NBA draft 2023: Victor Wembanyama selected at No 1 by San ...

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He will not be the last. I’m making that prediction.

The Detroit Pistons are now on the clock and here now comes an interesting possibility: we could have twins selected back-to-back in the first round of the NBA Draft. I have to think that hasn’t happened before, but I could be wrong.

Houston Rockets select Amen Thompson at No 4

With the fourth pick, the Rockets are going with Amen Thompson.

Guard Amen Thompson was one of two Thompson Twins who brushed up their skills in Atlanta’s Overtime Elite pro basketball league. The 6-foot-7 Thompson has been called a “Taller Ja Morant,” but luckily only for reasons only relating to his on-court play. Fantasize about an ideal player who could operate like a big man but excel at creating shots for others with accurate passes? Well, Amen Thompson could be the answer to your dreams.

That was a no-brainer pick for the Trail Blazers who, essentially, were always going to pick whichever of Miller or Henderson was still available with the third pick. Now on the clock, the Houston Rockets!

Portland Trail Blazers select Scoot Henderson at No 3

The Portland Trail Blazers select guard Scoot Henderson.

The youngest player to ever turn pro, although not with the NBA, Scoot Henderson began his career with the G League Ignite at age 17 where he played two seasons, Henderson’s most impressive offensive skill set is his ability to get to the rim, he’s a dunk machine. As a point guard, he’s more of a Russell Westbrook type than a traditional distributor. His success in the modern NBA may come down to how his three-point shot will develop.

The Portland Trail Blazers are at the pick with the No 3 pick. The ESPN analysts emphasise that Miller was never charged with a crime.

Here comes the third pick!

The Charlotte Hornets select Brandon Miller at No 2

The Charlotte Hornets choose Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the No 2 pick. I guess they did their research and are comfortable with him.

Miller is the top college player in this year’s draft, a long-distance shooter who made 38.4% of his three-point attempts last season. The SEC Player of the Year is a skilled passer who has also improved at getting to the rim as he has progressed. His abilities are undeniable, it’s only a matter of his off-the-court judgment.

The Charlotte Hornets are now on the clock with the second pick. While owner Michael Jordan has sold the team, by all accounts this pick will be made under his watch.

The Spurs have had a bit of success at getting the top pick in the right years:

San Antonio Spurs select Victor Wembanyama at No 1

The San Antonio Spurs, obviously, select center France’s Victor Wembanyama with the first selection of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Thanks to media hype, nearly every NBA draft brings with it, its own “generational” prospect. However, when it comes to Victor Wembanyama, it feels impossible not to believe the hype. At 7-foot-5, the big man was France’s defensive player of the year while leading the league in points, rebounds and blocks. The LeBron James comparisons only refer to his potential impact, however, his game is so unique that analysts struggle to find an appropriate comparison.

It’s so clearly going to be Wembanyama that they aren’t even doing any speculation, ABC has switched to a puff-piece interview with the French big man.

The San Antonio Spurs are on the clock. They have five minutes to select. I am on the edge of my seat.

Adam Silver welcomes us all. He’s still a bit stiffer than his late predecessor David Stern, who was always at his best in these situations.

NBA Draft begins!

And the official 2023 NBA Draft broadcast has begun! It’s time to settle down for the next few hours as the future of the league begins now!

We’re getting close to the official start of the 2023 NBA Draft. In preparation for the drafting of twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson, may I recommend listening to the following?

Yes, I could have gone with “Hold Me Now,” but that would be too obvious.

The biggest controversy heading into the draft? Kansas’s Gradey Dick’s outfit: are you a fan or not? Me? I love “Midnite Vultures” era Beck, so I’m all for it.

Predictions

I won’t lie, feeling pretty good about the top overall pick here!

After that, this boils down to me listening to experts and then making educated guesses. That’s the number one rule about draft night: it’s impossible to figure out what every team is doing, particularly since there is a lot of secrecy and misdirections in the time leading up to it.

The good news is you don’t have to worry about getting anything wrong tonight: so send your predictions throughout the night either via email (to [email protected] or via Twitter (to @HunterFelt).

Okay, that’s enough procrastinating, here are my predictions for the first five picks.

1. San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama, C, France

2. Charlotte Hornets: Scoot Henderson, G, G League Ignite

3. Portland Trail Blazers: Brandon Miller, F, Alabama

4. Houston Rockets: Amen Thompson, G, Overtime Elite

5. Detroit Pistons: Ausar Thompson, G/F, Overtime Elite

The Boston Celtics add Kristaps Porzingis

The rebuilding Wizards have been quite busy in the last 24 hours, having also sent big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics in a three-team deal that also ships off Boston’s Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies. In the deal, the Celtics receive Porzingis and first-round picks in both this year's and next year’s draft. Meanwhile, the Wizards will receive Memphis’s Tyrus Jones alongside Boston’s Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari (plus, just for funsies, one of the Celtics’ second-round picks from later tonight).

