Stadium Talk 2022 NBA Mock Draft
These are the top prospects to have their names called.
The 2022 NBA draft is on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This year's class of draftees will have quite a bit to live up to following a 2021 draft class that's already proven to be full of future superstars.
We won't know the order of the first 14 picks until the NBA draft lottery takes place on May 17, but with the 2021-22 NBA regular season in the books, we have a pretty decent idea of the draft order
Here's how we think the 2022 NBA draft will go, using regular-season records to determine the order of picks Nos. 1-14 until the lottery shakes out.
2022 NBA Mock Draft for All 30 Teams
30. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Phoenix): Josh Minott, F, Memphis
The last pick of the first round is so tough to differentiate, talent-wise, from any pick in the first 10 spots through the second round. We'll go with 6-foot-8 forward Josh Minott because of some flashes of brilliance he showed in January and February.
29. Memphis Grizzlies: Trevor Keels, SG, Duke
We can already throw Trevor Keels in as a player who might be a steal late in the first round. He was able to take over games for Duke as a freshman surrounded by a plethora of NBA talent.
One red flag with Keels is his shooting percentage. He shot under 70 percent from the free-throw line and shot 41 percent from the field, along with 30 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. But he can score in bunches and has good size for a shooting guard.
28. Miami Heat: Bryce McGowens, SF, Nebraska
Bryce McGowens was the rarest of rare recruits for the University of Nebraska — to date, the only five-star recruit in the program's history.
Playing a rugged Big Ten schedule, the 6-foot-7 McGowens showed he was more than up to the task. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. He also shot 83.1 percent from the free-throw line.
27. Golden State Warriors: Max Christie, SG, Michigan State
Whoever takes Max Christie will be doing so more on potential than anything else. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard would have probably been a lottery pick had he been able to go straight to the NBA out of high school.
Unfortunately for Christie, he actually had to play his freshman season. He started all 35 games for the Spartans and averaged over 30 minutes per game. Which led to just 9.3 points, 3.5 points and 1.5 assists while shooting under 40 percent from the field. Yikes.
26. Dallas Mavericks: Wendell Moore, SF, Duke
Wendell Moore was perhaps the most improved player in the nation in 2021-22. Every single part of his game got better as he helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four as a junior and won the Julius Erving Award as the nation's top small forward.
One knock on Moore is that at 6-foot-5 he's a little undersized to play forward in the NBA, but the fact he doubled his assists average to 4.4, shot 41.2 percent on 3-pointers and 50 percent from the field shows he might have what it takes to play shooting guard.
25. Milwaukee Bucks: Caleb Love, SG, North Carolina
Caleb Love hadn't officially declared for the draft as of mid-April, but after putting up big numbers as a sophomore and taking a star turn in the NCAA tournament, it would be tough to tell the NBA to wait another year.
Love is a high-volume scorer at shooting guard and is at his best going to the basket, where he is especially deft at changing course mid-flight. Once he rolled his ankle in a national championship game loss to Kansas, his effectiveness went way down.
24. San Antonio Spurs (from Boston): Nikola Jovic, F, Serbia
Only confusion lies ahead for NBA fans when 18-year-old Nikola Jovic lands on an NBA roster in the near future. The Serbian forward's name is separated from 2021 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic by a single letter.
Jovic, 6-foot-10, turns 19 years old just a few weeks before the draft and could be the sole European chosen in the first round in 2022.
23. Brooklyn Nets (from Philadelphia): E.J. Liddell, PF, Ohio State
Ohio State fans were treated to a nice serving of NBA talent in 2021-22 with E.J. Liddell and teammate Malaki Branham both showing out to the point where they're both now projected as first-round draft picks.
22. Memphis Grizzlies (from Utah): Walker Kessler, C, Auburn
The frontcourt combination of 7-foot-1 sophomore center Walker Kessler and 6-foot-10 freshman forward Jabari Smith was a revelation for NBA scouts. Smith could go No. 1 overall while Kessler played himself from being an afterthought transfer from North Carolina into a first-rounder.
