Tag: Max Abmas

2021 NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Player comparisons and predicting all 60 picks

Who should the Houston Rockets select if they get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft?

While fans are now enjoying the NBA postseason, there are several teams that didn’t make the playoffs with full attention on the draft.

Now that the regular season and play-in tournament are both complete, the order is set for picks No. 15 to No. 60. However, we will have to wait until the lottery on June 22.

For more details on odds for when each team in the lottery will be on the clock, you can read this post by our own Charles Curtis.

Meanwhile, we also have a pretty clear idea of which prospects have opted to declare for the 2021 NBA draft. But any stragglers still have until May 30 to make their decision in order to be eligible for draft consideration.

Scouts and executives around the league will have an even better feel for this class come June 21, when the combine begins in Chicago.

After that, all those who hired either NCAA-certified agents or do not already have any representation have until July 19 to decide if they wish to remain in the class and forego their collegiate eligibility or return to school.

Until then, however, this is how we predict the two rounds of the 2021 NBA draft will shake out:

Sixers 2021 NBA mock draft: Max Abmas brings shooting, playmaking

A recent mock draft has the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas.

The Philadelphia 76ers have much more pressing matters to attend to as they have to prepare for Game 2 with the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, but as the draft order begins to gain clarity, it is still fun to take a look at mock drafts for the NBA draft on July 29.

The Sixers have the 28th pick in the draft and they clearly have a type for what kind of players they plan to put around their star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The team has done a great job recently of acquiring players who can shoot the ball from deep as well as put the ball on the floor and create for others.

In ESPN’s latest mock draft, they have the Sixers selecting Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas:

The Sixers reshaped their roster by adding quite a bit of perimeter shooting to surround their All-Star core of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Abmas would represent another step in that direction. He ranked as the most efficient half-court scorer in college basketball, largely thanks to his ability to make difficult shots from beyond the arc operating out of pick-and-roll. His range, savvy and speed should also allow him to see time playing off the ball.

Abmas had a terrific season for the Golden Eagles averaging 24.6 points and he shot 43.3% from deep as a sophomore. He had a great run in the NCAA Tournament averaging 26.7 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 40% from deep so he has shown he can perform on a big stage.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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2021 NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 100 prospects pre-early entry deadline

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

Players have until the end of this month, May 30, to apply for entry into the 2021 NBA draft. They will then have until July 19 to determine whether or not they plan to stay in this class or (unless they hired an agent who does not have NCAA certification) return to school.

This is obviously an incredibly difficult decision and as the majority of early entry candidates have made their intentions public, those who are testing the waters are already weighing their options.

Fortunately, the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UAC) exists to help answer some of those questions.

The advisory committee, which began in 1997, offers feedback to prospects on their potential draft stock. As many prospects are facing pivotal decisions about their future, this kind of intel is incredibly important.

Players like Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Baylor’s Jared Butler both went through this process last season, likely were not satisfied with the results and opted to return. Now, after tremendous efforts last season, both are projected first-rounders.

These decisions have tremendous financial implications for these individuals as well. For example, even if Kispert or Butler went with the last pick in the first round in 2020, they would have likely earned a contract worth around $5 million over three years. This year, even if they went outside of the lottery at at No. 15 overall, that would be around $8.5 million.

With that in mind, for the latest version of For The Win’s 2021 NBA draft big board, I’ve provided my evaluation for the top prospects expected to be in the pre-draft process. Players excluded from this exercise were likely because the reporting suggests that they are going back to school.

Note that these decisions were fully based on where I would have each player ranked, not a projection, although various conversations with scouts as well as other talent evaluators around the league have factored into my evaluation.

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Checking in after March Madness

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Who has made the most significant improvements to their draft stock since our last update?

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Which prospects made the most significant improvements to their draft stock?

