2024 NBA Draft Primer: Race for No. 1 Pick, Zach Edey and Bronny James Watch

The countdown is on until Wednesday and Thursday’s NBA draft. This year’s draft is the first with the new two-day format dividing the first and second round into different days. The 2024 class is not considered to be a strong one; in fact, many consider this year’s crop to be the worst in more than a decade, dating to the barren ’13 draft class. Still, draft day represents one of the most important days of the year in the NBA, with teams looking to position themselves well for the future and in some cases, make league-altering trades with draft capital attached. 

What do you need to be watching for this week? Here’s a look at the biggest story lines to be tracking heading into the draft. 

By most accounts, the Atlanta Hawks have yet to zero in on their choice at the top of this draft, creating drama we don’t always see surrounding the top overall selection on draft night. Part of that is likely due to Atlanta’s precarious position balancing a potential long-term rebuild with the presence of established stars Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, with the relative weakness of the top of the draft also playing a role. 

The player who most clearly marries Atlanta’s short- and long-term timelines is French wing Zaccharie Risacher. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft (he just turned 19 in April), possesses the size, shooting and versatility to play right away and has shown enough flashes of playmaking ability to have some long-term upside. If Atlanta keeps the pick, Risacher is likely the leader in the clubhouse to go No. 1. The other most realistic option is UConn center Donovan Clingan, who is believed to be a player the Hawks covet and could also be in play if Atlanta trades down.

The top pick isn’t as valuable in trades as it would be in a better draft, but Atlanta could still use it as leverage to rebuild its stockpile of draft picks and force a team near the top of the draft to move up to ensure it gets the player it wants (like the Washington Wizards, who are known to covet Alex Sarr). In an interesting wrinkle, the San Antonio Spurs, who pick at No. 4 and No. 8, own the unprotected rights to Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2025, which could make the two teams viable trade partners. There are a lot of moving parts here still, and whatever Atlanta chooses to do will have significant domino effects throughout the lottery. 

With two picks in the top eight and one of the league’s rising stars in Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs are perhaps the most interesting team in this year’s draft. Should San Antonio’s priority be to get win-now pieces to maximize its chances of winning while Wembanyama is on an affordable contract, swing for the fences to add another star, or both? And positionally, while adding to their backcourt makes sense, the Spurs did meet with Clingan recently in what would be a fascinating look next to Wembanyama.

At No. 4, versatile UConn product Stephon Castle could be in play, and adding a high-feel wing with defensive chops and playmaking potential makes a lot of sense next to Wembanyama. Risacher or Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard would also make sense if either falls to San Antonio’s first pick. At No. 8, the Spurs could go after a plug-and-play piece like Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, or swing for the fences with a young wing like Colorado product Cody Williams. And with two first-rounders, San Antonio could roll the dice on Serbian point guard Nikola Topic despite his injury concerns, or package picks in a trade. 

A year ago, Ron Holland and Isaiah Collier were the two highest-rated recruits in the 2023 high school class and looked like real contenders to be the No. 1 overall pick in ’24. Now, it’s possible both could fall out of the lottery.

Holland’s stock seems to be in a better place than Collier’s, with potential landing spots in the late lottery and into the teens for the former G League Ignite prospect. The Ignite was a rough evaluation setting, and despite averaging nearly 20 points per game, Holland’s time with the Ignite left scouts questioning his feel for the game and whether he’ll ever be a consistent threat from beyond the arc. In this draft, rolling the dice on Holland’s athletic gifts and scoring upside might be worth the risk, especially for a team hunting for upside to push toward contender status.

As for Collier, who had an up-and-down season for a miserable USC team in his lone college season, a slip into the 20s seems more and more possible. The bar is high to be good enough to warrant on-ball reps in the NBA, and Collier’s only clear path to playing time is as a player who demands the ball. But there aren’t many prospects with his size and shot-creating talents, and there are plenty of reasons to believe he’d look better in a different context than the environment at USC a year ago. 

That said, Holland and Collier’s potential falls are a good illustration of how much difference a year can make. The concept of a fringe top-100 recruit like Bub Carrington or a little-known international product like Kyshawn George jumping Collier and Holland would’ve sounded ridiculous at this time last year, but now seems like a real possibility on draft night. 

One of the most polarizing players not just in this draft but in recent draft history is Zach Edey, the two-time college National Player of the Year who led Purdue to the national championship game this season. Edey certainly has his limitations from a mobility standpoint and his play style isn’t a perfect fit in the modern NBA, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about him carving out a role in the league. 

Edey tested better from a speed and agility perspective than Clingan, has the potential to be a very good rim protector and should be able to score in bunches around the basket thanks to his physicality. He possesses excellent hands, is in great shape and is a great rebounder. The expectation is Edey will come off the board in the first 20 or so picks, with an outside shot of him landing in the back end of the lottery. For a player who was projected as a late second-round pick or undrafted a year ago, Edey’s growth in the eyes of NBA decision-makers has been significant. 

The story of Thursday’s second round will be Bronny James, as the son of LeBron James waits to hear which team he’ll begin his NBA journey with. James’s agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN last week his client had worked out for just the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, but also noted interest from the Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers using their second-round pick at No. 55 on James remains the most speculated-about outcome. Could another organization jump in, either as a bet on James’s talent or a Hail Mary to convince LeBron James to more seriously explore free agency options? Paul has worked to steer Bronny James to a favorable destination, and we’ll see whether that work pays off come draft night.