Sunday, December 22, 2024

2024 NBA Draft Big Board: Biggest risers and fallers, plus our updated Top 40 rankings

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The 2024 NBA Draft is shaping up to be wildly unpredictable with late movement across draft boards as teams conduct their final in-house workouts and meetings.

UConn center Donovan Clingan has entered the conversation as a player who could go No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Hawks. 7-foot-1 center Alex Sarr is nearly a lock at No. 2 to Washington, with Sarr refusing to work out and meet with the Hawks. Providence guard Devin Carter, meanwhile, has worked out well for teams inside the top 10 and could be a consideration for the Spurs at No. 8, depending on what they do with the No. 4 pick.

With late risers throughout the pre-draft process, there are going to be some players who fall outside of the lottery and out of the first round completely. G League Ignite forward Ron Holland and Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham are two players who have been projected lottery picks all season and could fall outside of the lottery into the late-teens or early 20s. Green-room invites went out to 24 players and their families, and there could be a couple players sitting there waiting until the second night.

Here’s a breakdown of 10 players who are rising or falling with less than a week to go before the draft begins Wednesday, plus an updated look at Yahoo Sports’ Top 40 Big Board.

Apr 6, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) reacts against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

No. 1? The Hawks are interested in drafting UConn’s Donovan Clingan with the top pick. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)


  • Donovan Clingan is now in the conversation for the No. 1 pick. He worked out for the Hawks last week and has also worked out for Washington and Detroit — three teams inside the top five. It all comes down to who’s making the pick within Atlanta’s organization, with many believing head coach Quin Snyder prefers Clingan over French wing Zaccharie Risacher.

  • Providence guard Devin Carter has been on a steady rise throughout the pre-draft process and could go as high as No. 8 to the Spurs. He was in the same workout as Stephon Castle, a projected top-five pick, and his floor is just outside the lottery to Miami with the 15th pick.

  • Zach Edey has been all over draft boards throughout the season, but the closer we get to the draft, the more he appears to be a lock not only in the first round but in the top 20. It’s difficult to predict how his size at 7-foot-4, 300 pounds, will translate to the NBA, but a team that drafts him will use him strategically and not necessarily as the lone center to hold down the paint all game.

  • Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was cleared of all charges by a Kansas jury earlier this month and has been conducting workouts leading up to the draft. The senior played extremely well for the Illini in both the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament, averaging 27.9 points in his last seven games. Shannon didn’t receive a green-room invite but could go anywhere from 25-35 in the draft.

  • DaRon Holmes II has the upside to be an NBA inside-out big with his versatility along the wing, shooting just under 40% from 3-point range. He received a late invite to the green room and could go as high as No. 23 to Milwaukee, with rumblings of a promise at No. 28 to the Nuggets.


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  • The buzz around G League Ignite forward Ron Holland has been relatively quiet for a player who was once considered a top prospect in the class. His teammate, Matas Buzelis, has remained in the 5-10 range with Holland dropping to possibly the back end of the lottery to late teens. On the defensive end is where he shines, averaging 2.5 steals per game, but his limited off-ball production and outside shot remain areas of development.

  • Rob Dillingham just started to go through workouts after recovering from a minor ankle injury he suffered right before the draft combine. His official measurements at just under 6-2 and 164 pounds were a little alarming to some teams, and his lack of defensive foot speed might see him drop outside the lottery and into the mid-first round.

  • Isaiah Collier was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school and had an up-and-down season at USC, dealing with a hand injury that left him sidelined for a month. What he does well on the court, getting downhill and finishing through contact, is something that will work in his favor once he hits the NBA with more spacing. He is a little turnover prone at times and his draft range is anywhere from 13-25.

  • Kyle Filipowski returned to Duke for his sophomore season after undergoing double hip surgery last spring and was one of the best frontcourt players in college basketball. His face-up game is where he excels, and he’s a great rebounder and solid on the block. Filipowski isn’t falling based on what he showed during his sophomore season at Duke, but because there are other players rising late in the first round.

  • Bobi Klintman elected to go overseas and play one season for the Cairns Taipans in Australia’s NBL after a season at Wake Forest. Klintman shows promise as a perimeter threat and floor spacer, but he hasn’t put it all together yet in his two seasons leading up to the draft. The 6-10 forward didn’t receive a green-room invite and could fall outside of the first round.



Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 204 | JL Bourg-en-Bresse (France)

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 7-1, 205 | Perth Wildcats (Australia)

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 7-2, 280 | UConn

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 215 | UConn

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 187 | Kentucky

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-10, 210 | G League Ignite

Age: 23 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 204 | Tennessee

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 180 | Colorado

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-9, 203 | Cholet (France)

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 200 | KK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)

Age: 22 | Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 195 | Providence

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-4, 180 | Pittsburgh

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 206 | G League Ignite

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-5, 180 | Baylor

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 197 | Duke

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 164 | Kentucky

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 196 | Miami

Age: 22 | Ht./Wt.: 7-4, 300 | Purdue

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 6-10, 215 | Baylor

Age: 23 | Ht./Wt.: 6-9, 230 | Colorado

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-5, 190 | USC

Age: 23 | Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 190 | Marquette

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 7-0, 230 | Indiana

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-10, 235 | Dayton

Age: 23 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 215 | Illinois

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 210 | Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 180 | Kansas

Age: 23 | Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 205 | Creighton

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 7-0, 248 | Duke

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 210 | Cal

Age: 18 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 190 | Minnesota

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-11, 224 | G League Ignite

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-10, 225 | Cairns Taipans (Australia)

Age: 19 | Ht./Wt.: 6-5, 165 | Illawarra Hawks (Australia)

Age: 22 | Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 230 | Weber State

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 180 | Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)

Age: 20 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 190 | Kentucky

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 208 | Virginia

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 230 | North Carolina

Age: 21 | Ht./Wt.: 6-8, 215 | San Francisco

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