Busting Brackets

● By Tristan Freeman

Accuracy: 24.52%19th Place
The 2022 NBA Draft is just a little over 30 hours away and the speculation and rumors are ramping up. Throughout the start of the draft process, there has been a clear top-tier of prospects set to go 1-3 in the draft in Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Paolo Banchero. For a while, it has looked as if the Auburn forward Smith would be taken No. 1 by the Orlando Magic. Yet recent rumors and smoke have the former Duke star Banchero potentially going No. 1. Could that happen? It’s one of the many storylines to watch on Thursday night. Another is what Sacramento does at No. 4, which could be the true start of the NBA Draft. And there’s plenty of trade talk as well. So far, the only trade featuring a first-round pick that has occurred was the Dallas Mavericks trading the No. 26 pick to the Houston Rockets for Christian Wood. Expect some more movement to occur and surprising picks to be made. There are only 58 this time around due to the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks forfeiting their respective picks due to tampering issues in free agency.

Top Players Not Included

These players appear in the top 30 of our

Consensus Big Board

, but do not show up in this mock.