Ethan Alexander's Official 2023 NBA Mock Draft 1.0

Every year I put out two or three lottery mock drafts in the month leading up to the NBA draft, and I am happy to announce that the tradition continues this year. I wait until after the lottery so I know what teams are drafting where, and now that the lottery has passed I am once again ready to write my mock draft. Let's do this thing.

1. San Antonio Spurs - Victor Wembanyama - C - France

This is the biggest lock in the NBA draft since LeBron twenty years ago. Wembanyama is the biggest unicorn in NBA history, and there is no doubt in anyone's mind who will be taken with the top pick in this draft. I don't even feel like giving a full run down on the guy. All you need to know if you don't already is that this kid is 7'5", plays offense like Kevin Durant, plays interior defense like Rudy Gobert, and plays perimeter defense like Bam Adebayo. If he can stay healthy he will be one of the greatest basketball players the world has ever seen, and that's no exaggeration.

pc: John Locher/AP Photo

2. Charlotte Hornets - Scoot Henderson - PG - G-League Ignite

Scoot Henderson has been a lock for the second pick for over a year now. The dynamic guard has been compared to players like Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, but with an even higher ceiling. He is the top guard in this draft, and in any other draft I think he goes with the top pick. However, over the past few weeks Brandon Miller has become the favorite to be picked with this selection considering the Hornets already have a young star point guard in LaMelo Ball. I just think that drafting for fit when a guy as good as Henderson is on the board is a dumb thing to do. Take the best player available and have your young stars learn to play together. If the Hornets pass on Scoot and he becomes the player I think he will become they are going to be punching themselves for years to come.

pc: via Hoops Hype

3. Portland Trailblazers - Brandon Miller - SF/PF - Alabama

Either Henderson or Miller, whoever isn't taken with the second pick, will be taken here. I am picking Miller to be picked here only because I believe Scoot is the better player. With that being said, Brandon Miller is an incredible prospect. A player of his size and stature being able to shoot the ball the way he can is not something we see very often. He has a very high ceiling, but where he really gets you is how high is floor is. With his talents and intangibles it will be very difficult for him to fail in the league. I also think he will pair fantastically with Damian Lillard, which is why I don't think Portland trades the pick. Brandon Miller will be an all-star in the NBA, that's how high is floor is and why he will be taken at three.

pc: via The Seattle Times

4. Houston Rockets - Amen Thompson - PG/SG - Overtime Elite

After the top three there is a sizable gap and then you have Amen Thompson, who I think is a lock at four. He is an incredibly athletic combo guard with great size and both offensive and defensive versatility. His only real negative is that he is a bad outside shooter, but that is something he can work on if Houston puts a solid developmental team around him. He is also one of the older prospects in the lottery, but stuff like that doesn't really bother me when looking at a prospect as good as Amen Thompson. His defensive versatility vastly raises his floor, making him a lock to be a hyper athletic defender at the very least. He will have a spot in the league for a long time, and will thrive in an Ime Udoka system.

pc: Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports

5. Detroit Pistons - Cam Whitmore - SF - Villanova

I think Cam Whitmore is virtually a lock at the fifth spot, but he scares me a little bit. He played for an awful Villanova team, and all of his film has that asterisk sitting beside it. With that being said, Whitmore is a forward with great size, great strength, and great athleticism. He will thrive in transition with Detroit's other young dynamic athletes, and he fits their need at the wing. His strength and athleticism will prove to be his greatest attributes on both ends of the floor, as I think he will be a great defender. There are some players who I think have a higher ceiling than Whitmore, but I can't deny that his floor is very high.

pc: via NBC Sports

6. Orlando Magic - Ausar Thompson - SG - Overtime Elite

This is the first selection I think will be made mainly due to fit, because I prefer a forward at this spot, but the Magic need a guard. Ausar Thompson is the best guard at this point in the draft, and he's a very good option at this pick. Ausar is not the physical or athletic specimen that his brother Amen is, but his potential as a shooter keeps him near the top of this draft. Like Amen, Ausar is one of the better defending guards in this draft. Another notable thing for Ausar is his playmaking abilities, something that he's had to fall back on considering he isn't as athletic as his brother. I actually think his floor may be higher than Amen, but his ceiling is not nearly as high.

pc: via Yahoo Sports

7. Indiana Pacers - Taylor Hendricks - PF - UCF

If you consider Brandon Miller a small forward then Taylor Hendricks is my favorite power forward in this draft. I love Hendricks and I love the thought of him teaming up with Tyrese Haliburton on the Pacers. He's a big man with good size who can roll to the rim with great athleticism, pop out and shoot the three, and can defend the interior and perimeter. He can play the four or the small ball five, helping him fit in the modern day league perfectly. The only thing I see as a negative for Hendricks is he isn't much of a playmaker, but on a team with Haliburton he isn't going to be asked to playmake. I prefer Hendricks to Ausar Thompson and maybe even Cam Whitmore, but I don't think he will be picked over them.

