The common refrain about the 2024 NBA Draft is that there is no surefire, elite talent at the top of the class. I’m a fan and not a front office exec, so I prefer to view that more optimistically: For just the second time in at least the last 10 years, we’ll enter draft week with some intrigue about who will go No. 1 overall. Give me a Paolo Banchero/Chet Holmgren/Jabari Smith debate over a Wemby or Zion lock any day. With about a month before Adam Silver walks to the microphone in Brooklyn, here’s a projection of the top 14 picks, aka the lottery:
SI
Dunking With Wolves
France
UConn
Kentucky
Serbia
Tennessee
G League Ignite
Baylor
Colorado
Providence