The Athletic

What a time to update the 2023 NBA Mock Draft here at The Athletic. We’re firmly into conference play in college hoops, and outside of the top two selections, which seem relatively set in stone with Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, this class figures to be a bit of a question mark still. Injuries have caused significant questions for many of the top players in the class. Villanova wing Cam Whitmore and Duke wing Dariq Whitehead both missed a significant part of the non-conference season before returning. Arkansas guard Nick Smith has missed a large part of the season due to knee soreness. Those are three potential lottery picks who have been a bit slow to start the season. On top of that, this college basketball season is littered with parity but hasn’t really featured a large number of standout performances from players in premium positions that NBA teams tend to value in the draft — particularly on the wings and in the backcourt. Enough players have stood out to where there are about 19 or so evaluators feel relatively confident are first-round picks at this point, but beyond that, the draft gets very uncertain. There is a lot of space in the back third of the first round for players to emerge and turn themselves into first-round picks. I would imagine multiple players who are not currently listed here will develop and get more comfortable on their way to getting guaranteed contracts in the NBA next season. This thing truly is wide open as scouts try to identify higher-end talents.