In order to get a better sense of where all of the prospects stand right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic, SB Nation and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

Since our previous update last month, these are the players who have improved their stock and are trending up on mock drafts: Davion Mitchell (Baylor), Josh Giddey (Adelaide), Chris Duarte (Oregon), Miles McBride (West Virginia), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona), Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine), Trey Murphy (Virginia) and Neemias Queta (Utah State).

Some of the names that did not make the list last time but now appear among the Top 60 include Isaiah Todd (G League Ignite), Johnny Juzang (UCLA), Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), RaiQuan Gray (Florida State), Santi Aldama (Loyola Maryland and Austin Reaves (Oklahoma).

Below are the full rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

March Madness: 2021 NBA draft prospects who improved stock in tournament

There is no stage as important for NBA draft evaluation quite like March Madness, which means we have a better idea about tons of prospects.

There is no stage as important for NBA draft evaluation quite like March Madness, which means we have a better idea about tons of prospects.

Now that the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament is all said and done, we have a better idea of whose draft stock is in a better place now than it was before the games began in mid-March.

Upperclassmen like Baylor’s Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell were already on draft boards as projected first-rounders before the postseason began. Similarly, top prospects like Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs or USC’s Evan Mobley had big moments but that was expected for projected lottery picks.

Several others were able to make their case for why they should be picked earlier in the draft than many had previously expected.

Below are some of those prospects who shined the brightest under the big lights during the exciting stretch of March Madness that we just enjoyed.

We have also included a rough estimate of draft stock as it stands right now before the combine and interview process. Note that because all seniors are allowed to return to school for another year due to the pandemic, it is harder to predict who will be in this class than in a typical year.

14 prospects who improved their NBA stock during the first weekend of March Madness

March Madness is always an incredibly fun time for fans but it is also crucial for scouts who are focused on NBA draft prospect evaluation.

March Madness is always an incredibly fun time for fans but it is also crucial for scouts who are focused on NBA draft prospect evaluation.

After the opening weekend of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, we wanted to show love to the players who have already used their time under the national spotlight to increase their chances of playing in the pros.

Note that for this exercise, we are specifically discussing players who have done enough to increase their profile for NBA teams.

This means someone like LSU freshman Cam Thomas, who scored 27 points and 30 points during his two tournament appearances, was excluded. That is because front offices already knew that Thomas was a remarkable scorer. But he recorded just three assists total and did very little new to answer any other questions executives may have had about his game.

The same goes for someone like Villanova big Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who has been one of the tournament’s best players. But he has also been one of the most consistent prospects in college basketball in 2020-21. So very little has been learned about how he projects to the pros.

Below, however, are the players who scouts may be moving up on their draft boards after the first two rounds of the tournament thus far:

With lackluster effort, Ohio State trails Oral Roberts at half of first round NCAA Tournament game

Ohio State headed to the locker room at halftime down by three points to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts. Things will need to pick up after half.

Things have not gone as planned for Ohio State in the first half of its opening game of the NCAA Tournament vs. Oral Roberts. The Buckeyes began to impose their will a little after the first five minutes, but then began to allow the Golden Eagles to claw back into the game by not finding shooters and misfiring on shots from the perimeter on the offensive end.

It’s possible the run in the Big Ten Tournament took some life out of Ohio State, but there shouldn’t need to be any more motivation to get things cranked up in a setting every kid dreams of playing in.

Duane Washington came out of the gate hot but garnered more attention as the half wore on. He went into the locker room with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point range) to lead Ohio State. E.J. Liddell has not been utilized nearly enough with the big advantage in the paint, scoring just six points on 3-of-6 from the field. He needs many more opportunities than that coming into the second half.

For Oral Roberts, the country’s leading scorer, Max Abmas, leads all scorers with 18 points in the first half. He’s nailed 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and has been a real problem to track down because of his quickness and range.

Even though the first twenty of minutes has been a frustrating one if you are an Ohio State fan, there’s still a whole half of basketball to go. If the Buckeyes can refocus their intention to get the ball into the paint and find the open shooters better out on the perimeter, there should be no problem reeling this one back in.

Ohio State basketball NCAA Tournament History

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