The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft featured quite a few trades but a ton of surprising moves that added to the drama of draft night. Everything started just about a half-hour before the draft began in Barclays Center, when league sources confirmed to ClutchPoints that the Atlanta Hawks were in fact selecting Zaccharie Risacher first overall in a move that began to shape how the top 10 of this year's draft would play out. Ultimately, everything became more complicated after the first few selections, as so many different first-round-rated prospects now find themselves scratching their heads before the start of the second round on Thursday afternoon.
Kyle Filipowski, Tyler Kolek, and Johnny Furphy all received interest from teams picking inside the top 20, yet they now have to wait and see which teams will consider them in the second round of the draft.
Aside from really talented players being left out on Wednesday night, the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft featured quite a few surprises. Perhaps the two picks that had everyone in shock are two household names to college basketball fans around the globe: Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey.
Biggest surprises from 2024 NBA Draft first round
Clingan was in consideration for the first overall pick by the Hawks. With many teams eyeing him as a potential trade candidate if he fell out of the top three, Clingan ended up falling all the way to the seventh overall pick. In this spot, it was the Portland Trail Blazers, a team trying to trade up for Clingan, that ended up with one of the best all-around players in this draft.
Edey was not in consideration at the top of the draft board, yet he suddenly became the center prospect teams circled when Clingan came off the board to the Blazers. Just two picks later, the Memphis Grizzlies sent in their pick for Edey to the league office, leaving the NBA world stunned.
These two centers will forever be linked with one another, not only because of their battle in the 2024 NCAA National Championship game but also because of where they ended up in the 2024 NBA Draft. This is just the start of the Clingan-Edey rivalry.
Even before Clingan was selected seventh overall, the draft took a turn when Ron Holland was taken fifth by the Detroit Pistons. Holland, who many scouts considered a potential first overall pick when he decided to play for the G League Ignite, was thought to be falling on some draft boards in recent weeks in favor of more NBA-ready prospects. That wasn't the case whatsoever, as the Pistons grabbed the youthful wing that they believe could evolve into an All-Star talent.
Further surprises continued to pop up throughout the first round. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded into the top 10 to select Rob Dillingham. Matas Buzelis fell out of the top 10 and ended up with the Chicago Bulls as the hometown kid. After being viewed as a sure-thing lottery pick, Dalton Knecht fell all the way into the laps of the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 17 overall. Later on in the first round, second-round-rated prospects like AJ Johnson (Milwaukee Bucks), Pacome Daidet (New York Knicks), and Dillon Jones (Oklahoma City Thunder) heard their names called by commissioner Adam Silver.
You just never know what teams are going to do with late first-round picks. Players like Filipowski and Kolek have nothing wrong with them, but they were products of teams eyeing younger, high-potential picks on Wednesday night. As the league prepares for Day 2 of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday, the focus now shifts from first-round prospects falling to Bronny James and where he will ultimately end up.
Best prospects remaining entering second round
Of course, the number one topic on the minds of NBA fans entering the second round revolves around Bronny James and where he will potentially end up in the draft. James, who didn't receive first-round consideration, appears to have a few teams interested in his services. Aside from the Los Angeles Lakers, who are targeting Bronny for very obvious reasons, the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns also appear to have a level of interest in James.
Both of these teams were recently named as suitors by Rich Paul, Bronny's agent, but the mystery of the Raptors pursuing James was heightened ahead of the NBA Draft. Raptors assistant GM Dan Tolzman pointed out recently that Bronny is “in the mix” of players Toronto is evaluating, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg. The Suns have long been linked to James throughout the pre-draft process.
Even with this interest existing, many around the league still anticipate the most likely outcome being that James ends up in Los Angeles next to LeBron.
Bobi Klintman, Tyler Smith, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Jamal Shead are a few of the other key names still available ahead of the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday. Although he was long viewed as a first-round prospect due to his potential as a two-way wing, Klintman will now be one of the first players selected in the second round of the draft due to players such as Jaylon Tyson, Terrence Shannon Jr., and DaRon Holmes II locking in their first-round status.
Smith is another unique player that a variety of teams showed interest in throughout the pre-draft process. Many scouts have labeled the G League Ignite product as a 3-and-D prospect that will be a work-in-progress upon being drafted. It is expected that he will continue to work on his craft in the G League as a rookie. McCullar and Shead are both experienced seniors from the Big 12, arguably the best collegiate basketball conference. Whichever teams end up with these two players will be getting two NBA-ready rotational contributors.
Aside from those outlined, here is a full list of the best remaining players available ahead of the second round based on rankings from ClutchPoints 2024 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0:
- Kyle Filipowski – PF/C (Duke, ranked #19)
- Bobi Klintman – SF/PF (Sweden, #22)
- Tyler Kolek – PG (Marquette, #25)
- Tyler Smith – PF (G League Ignite, #28)
- Johnny Furphy – SG/SF (Kansas, #29)
- Kevin McCullar Jr. – SG/SF (Kansas, #35)
- Ajay Mitchell – PG/SG (UC Santa Barbara, #36)
- Jamal Shead – PG (Houston, #37)
- Justin Edwards – SG/SF (Kentucky, #38)
- Harrison Ingram – SF (North Carolina, #39)
- Ulrich Chomche – PF/C (Cameroon, #40)
- Jonathan Mogbo – PF (San Francisco, #41)
- KJ Simpson – PG (Colorado, #42)
- Cam Christie – SG (Minnesota, #43)
- Melvin Ajinca – SG (France, #44)
- Nikola Djurisic – SG/SF (Serbia, #45)
- Trentyn Flowers – SG/SF (USA, #46)
- Juan Nunez – PG (Spain, #47)
- Oso Ighodaro – C (Marquette, #48)
- Adem Bona – C (UCLA, #49)
- Enrique Freeman – PF (Akron, #50)
- Keshad Johnson – SF/PF (Arizona, #51)
- Jalen Bridges – SF (Baylor, #53)
- Jaylen Wells – SG/SF (Washington State, #54)
- Bronny James – PG (USC, #55)
- Tristan Newton – PG (UConn, #56)
- Pelle Larsson – SG/SF (Arizona, #57)
- Antonio Reeves – SG (Kentucky, #58)
- Cam Spencer – SG (UConn, #59)
- Ariel Hukporti – C (Germany, #60)
- PJ Hall – PF/C (Clemson, #61)
- Trey Alexander – PG/SG (Creighton, #62)
- Isaac Jones – PF (Washington State, #63)
- Quinten Post – C (Boston College, #64)
- Isaiah Crawford – SF (Louisiana Tech, #65)
- Mantas Rubštavičius – SF (Lithuania, #66)
- Reece Beekman – PG (Virginia, #67)
- Armel Traore – PF (France, #68)
- N'Faly Dante – C (Oregon, #69)
- Boogie Ellis – PG (USC, #70)
The second round of the 2024 NBA Draft is set take place at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, June 27. Unlike the first round of the draft, which was hosted at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the second round will take place at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York, with deputy NBA commissioner Mark Tatum taking over for Silver during the final 28 picks of this year's draft.
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