Why is the 2024 NBA Draft considered one of the worst in recent years?

The 2023-2024 NBA season recently came to a close, with the Boston Celtics going all the way, becoming the most successful team in the tournament by winning their 18th Championship, one more than their archrivals the Los Angeles Lakers.

On the opposite side, the Spurs were one of the worst teams in the league, not making it to the playoffs after winning only 22 games and losing 60. On a positive note, San Antonio fans enjoyed watching play one of the best Draft picks in recent years, probably the best since Lebron James was selected in 2003, Victor Wembanyama.

Despite the Spurs’ bad term, the French player has proven to be a superstar in the making. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game, proving he was the 2023 NBA Draft No. 1 overall selection for a reason.

Besides Wemby, who was the big star and made the 2023 Draft sort of special, there were quite a few strong rookies who proved their value in the league this past season, being important contributors on already strong rosters. Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson are talented players who have shown their quality in their first NBA season, while players like Dereck Lively II, Jaime Jaquez Jr., or Cason Wallace have all been positive surprises for their teams.

However, the 2024 Draft seems to be miles away in terms of attention and hype, but why?

2024 NBA Draft: one of the worst in recent years?

In a normal situation, the names of prospects and potential additions to the league would have come out from NBA fans, pundits, and general managers. However, there hasn’t been much news regarding the 2024 Draft so far, or at least not much hype regarding future stars.

As the year goes on, the NBA franchises analyze interesting prospects, the March Madness usually highlights future stars or players to watch, or some players stand out during practices with spectacular plays and scoring, but none of that has happened so far.

The main concern for the next Draft is the lack of big names among the projected top picks.

“It reminds me of the 2013 draft when Anthony Bennett went No. 1. There was not only no clear-cut No. 1, there was no clear-cut top 3. Cleveland didn’t know who they were picking until the day of the draft”, a Western Conference executive stated.

“(...) There are good players in this draft, the issue is, even in the top 3, there are no franchise changers. It’s basically 2013 without Giannis”, he added.

Another reason why the 2024 NBA Draft is considered one of the weakest in recent years is that most of the top talent comes from abroad. Three of the top five picks are expected to be prospects who are currently playing overseas, with Australia’s Perth Wildcats 18-year-old Frenchman center Alex Sarr expected to be the No. 1 pick overall. JL Bourg Basket’s Zaccharie Risacher is also expected to be one of the main selections.

That doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad, as many foreign players have had plenty of success in the league (Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Pau Gasol, Giannis Antetokounmpo...), but general managers are still a bit afraid about how international players will adapt to the NBA style.

The most hyped American prospect is Ron Holland, who averaged 19.5 points in the G-League, while Kentucky’s guard Rob Dillingham and Colorado’s Cody Williams are some of the names that are expected to be among the top picks.