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The NBA world is about to descend on Chicago, with G League Elite Camp starting Monday and the draft lottery on Tuesday, leading into Wednesday’s draft combine and a series of agency pro days throughout the week. Before all that takes place and the framework of draft projections inevitably shifts again, let’s dig into my sleeper picks for this year’s draft. After spending tons of time on the road during the season, reviewing film and doing the legwork on a very wide range of players, I’ve landed on five undervalued prospects, some of whom will be drafted and some won’t, who are positioned to exceed expectations and build legitimate NBA careers in the short and long term.
Last year’s edition of this piece came with some resounding successes: Jose Alvarado quickly proved to be a legit NBA player with New Orleans, and Dalano Banton was drafted 46th and emerged as a real developmental player for the Raptors. The jury is still out on the others: Jason Preston was drafted 33rd by the Clippers but missed the season with injury, while EJ Onu and RaiQuan Gray are in the G League. In a perfect world, all five of these guys pan out every year. But the draft is hard, which is why teams miss every year and why searching for talent remains such a compelling process. Anyway, here are five players I’m putting my chips on.
