The NBA is in good hands, as players like Ja Morant, Devin Booker and Luka Doncic continue to elevate their games. And beyond those players, there are groups of other talent waiting to make their impact on the league. The 2023 NBA Draft is a ways away (especially since the 2022-23 season starts in less than a week), but there is a solid group of players that are expected to be high picks in this draft. In fact one of them may be the best prospect we’ve ever seen.
Here are three prospects to remember for next year’s draft.
1.) Victor Wembanyama is a player that’s been in the news quite a bit lately. He is a 7-foot-3 center from France who is unlike anything we’ve seen before. He is an exceptional scorer that can handle the ball and shoot like an NBA guard (such as Damian Lillard or Steph Curry). Some would say he is the most anticipated player since LeBron James in 2003. And James himself had high praise for Wembanyama.
“I think probably the same as everybody else thinks,” James told the media. “Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien. No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and graceful as he is on the floor. He’s for sure a generational talent. Hopefully, he continues to stay healthy. That’s the important thing for him.”
Wembanyama recently played in two exhibition games in Las Vegas, and he turned heads. He had 37 points (including seven 3-pointers) and five blocks in the first game, and 36 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in the second.
Wembanyama is already on several NBA teams’ radars and whoever lands him has a player capable of turning a franchise around. But another exceptional player isn’t too far behind.
2.) Scoot Henderson
Scoot Henderson is the projected second pick of the 2023 draft, and rightfully so. He is another great talent and at only 18-years-old, he is going to get better.
Henderson is an athletic guard that is already receiving comparisons to a young, healthy Derrick Rose and Ja Morant. He showed a bit of that in the NBA G-League last season as he averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds. Henderson was in action in the Las Vegas exhibition games, and in the first game he finished with 28 points and nine assists.
The G-League season starts in November, and will be an opportunity for Henderson to showcase his talents. As it stands, he is bound to be a high pick and that won’t change.
3.) Amen Thompson
Amen Thompson is another talented prospect who plays for Overtime Elite. He is 6-foot-7 and an exceptional athlete. While he needs to work on his shooting, Thompson has the tools to be a special NBA player. Thompson averaged 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals for Overtime Elite, and he’ll likely get better this year. He also has a twin brother named Ausar who is expected to be a high pick next year as well.
The NBA is in great hands and as these prospects show, it is only going to get better.
