With just over a week to go until the draft here is my final 2023 Big Board! In making this board I do my best to ignore the noise and trust my evaluations and scouting instincts. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype that surrounds a prospect or to be swayed by the opinions of others. But I’ve found over the years that I usually regret it if I fail to follow my own instincts – so I’m doing my best with his board to ignore the outside noise and go with my gut and trust my work.
For instance most mocks and boards have James Nnaji in the 20’s or even in the second round but I see him as a potential high-level starter and so have him ranked accordingly.
I also have Bilal Coulibaly up to no.8. One of my big regrets in the past is not having Giannis higher on my final mock/board. At one point I had him up to no.6 but then chickened out at the last minute and dropped him to the late teens. I’m not saying Bilal is the next Giannis but I get the same sort of ‘hit’ when watching him play, so I’m keeping him super high on my board.
There’s also the Scoot vs. B.Miller debate. For me Scoot is the easy choice at no.2 – it’s not really close. I think he’ll be the next great point guard in the league and would have him ranked no.1 in most draft classes that I’ve evaluated. Miller is nice but not generational.
I know that by the end of Summer League in a few weeks I’ll already be looking back at this board and wishing I had ranked these guys differently. But the real review and re-evaluation needs to wait a few years, to give these players time to develop and prove themselves at the NBA level. I look forward to checking in on this board over the coming years to see what I got right, what I got wrong and how I can improve upon those mistakes.
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2023 NBA Draft Big Board – Top 70
- Victor Wembanyama – PF/C – France
- Scoot Henderson – PG – Ignite
- Brandon Miller – SF – Alabama
- Jarace Walker – PF – Houston
- Taylor Hendricks – SF/PF – Central Florida
- Cam Whitmore – SF – Villanova
- Amen Thompson – PG/SG – Overtime Elite
- Bilal Coulibaly – SF –France
- Anthony Black – PG/SF – Arkansas
- Ausar Thompson – SG – Overtime Elite
Stay tuned for future Patreon articles including a closer look at the super intriguing 2026 recruiting class, who will be heading into their sophomore season next year. It’s a loaded group of prospects with a couple of elite talents at the top.