes to prepare for their respective drafts.
22. Arnoldas Kulboka
6–9 SF/PF Lithuania/Bamberg (GER)
23. Bruce Brown
6–4 SG University of Miami
Frank Says: Over a 10-game stretch, Brown scored 30 points, hitting four of six 3s, grabbing four rebounds with five assists, two steals and two blocked shots against the now-defending national champions, and scoring 25 points with four rebounds and four assists against Duke. You don’t see that much out of a freshman, do you?
24. Jaylen Hands
6–3 PG El Cajon, CA, Foothills Christian/UCLA
Frank Says: Having seen all three throughout their prep careers, comparing Hands to Baron Davis rings a lot truer to me than does comparing him to Lonzo Ball.
25. Aaron Holiday
6–2 PG UCLA
Frank Says: Via the departures of Lonzo Ball, Isaac Hamilton, Bryce Alford, the ball will be in Holiday’s hands even more frequently than it was last season and he’ll get more of an opportunity to be the de facto “floor leader” for Steve Alford.
26. Trae Young
6–2 PG Norman North/Oklahoma
Frank Says: Young stayed “local” in a big way after turning down opportunities to join the other McDonald’s All-Americans who were lured to the likes of Lexington and Lawrence. Only Colin Sexton among other 2017–18 freshman point guards is as diversified a scorer as is Young, in large part because he shoots it so well from so deep.
27. Theo Pinson
6–6 SG/SF University of North Carolina
Frank Says: He won’t be the scorer that Justin Jackson was for Roy Williams last season but he could be an even better defender, rebounder and playmaker at his size and with his versatility.
28. Alonzo Trier
6–4 SG Arizona
Frank Says: As the case with Tucson teammate Rawle Alkins, the range on — and consistency of — his jump shot should dictate how intrigued NBA decision makers are with Trier 12 or so months from now.
28. Udoka Azubuike
6–10 C Kansas
Frank Says: Azubuike played just 142 minutes over 11 games before going to the sideline for the rest of the season with torn ligaments in his left wrist. Something to consider (because NBA guys sure will): The 280-pounder from Lagos, Nigeria (by way Jacksonville, FL) doesn’t turn 18 years old until Sept. 17. That means he’s younger by a year or more than a lot of the very best seniors in high school hoops.
30. Brian Bowen
6–8 SF/SG La Porte, IN, La Lumiere/Louisville
Frank Says: “Tugs” is among the most versatile players in this class and seemed bound for Michigan State or Arizona for quite the long while before the Cardinals obviously made a relatively late and lasting impression.