Kessler's promise on the defensive end will likely be too much for an NBA team to pass on. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year averaged 4.6 blocks.
21. Denver Nuggets: MarJon Beauchamp, SF, G-League
MarJon Beauchamp has already had a pretty strange basketball journey. He played for four different high schools and looked ready to join the G-League Ignite out of high school but instead opted to play for Yakima Valley College, a community college in his hometown of Yakima, Washington.
After one year of juco ball, the 6-foot-6 forward ended up playing for the G-League Ignite.
20. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto): Blake Wesley, G, Notre Dame
Blake Wesley wasn't a player thought of as a first-round pick when he signed with Notre Dame, but his immediate impact got him on the radar of NBA scouts early in his freshman season.
The former four-star recruit played his way into Mike Brey's starting lineup in the first month of the season and proved to be one of the better guards in the ACC.
19. Chicago Bulls: Jaden Hardy, SG, G-League
If you're looking for a player that might follow up on Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green's success coming out of the NBA's G-League Ignite instead of spending one year in college, 6-foot-4 guard Jaden Hardy might be the one.
Hardy lit it up in the G-League, where he averaged almost 20 points. If you're looking for an NBA comparison, think Minnesota Timberwolves guard D'Angelo Russell.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves: Kendall Brown, F, Baylor
Kendall Brown did little to bolster his draft prospects in one season playing for Baylor. The 6-foot-8 forward started all 34 games for the Bears but only averaged 9.7 points. That's not what you want from a player who'd been tagged as an elite scorer.
Brown needs to figure out what's wrong with his jumper before he can make an impact on the NBA level, but his potential is too much to pass up in the mid-late first round.
17. Indiana Pacers (from Cleveland): Tari Eason, F, LSU
Tari Eason thrived after transferring from Cincinnati to LSU for his sophomore season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and was not only an All-SEC pick, but he did so coming off the bench and was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
16. Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn): Malaki Branham, SG, Ohio State
Malaki Branham wasn't a player Ohio State fans thought they would only have for one year, but the former four-star recruit out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, began to catch fire midway through the season and likely played his way into the first round.
Branham can light up a scoresheet and showed a knack for having big games against tough opponents. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year scored over 30 points in a single game twice, both in wins over ranked opponents.
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (Los Angeles Clippers): Mark Williams, C, Duke
The nation got to see a dominant, legit big man operate in the NCAA tournament with 7-foot Duke center Mark Williams, who earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2021-22.
Williams' older sister, Elizabeth Williams, also starred at Duke and was selected No. 4 overall in the 2015 WNBA draft.
14. Atlanta Hawks: Jalen Duren, C, Memphis
Jalen Duren has been pegged for the NBA since his sophomore year of high school. One look at the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Philadelphia native will tell you why.
Duren reclassified to the Class of 2021 and played one season of college basketball at extra-messy Memphis for Penny Hardaway. Despite the distractions, Duren still managed to average 12.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and shoot 59.7 percent from the field.
13. Charlotte Hornets: Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor
Jeremy Sochan is one of two Baylor one-and-done freshman likely to go in the first round of the 2022 NBAdDraft alongside Kendall Brown.
Unlike Brown, who scouts think also might be able to play shooting guard, Sochan is a forward all the way. And at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, it's not a stretch to see the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year also being able to play power forward along with his natural position of small forward.
12. New York Knicks: Dyson Daniels, G/F, G-League Unite
Dyson Daniels is trying to follow Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, as Australians making the leap to the NBA and making an immediate impact.
Daniels, 6-foot-6, got some good experience playing for the G League Ignite during what would have been his freshman year of college. He just turned 19 years old in March 2022.
11. Portland Trail Blazers (from New Orleans): Shaedon Sharpe, SG, Kentucky
It's been a weird path to the NBA draft for Shaedon Sharpe, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who never stepped foot on the court for the University of Kentucky despite being arguably the Wildcats' top recruit.
Sharpe, who is Canadian, was the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 and reclassified to the Class of 2021 but wasn't able to enroll at Kentucky until January 2021.
