ATLANTA — Only once in the history of the NBA draft have we seen the first four players selected hail from somewhere outside of the college basketball industrial complex. Despite the influx of international talent and alternative pathways to the league, it doesn’t happen often. The year was 2001, and those four players were Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Eddy Curry, in that order—three American high schoolers and a budding international star from Spain, all bigs.
It is presently 2022 and this is very much October, so it goes without saying that nothing is certain in the context of the forthcoming draft, but there’s a possibility—perhaps not a strong one, but one that’s reasonable enough to discuss right now—that the 2023 class might mirror that elusive feat. Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson sit as the consensus top two early-season prospects, inbound from France’s Pro A and the G League Ignite program, respectively. Meanwhile, more than 70 scouts descended on Atlanta this week to check in on Amen and Ausar Thompson, twin prospects who could feasibly round out the draft’s top four eight months from now.
The Thompson twins are signed with Overtime Elite, which has expanded ahead of its second year as an alternative pathway for teenage players, some of whom are preparing for professional careers, and others who are maintaining college eligibility. That option is a new offering from OTE, which worked with the NCAA to ensure that its next wave of prep players would have that option and prove its own academic viability. The on- and off-court resources available to players are of the highest quality, and while actual development into NBA-caliber prospects isn’t guaranteed, there are obvious growth opportunities for those that put the time in.