If that’s a bit much to handle, well, first of all, I very much feel for you. Second of all, hopefully, you’re ready for more complicated trades, because those always seem to happen this time of year. Just trying to figure out which team has which team’s original sometimes involves a certain amount of archeological research by the time Commissioner Adam Silver starts reading from the card.

Chris Paul

As is often the case, we had a few trades leading into the NBA Draft. Just hours ago, the Golden State Warriors sent off the slumping Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for veteran Chris Paul. Considering that the Warriors already have Steph Curry at point guard, it seems likely that the no-doubt HOFer will have to come off the bench but considering that he’s still looking for the first championship ring of his long career, he might be willing to make the tradeoff.

Preamble

Hello, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the first round of the 77th annual NBA Draft, which is being held in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Once a year, the NBA replenishes itself with a fresh influx of young talent, most of which has traditionally come from college. That, however, is slowly changing.

Obviously, it’s no secret that a growing number of NBA players began their professional careers outside the US, including reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokić. In fact, the top player in the 2023 NBA Draft will almost certainly be France’s Victor Wembanyama. Not to spoil things for you but we’re in for a replay of 1997, when the San Antonio Spurs famously won the Tim Duncan sweepstakes. The only question is whether San Antonio will just waste our time and let the clock hit triple digits before making it official.

So, no, there won’t be much suspense at the number one spot but there will be plenty of surprises afterward. This year, the top college pick could very well be Alabama’s Brandon Miller but there are still concerns about his judgment after he provided a gun to a teammate who used it to kill a woman.

Should he fall, it could benefit a player who skipped college in order to join other professional basketball leagues in the US. Outside Wembanyama and Miller, the projected top ten include the likes of Scoot Henderson, of the G League Ignite, and brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson, who both play for the upstart Overtime Elite.

Could we conceivably have a draft where the first college player isn’t selected until the fifth overall pick? Almost certainly not! However, it is on the table for what promises to be an entertaining 2023 NBA Draft. If you wish to join in with your comments, questions or concerns, feel free to send us them via email (to [email protected]) or through Twitter (to @HunterFelt). The NBA Draft is scheduled to start sometime at about 8 pm EST, but we’ll be back before then with predictions and news around the league.

How to watch the 2023 NBA draft (and order of selection)

The draft starts at 8pm ET on Thursday at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.

Viewers in the US can watch it on ABC, ESPN or via the NBA league pass. International viewers can watch it via NBA league pass.

The draft order is:

1. San Antonio Spurs

2. Charlotte Hornets

3. Portland Trail Blazers

4. Houston Rockets

5. Detroit Pistons

6. Orlando Magic

7. Indiana Pacers

8. Washington Wizards

9. Utah Jazz

10. Dallas Mavericks

11. Orlando Magic

12. Oklahoma City Thunder

13. Toronto Raptors

14. New Orleans Pelicans

15. Atlanta Hawks

16. Utah Jazz

17. Los Angeles Lakers

18. Miami Heat

19. Golden State Warriors

20. Houston Rockets

21. Brooklyn Nets

22. Brooklyn Nets

23. Portland Trail Blazers

24. Sacramento Kings

25. Memphis Grizzlies

26. Indiana Pacers

27. Charlotte Hornets

28. Utah Jazz

29. Indiana Pacers

30. LA Clippers

Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a little more on tonight’s (almost certain) No 1 pick:

Victor Wembanyama’s NBA story is now underway. The NBA draft – one that Wembanyama’s towering shadow has hung over for months, blocking much of what is usually part of the process – is on Thursday night, and he will be selected No 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.

“Ever since I knew about the draft, exactly how it worked, I wanted to be first,” Wembanyama said on Wednesday. “I think I started to realize I could be a professional basketball player at the age of 12. Tomorrow, something’s going to happen, something that I’ve been thinking [about] for years and years, I can’t really describe how I feel right now. I just know I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight, for sure.”

There has been no debate about who the Spurs should take with the No 1 pick, no discussion of which player might be a better fit, no real attempts to raise any red flags about the presumed selection.

When a player like Wembanyama comes along – and maybe none ever has – there’s no real reason to drum up any drama. The Spurs are not going to pass up someone who is listed at 7ft 4in but has the skills of a player much smaller.

You can read the full story below: