We’re rapidly approaching March Madness and top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga have started their long-awaited season, which means the 2021 NBA draft finally has some more clarity.
Even though it took a while for us to see the G League Ignite in action, the bubble season is underway in Florida, giving us a more confident assessment of the full class. Meanwhile, in the NCAA, enough of the regular season has eclipsed to extract meaning from a larger sample size of scouting.
Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the collegiate season due to the ongoing pandemic, this class has multiple players that project as potential stars. Remember, though, this class is incredibly fluid.
This mock should provide an update, if the season ended today, on the talent that could be available when your favorite team is on the clock.
For more information on many of the second-rounders, as well as some sleepers that were not included in this mock draft, I expanded in my big board published late last month.
The main difference from the big board is that this mock factors intel, team fit, front office philosophy and roster construction. For example, there are more international players included here because I’m projecting teams with surplus picks will select draft-and-stash players rather than roster four or five rookies next season.
This draft order, which factors in trades and pick protections, was pulled from the latest Tankathon update following the games on Feb. 11.
All relevant statistics are from BartTorvik.com, KenPom.com, Sports-Reference, RealGM and Synergy Sports Tech. Data is accurate as of February 11, 2021.
