The only mystery surrounding the top pick in this year’s NBA draft was solved a month early. On May 16, the San Antonio Spurs won the draft lottery, giving them the opportunity—or perhaps more appropriately, the obligation—to select Victor Wimpanyama with the first overall pick.
Wimpanyama, the 7-foot-4 French star, is perhaps the most successful NBA prospect since LeBron James, and for good reason: He shoots the ball like a modern point guard and blocks like a classic paint league center. Within his eight-foot wingspan, Wimpanyama has all the skills NBA teams seek in a franchise player.
“There is no better environment for him than the Spurs,” draft analyst Jonathan Giffoni told ESPN. He added, “Everyone around him is delighted for him. I don’t see Tottenham messing around with this.”
But while Wimpanyama, 19, is the final prize of the draft, there are plenty of potential-changing franchise prospects all over the lottery — top 14 picks — and even into the second round.
“There are levels to this draft,” Giffoni said. “Victor is in a rank of his own. Then then Brandon Miller and Scott Henderson. And from there, he really opens up.”
Miller, a guard from Alabama, and Henderson, a guard from the NBA’s Ignite, are expected to be drafted among the first few picks.
Here are five more players to know about in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Anthony Black
6-6, 210 lbs., guard, Arkansas
Anthony Black’s first scholarship offers came from the football teams. As a sophomore wide receiver for Coppell High School in Texas, Black caught 39 passes for 762 yards and eight touchdowns. His play garnered attention from powerhouse programs such as Arkansas, Baylor, and Cincinnati. But basketball was his first love.
“There is no doubt I would have joined the NFL if I would have focused on soccer,” said Black, 19. “I was just so rough with it. I didn’t get my potential. Once I started getting basketball offers during my sophomore year, that became my focus.”
Black was born into an athletic family: his mother was an athlete on scholarship at Baylor football; His father is into basketball. But they never pushed him to become a Bear, which is how he ended up at Arkansas, averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in a season. The shooter has become more confident and reliable as the season has gone on, but the reason he’s expected a top 10 selection is because of his defense. He puts great pressure on the ball and can even defend big men due to his strength and size.
“Defense is what I’ve always pinned my hat on,” said Black. “I was always the best defender on the team, in the league, or in my area. Sometimes I wasn’t aggressive enough on offense to be more active on defense. For me, getting points is very embarrassing.”
Jordan Hawkins
6-4, 186 pounds, guard, Connecticut
During the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, Jordan Hawkins watched from the sidelines as 12th-ranked New Mexico State beat the 5th-ranked Connecticut Huskies in the Round of 64. In the locker room after the game, he said Hawkins told coach Dan Hurley, “It won’t happen again next year.”
He spent the summer getting basketball advice from UConn alumni and NBA greats like Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen. He also prioritized his mental strength, starting a daily meditation practice using the Calm app. All this work is paying off. After posting one of his worst performances of the season—5 points on 11 shots—in UConn’s second-round loss to Marquette in the Big East tournament, Hawkins vowed to play better during the NCAA Tournament.
“The best players appear in March,” said Hawkins, 21. “I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best players in my position – and one of the best in the country, period.”
In the NCAA Tournament, Hawkins was named Most Outstanding Player in the Western Region after averaging 22 points per game and hitting nine three-pointers total against Arkansas and Gonzaga. (He shot 38.8 percent of 3 for the season.)
Prior to the team’s Final Four game against Miami, Hawkins had a stomach ache. He vomited more than ten times before the game and nearly passed out during the first half. But he remembered the promise he made to his coach. He helped guide the Huskies to their fifth NBA title.
“This is what I bring with me to the NBA,” he said. “I have confidence that I’m a great defender, and I think I’m the best shooter. But more than that, I know how to play my part, work hard and win trophies.”
JJ Jackson
6-8, 214 lbs., FW, South Carolina
Last year for seven months, JJ Jackson became the first player in the Class of 2023 committed to North Carolina State to come out of North Carolina State, reclassify to the Class of 2022 and commit to South Carolina State. It was a turbulent time for a player who was not yet eighteen, but as the college basketball season got under way, Jackson thought he had made the right decision.
“The coaches told me I had the potential to uplift a lot of people in my home state by staying in South Carolina,” he said. “Plus being close to home made my mom happy.”
Jackson has scored 15.4 points per game this season, but makes only 38.4 percent of his shots. He also publicly criticized his coaches on Instagram Live after losing to Arkansas in February. Jackson apologized, and said he even had an outburst during meetings with NBA teams. Although not expected to be a top 10 player, he has a combination of size and skill that is hard to find and could convince the team to pick him in the first round.
“I remember where I came from in basketball,” Jackson said. “I was a weak kid who had to wear goggles. I got to that No. 1 spot, but now I’m back again. I’m not the bad guy people make me out to be. I’m serious about the player and the person I want to become.”
Chris Murray
6-8, 213 pounds, FW, Iowa
While Keegan Murray earned his NBA certification last June, his twin brother Chris decided to stay at Iowa for another season. When the Hockeys got together for practice a few weeks later, Chris came to a realization: This would be his first practice without his brother.
“I knew I could eventually become an NBA player, but going back to college gave me the chance to make a name for myself,” said Murray, 22. “Basketball, I have to be the focal point of our team. I have to lead our team, to be on top of scouting reports for other teams, to be the guy everyone is trying to stop. That was an invaluable experience for me.”
It was also a successful experiment. Murray doubled his points and minutes over the previous season but maintained his field goal percentage and improved as a passer and rebounder. His 20.2 points per game was just under Keegan’s 23.5 the previous season.
“He gives me crap, and I give him crap,” said Chris, pointing to his brother. “But we really like to unite with our father.”
Their father, Kenyon Murray, averaged just 9.9 points per game during his four-year career with the Hockey League in the mid-1990s.
In April, Chris saw Keegan start with the Sacramento Kings in their first-round game win over the Golden State Warriors. And in May, the brothers spent a week together training and preparing for the upcoming NBA season.
“I feel like the comparison of my players in the draft is pretty straightforward,” Chris said. “He may be a little lazy, but he is very careful.”
Ryan Robert
6-6 weighing in at 193 pounds, the France forward
Ryan Robert, 19, was born into one of France’s best basketball families: his father, Thierry, was a former captain of the French national team. His sister, Eliana, won the WNBA Championship last summer with the Las Vegas Ice. Thierry died when Ryan was eight years old, but he instilled in his children a love for the game, to which he devoted his life.
“For me and my sister, it’s important to represent the name Robert,” said Ryan. “I am very proud of my father. At the same time, I want to own my own profession. I want people to know me not only as Thierry’s son, but also as Ryan.”
After playing for the prestigious French academy INSEP for four years, Robert signed with the New Zealand Breakers as part of the NBL’s Next Stars development program. He was following in the footsteps of his best friend, Usman Deng, who went from INSEP to the Breakers to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 11th overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft.
He’s part of a movement of French players turned first-round draft prospects in the NBA, and he’s known Wimpanyama since he was 12. But for now, he’s more interested in making a name for himself.
“I am very happy for Victor and for all the French players in this category,” he said. “But my goal is to be one of the best players in this league. That is my only focus.”