10. Washington Wizards: Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas
Kansas shooting guard Ochai Agbaji is the rarity on this list — a senior who played all four years of college basketball.
Agbaji cemented his status in the first round of the NBA draft after leading the Jayhawks to the 2022 national championship and earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors. One of the most impressive things Agbaji showed to scouts in the NCAA tournament was his ability to shoot from deep. He was deadly from beyond the 3-point arc.
9. San Antonio Spurs: A.J. Griffin, SF, Duke
The son of former NBA player and current NBA assistant coach Adrian Griffin, 6-foot-6 small forward A.J. Griffin probably could have been a higher draft pick had he gone anywhere other than Duke. He had to share the spotlight with a bunch of other NBA draft picks — most notably possible No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero.
We're not really sure if Griffin can play shooting guard. He seemed way more comfortable playing small forward for the Blue Devils.
8. New Orleans Pelicans: TyTy Washington, PG, Kentucky
There aren't a lot of pure point guards in the 2022 NBA draft, but TyTy Washington is the best of them. He battled injuries later in the year but his 17-point, 17-assist game in a win over Georgia in January showed us everything we needed to know.
7. Sacramento Kings: Johnny Davis, SG, Wisconsin
Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis was a study in productivity during his sophomore season — he doubled his average in rebounds and assists, almost tripled his scoring average, and saw his free-throw percentage jump up from around 70 percent to 80 percent.
Davis, at 6-foot-5, rebounds well enough that he can move from shooting guard to small forward in a pinch.
6. Portland Trail Blazers: Bennedict Mathurin, SG, Arizona
Bennedict Mathurin is set to be another Canada-to-the-NBA success story. The 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year cemented his status as a top draft pick with a couple of virtuoso performances in the NCAA tournament.
One thing that we should note is while Mathurin's scoring average leaped up, his free-throw, 3-point and field-goal shooting percentages all went down noticeably.
5. Indiana Pacers: Keegan Murray, F, Iowa
Keegan Murray made a quantum leap as a sophomore at Iowa in 2021-22. His scoring average jumped from 7.2 points to 23.5 points to go with 8.7 points, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals.
Murray, at 6-foot-8, can go seamlessly between either forward spot, and also shot almost 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue
Some draft projections have Jaden Ivey going No. 1 overall. It's hard to imagine that happening, but the 6-foot-4 guard isn't likely to last past the top five picks.
One interesting fact about Ivey is that he's going to be a third-generation professional athlete. His grandfather, James Hunter, played defensive back for the Detroit Lions in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ivey's father, Javin Hunter, was an NFL wide receiver in the early 2000s, and his mother, Notre Dame head women's basketball coach Niele Ivey, played five seasons in the WNBA.
3. Detroit Pistons: Jabari Smith, F, Auburn
The son of a former NBA journeyman forward, Jabari Smith shot up the draft boards after his freshman year at Auburn, where the 6-foot-10 forward was able to shine despite playing with guards who seemed allergic to passing him the ball at times.
One thing that speaks to how well Smith could fit on an NBA roster is how he was able to bring out the best in 7-1 Auburn center Walker Kessler, who could likely be an NBA first-round pick himself.
2. Orlando Magic: Chet Holmgren, C, Gonzaga
Pre-NCAA tournament, it seemed like Chet Holmgren had a real shot at being the No. 1 overall pick. And although he's firmly encased in the top four, that buzz has died down somewhat. Which could be a steal for whichever franchise lands him.
Holmgren's NBA presence will be felt right away on defense. He averaged 3.7 blocks during his freshman season at Gonzaga, and he will catch up pretty quickly on offense, where his ability to shoot the 3 should set him apart quickly.
1. Houston Rockets: Paolo Banchero, F, Duke
Paolo Banchero was very good during his freshman season at Duke, but when it came to the NCAA tournament, he was just plain great.
Banchero, at 6-foot-10, can play either forward position with ease and is ready to step in and give whatever NBA team he ends up on a big lift as a rookie. It's not far-fetched to see him averaging close to his college averages of 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists from the jump.