A look at who I went with vs. the official results.

Final Mock:

  1. Orlando Magic: Jabari Smith
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren
  3. Houston Rockets: Paolo Banchero
  4. Sacramento Kings: Jaden Ivey
  5. Detroit Pistons: Keegan Murray 
  6. Indiana Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin
  7. Portland Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe
  8. New Orleans Pelicans: Dyson Daniels
  9. San Antonio Spurs: Jalen Duren
  10. Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis
  11. New York Knicks: AJ Griffin
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jeremy Sochan
  13. Charlotte Hornets: Mark Williams
  14. Cleveland Cavaliers: Ousmane Dieng

Actual Results: 

  1. Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren
  3. Houston Rockets: Jabari Smith
  4. Sacramento Kings: Keegan Murray
  5. Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey
  6. Indiana Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin
  7. Portland Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe
  8. New Orleans Pelicans: Dyson Daniels
  9. San Antonio Spurs: Jeremy Sochan
  10. Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis
  11. New York Knicks (traded to OKC): Ousmane Dieng
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jalen Williams
  13. Charlotte Hornets (traded to Detroit): Jalen Duren
  14. Cleveland Cavaliers: Ochai Agbaji

        Notes

Paolo Banchero goes #1: 

As I wrote in my last mock, the sportsbooks having Banchero going 1st and the way Orlando handled their draft process last year made it no surprise he could be selected 1st by the Magic. However, I stuck with the intel of Adrian Wojnarowski and myself, and based the pick off that. Woj is definitely a trusted source, so you can’t go wrong there, but I’ve said all along Smith is the best player in this draft and would have gone with him. Despite the differences, I love both prospects and had them in my top 20 rankings as the top two players overall.

Chet Holmgren stays at #2: 

Banchero & Smith changed spots, but Holmgren stayed put at 2 to OKC. Like I said before, going to a team who plays small ball/still has size like the Thunder was the best case scenario for the 195 pound Chet. He can play on the wing more and not have to be in the paint as much. From fit to playing style, I think Chet is very happy with his landing spot.

Jabari Smith drops to #3 with something to prove: 

Smith was the favorite to go #1 throughout the predraft process. However, Orlando passed on him. So if you thought he was motivated before, this just brings even more fuel. The competitiveness he brings to every moment he’s on the floor makes this even more of a no-brainer for me that Smith will be the best player in the 2022 class.

Scouts in love with Jaden Ivey, but Kings take Keegan Murray 4th: 

I put out a notes article on June 21st that the Kings were high on Murray, but still went with Ivey in my mock based on his potential from scouts/the possibility of a trade. When NBA front offices are comparing a guy to Ja Morant, that’s a player you just can’t pass on regardless of fit. I personally don’t think Ivey can become Ja. Although, I still believe he’s very talented and a top 5 player in this class. To me, if the Kings took Ivey and missed, then that’s more acceptable than missing on a guy like Murray who is already going to be 22 in August. Sacramento will regret this if Ivey pans out to be the player scouts say he can be. This isn’t a knock on Keegan at all though, he should fit in well with new head coach Mike Brown’s system. So we’ll see if Murray can live up to that 4th selection.

Jaden Ivey doesn’t fall past 5th, no surprise: 

The Pistons wanted Ivey, and they got him. How he fits next to Cade Cunningham should be very very interesting. Cunningham likes to handle the ball a lot, so I personally don’t like this fit. Hopefully they can figure it out along the way, but we all saw what Cade and Killian Hayes looked like together starting (not great).

Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, and Dyson Daniels go where I expected at 6, 7, & 8: 

I had Mathurin, Sharpe, and Daniels going in that order to the Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, and New Orleans Pelicans on my 4th & 5th mocks. All solid fits.

Had a feeling Jeremy Sochan would go 9th, but still would have taken Duren: 

Sochan to the Spurs at #9 was a pick that was making noise from Matt Babcock & Jonathan Wasserman on the day of the draft. Both had Sochan going to San Antonio on their mocks, but I kept Duren as my selection based on talent, potential, and team needs. The Spurs passed on arguably one of the best true big men prospects in recent years, taking three wings/guards in the 1st round (Sochan, Malaki Branham, & Blake Wesley). Sochan certainly has the right tools to be successful at the next level. I just think with all their wings/guards, plus the lack of trusted big men San Antonio’s roster has, should make passing up the 18-year-old Duren a tough decision to look back on.

Johnny Davis to Washington at 10, as expected:

Davis was pleased with his visit to Washington DC back in early June, which led me to having him going 10th in my 4th and 5th mocks. However, the Wizards probably wanted a point guard here that went earlier and had to settle on Davis, which is already a weird combination next to Bradley Beal.

Knicks trade 11th pick with a lot of talent left on the board, Ousmane Dieng heads to OKC:

New York played it safe last night, as they traded Kemba Walker & their pick in return for future selections and salary space. With all the talent still left at #11, I’m sure history will repeat itself by a player in this draft proving the Knicks wrong as time goes on (like most years).

Jalen Williams jumps into the lottery at #12:

Williams wasn’t on any of my mocks, but I put out a notes article on Wednesday with trusted intel from Rafael Barlowe and had a feeling he would possibly end up in the lottery (biggest riser since the predraft process started). I like the potential in both Dieng & Williams, but I was surprised OKC passed on Jalen Duren & AJ Griffin (top 10 in my player rankings).

Jalen Duren goes 13th and gets traded to Detroit, great move:

On my 1st mock, I had Duren going to the Pistons at 5 and loved the fit. As time went on though, I changed the pick after reports came out saying Detroit was looking for a wing/guard. Luckily enough, the club still was able to select him at #13 in a trade involving the Charlotte Hornets & New York Knicks.

Cavs take Ochai Agbaji to end the lottery, Mark Williams and AJ Griffin don’t fall far:

With the final selection in the lottery, Cleveland gets Agbaji, a 3&D rookie off the bench that can come right in and fit perfectly. The two players on my final mock who I had in the lottery that fell out were Mark Williams & AJ Griffin. Williams went 15th to Charlotte and Griffin went 16th to Atlanta.

Quick note: The only prospect that went undrafted on my top 30 rankings was Michael Foster. He just signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and still has a chance to make a name for himself in the NBA. However, I can’t bypass rookies like Wendell Moore, Christian Braun, David Roddy, Walker Kessler, and Kennedy Chandler as players that could have better careers than Foster.

1st Mock 

2nd Mock 

3rd Mock 

4th Mock 

5th Mock