There's less than a week until the 2024 NBA Draft, with the first round being held on Wednesday, June 26th, and the second round taking place the following day, Thursday, June 27th. It's a notoriously weak and somewhat unpredictable draft class. However, some teams' potential selections are becoming more apparent or at least getting narrowed down as draft day approaches.
Many prospects projected to go early in the draft have some sort of question mark. As a result, we could see positional runs and surprising players falling outside of the lottery, especially given how the lottery played out regarding the draft order and teams' needs.
Pick No. 1: Atlanta Hawks select Zaccharie Risacher
Although the Atlanta Hawks have a challenging decision to make at No. 1 with no clear-cut best prospect like Victor Wembanyama last season, they should be thrilled to be in this position, considering they only had a three percent chance of landing the top pick. In a surprising turn of events, Zaccharie Risacher and Donovan Clingan are emerging as the frontrunners for the Hawks to select No. 1 overall, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.
While Sarr is still in consideration, Clingan has jumped ahead, at least for now. This pick may come down to draft day for the Atlanta Hawks. It's reminiscent of when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett as No. 1 overall in the 2013 draft, with no one sure who would be the first called by Adam Silver at the podium. Let's hope, for the Hawks' sake, it turns out better.
If Risacher is the Hawks' pick, they will add a versatile, two-way player to play alongside the emerging Jalen Johnson. Risacher possesses a floor as a 3-and-D wing with All-Star-level upside if he can eventually become a more consistent shot-creator. He could be just the piece they are missing to become legitimate contenders in the East.