The two-day NBA draft begins June 25 at the home of the Brooklyn Nets.
Marquette University guard Kam Jones and Milwaukee native and Duke forward Kon Knueppel are both among the 36 players most likely to be drafted in the first round.
Jones said it wasn't until his sophomore year at Marquette that he felt playing in the NBA was a legitimate possibility. During this past season, he transformed from a secondary creator to the team's main playmaker and scorer. He finished seventh in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Watch: Former Wisconsin Lutheran standout impresses at NBA Combine
Knueppel, a former Wisconsin Lutheran standout, made waves at the NBA combine in Chicago last month despite being sidelined from physical testing due to an ankle injury. His draft stock received a significant boost from his roommate at the NBA Combine, Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, a Duke freshman forward, has long been projected to be the No. 1 overall pick. That picks is owned by the Dallas Mavericks, a boost for a franchise after its shocking trade of star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Flagg was named AP men’s college basketball national player of the year and headlines a lengthy list of “one-and-done” top prospects who entered the draft after a lone college season. That includes the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, Texas’ Tre Johnson and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears.
The Brooklyn Nets have a league-high four first-round picks, the first coming at No. 8. The Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards each have a pair of first-round picks after ranking as the league’s two worst teams.
Another team to watch is the San Antonio Spurs, who have the second and 14th picks as they build around 7-foot-3 rising French star Victor Wembanyama. And then there’s the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won a league-best 68 games and reached the NBA Finals. They’ve got two first-round picks, the first at 15th, to strengthen an already deep roster.
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