NBA Draft 2016: Early Projections For The Next Crop Of Future Stars
The 2015 NBA draft has come and gone, and as the Inquisitr previously reported, there were a number of teams and individuals who seemingly “won” and “lost” during the process. For instance, University of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari sent seven players to the NBA through the first two rounds of this year’s draft, while highly recruited guard Emmanuel Mudiay (who initially signed his letter of intent with Southern Methodist University, but opted to spend the year in China) slipped to the Denver Nuggets with the seventh overall selection.
Most fans of either college or pro basketball can’t help but look forward to draft day each year, always wondering what’s next on the horizon and who has the potential to become the next LeBron James. So, without further delay, here is a projection of what the 2016 NBA draft could look like, albeit very early in advance.
Projections were taken from a combination of SB Nation, Draft Express, and Bleacher Report’s 2016 mock drafts.
1. Skal Labissiere – University of Kentucky, center, freshman
2. Ben Simmons – Louisiana State University, forward, freshman
3. Jaylen Brown – University of California, Berkeley, small forward, freshman
4. Brandon Ingram – Duke University, small forward, freshman
5. Chieck Diallo – University of Kansas, power forward/center, freshman
6. Jakob Poeltl – University of Utah, center, sophomore
7. Dragen Bender – Israel, power forward/center
8. Ivan Rabb – University of California, Berkeley, center/power forward, freshman
9. Henry Ellenson – Marquette University, center, freshman
10. Kris Dunn – Providence College, point guard, junior
11. Diamond Stone – University of Maryland, center, freshman
12. Nigel Hayes – University of Wisconsin, power forward, junior
13. Zhou Qi – China, center
14. Stephen Zimmerman – University of Nevada, Las Vegas, center, freshman
15. Demetrius Jackson – University of Notre Dame, point guard, junior
16. Damian Jones – Vanderbilt University, center, junior
17. E.C. Matthews – University of Rhode Island, point guard, sophomore
18. Caris LeVert – University of Michigan, shooting guard, junior
19. Damontas Sabonis – Gonzaga University, center, sophomore
20. Justin Jackson – University of North Carolina, small forward, sophomore
21. Melo Trimble – University of Maryland, point guard, sophomore
22. Brice Johnson – University of North Carolina, power forward, senior
23. Guerschon Yabusele – France, power forward
24. Theo Pinson – University of North Carolina, small forward, sophomore
25. Malik Pope – San Diego State, small forward, sophomore
26. Egemen Guven – International, power forward
27. Isaiah Taylor – University of Texas, power forward, junior
28. Marcus Lee – University of Kentucky, power forward, junior
29. Daniel House – Texas A&M, small forward, senior
30. Aleksandar Vezenkov – International, forward
For a compete recap of the 2015 NBA Draft first round, click on this link.
Who do you want to see your favorite team draft next season?
[Photo by Elsa/Getty Images]