pc: Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports

8. Washington Wizards - Jarace Walker - PF - Houston

Jarace Walker confuses me, only because I think he has one of the higher floors in this draft, but one of the lower ceilings in the lottery. Defensively I love Walker. His strong build and ability to guard any position gets me very excited on that end of the floor. Even if he never develops much of an offensive game he will be a solid contributor on the defensive end for a long time. With that being said, Walker is a good offensive player with a jumpshot that has slowly been developing over time. He's a guy who I can see as a leader in the locker room and on the floor, and someone who will work as hard as possible every time he touches the floor.

pc: Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

9. Utah Jazz - Anthony Black - PG - Arkansas

Anthony Black is the second best pure point guard in this draft after Scoot Henderson, and the Utah Jazz need a great point guard. Black is a big guard with a great build who does almost everything on the floor at a high level. He is a very smart player and one of the best playmakers in this draft because of it. He doesn't force shots and he doesn't turn the ball over, playing with the maturity level of an NBA veteran while he was in college. The only thing he doesn't do great on the offensive end is shoot the outside shot, something that can be developed. What separates him is his abilities on the defensive end. He's the second best defensive point guard in this draft, being able to guard one through four on a nightly basis. The Jazz should take a point guard, and Black is the one to take at this point in the draft.

pc: Gunnar Rathbun/Arkansas Athletics

10. Dallas Mavericks - Gradey Dick - SG/SF - Kansas

At some point you have to take the best shooter in the draft, and that's exactly what Gradey Dick is. He is a 6'9" wing who shoots the outside shot better than anyone else in this lottery. He is a guy who could fit in any team's system, because he does the thing that is viewed as the most valuable thing in modern basketball at such a high level. In addition to that he is an above average slasher and finishes around the rim well. He makes smart plays and has good basketball IQ, helping to raise his offensive ceiling. He isn't a fantastic defender, but don't let anyone tell you he's a bad defender, because that isn't true. He has great steal numbers and is built to play good defense. Dick is just an overall very safe pick.

pc: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

11. Orlando Magic - Cason Wallace - PG - Kentucky

When I said that Anthony Black was the second best defensive point guard in this draft, this is the player who I have him behind in that department. Wallace is the second best defensive prospect in this draft after Wembanyama, as his defense at the point guard position is something we rarely ever see. His perimeter defense is already at the level of an All-NBA defender, something that you just don't see coming out of the draft. The reason he is this low in the lottery is that his offensive game has probably already reached its ceiling. Wallace is a good shooter from both the three and mid-range, and he is decent around the rim. His best offensive trait is his playmaking, as he doesn't turn the ball over much at all and has high basketball IQ. I believe Wallace could have the longest career of the guards in this draft, as I don't see his value dropping anytime soon.

pc: via 247 Sports

12. Oklahoma City Thunder - Bilal Coulibaly - SF - France

Coulibaly has been the biggest riser on my draft board throughout the last two weeks, as he has impressed big time playing in France. He's the second best player on Wembanyama's Metropolitans 92 team in France, and over the past few weeks he has been competing with Victor for the top spot on that team. He has been fantastic, he's athletic, a good shooter, a good defender, and a good shot creator. In addition to all of that, the OKC Thunder have been known to select foreign prospects with high ceilings around this point in the draft. I could actually see Coulibaly breaking into the top ten at some point before the draft, so don't be surprised if you see him taken before some of the guys I've already listed.

pc: Getty Images

13. Toronto Raptors - Keyonte George - SG - Baylor

When it comes to pure scorers in this draft, Keyonte George is near the top of the list. He's an excellent shooter from everywhere on the court, and a crafty finisher around the rim. George is the definition of a bucket getter, and that alone will get him selected in the lottery of this draft. People have questions about his decision making skills, and those questions have merit. Whatever team takes him will have to limit his decision making load while he develops that part of his game. Another thing was his physical shape, but he showed up to his pro-day in solid shape so some of those questions have been quelled. George is a player who has a very high ceiling, but at the same time suffers from a very low floor.

pc: Michael Ciaglo/USA Today Sports

14. New Orleans Pelicans - Nick Smith Jr - PG - Arkansas

This time last year people had Nick Smith Jr as a top five pick in this draft, and then just a couple of weeks ago he was barely a first round pick. Smith Jr suffered an injury at the beginning of the season that kept him from playing for virtually the entire year, dropping his draft stock off a cliff. However, he's performed well at pro-days, and now scouts have him going in the lottery. He's a true three-level scorer with upside as an elite playmaker. His ceiling is as high as players like Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson in my opinion, the issue is that he probably has the lowest floor of anyone I've talked about today.

pc: via RazorbacksWire