The madness of March is upon us and draft season is right around the corner. So, now that we’ve gotten through to the final month of the season, it’s time for a reset in our NBA Draft prospect rankings to get a feel for who is rising, who is falling, and most importantly, who to watch as you prep your bracket in the coming weeks.
Our new prospect rankings are completely refreshed with some big movers and shakers from last update, and the list is also expanded from 30 to 40. That includes a new No. 1 in … drum roll please … Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham.
Dillingham has shined this season and come on strong down the stretch as an electric offensive weapon and isolation scorer who can help carry the Wildcats deep into the postseason. He had 23 points and five assists in a win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday for a UK offense that has been supercharged with his presence, and his emergence has drawn comparisons to another shifty guard who went No. 1 overall several years ago.
“I think he’s so shifty,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said Wednesday of Dillingham. “That kid has really gotten better. He’s a tough cover for anybody. He’s literally capable of exploding and going for 25 or 30 on any given night. I think that’s why you’re seeing him on projected draft boards because he has that type of ability to be able to play one-on-one, create off the dribble, Kyrie Irving-like.”
The rankings below are not based on where I think players will land, but rather where I would personally rank the players in a vacuum if I were a general manager. Philosophically, my goal with these rankings remains the same as ever: I prioritize prospects who I project highly as future superstars and go down the list from there. This is not production based — Zach Edey would be No. 1 with a bullet — nor is it based on how other talent evaluators or the NBA view certain prospects. I’ve arranged the list in order from…
..
