2023 NBA Mock Draft: Trail Blazers get future star, Magic surprise at 6
By Tyler Watts
The 2023 NBA Draft is just days away, and the Portland Trail Blazers are at the center of the intrigue. Victor Wembanyama will be the number one overall pick with Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson going in the top three. Those feel like locks, but where do Miller and Henderson end up? The Blazers are rumored to be shopping their pick for win-now help, but can they find the right deal? This final mock draft does not factor in deals because there is no telling what will happen.
Trading a top draft choice is always dangerous. It is the type of move that could get a general manager fired and haunt a franchise for decades. What if the Trail Blazers trade the next Luka Doncic or Anthony Edwards for a veteran that is on the decline in three years? Portland would be kicking themselves for the rest of that player’s career and beyond.
Things are shaping up ahead of Thursday’s draft, and here is a look at all 30 picks in the opening round with the latest intel.
2023 NBA Mock Draft: 1. San Antonio Spurs select Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama will be the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on June 22. There are zero questions about that. The 7’4 teenager is the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James and a true once-in-a-generation talent. Wemby can do it all on the court, and some are projecting him to be the best player in the NBA by 2026.
He is a 7’4 big man that protects the rim, hits stepback threes, handles the ball, scores, makes plays, sets screens, rebounds, and has the defensive versatility to switch onto the perimeter. Wembanyama can do it all, and he just led his team, Metropolitans 92, to the French league finals. They came up short, but the 7’4 big man was league MVP and could quickly take the NBA by storm.
The San Antonio Spurs got lucky in the lottery for the third time with a generational big man at the top of the board. They are ecstatic to draft Victor Wembanyama and fans know that Gregg Popovich and company will quickly make him into a superstar. Wemby will be must-watch next season, so stay tuned.