Dec 7, 2022; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Villanova Wildcats forward Cam Whitmore (22) shoots the ball against the Pennsylvania Quakers during the second half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Victor Wembanyama is the consensus No. 1 pick but he isn’t the only future star waiting to be plucked out of the NBA Draft lottery.
This year’s NBA Draft Lottery is essentially a sweepstakes to see who gets Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French big man has been the consensus No. 1 since last year’s draft and is generally viewed as a generational prospect. His combination of size, agility, rim protection, handle and outside shooting makes him utterly unique and give him both a solid floor and an impossibly high ceiling.
But this draft class is plenty deep and Wembaynama isn’t the only potential star waiting at the top of the lottery. For teams that need to take a home-run swing, the prospects below might represent the best bets for landing a star capable of single-handedly altering the trajectory of a franchise.
Future stars in the NBA Draft, not named Victor Wembanyama:
3. Cam Whitmore, F, Villanova
There’s a decent chance that Whitmore falls outside the top-5 but his ceiling is incredibly high and he could be an enormous value for a team drafting in the No. 10 to No. 6 range. He is a powerfully built, 6-foot-7 wing who plays with quickness, strength, speed and explosive leaping ability. At his floor, Whitmore is a high-level role player — an aggressive and suffocating defender who can handle matchups with all five positions, help on the glass and act as a versatile connector at the other end of the floor. However, if Whitmore continues to develop his self-creation ability, his ceiling could be off the charts.
It’s hypothetical at this point but Whitmore has the upside to eventually fill a Jayson Tatum-like role, building up his scoring profile with savvy, strength and touch inside the arc and eventually developing into a high-level outside shooter and creator for others. A team with the right developmental staff and infrastructure around him could draft an ideal complementary talent and wind up with a foundational star two or three years down the road.