ESPN's latest 2024 NBA mock draft has a new No. 1

Who's going first in next year's NBA Draft? That's up in the air, but here's one player who's emerged.

The 2024 NBA Draft is shaping up to be a fascinating one, and not because there’s a generational prospect like we had at the top last year.

It’s because, at the moment, there’s no clear No. 1 so far (although there’s plenty of time for that). In our second NBA Mock Draft from Bryan Kalbrosky, he had Justin Edwards out of Kentucky go first, with the Ignite’s Ron Holland second and USC’s Isaiah Collier third.

In the latest ESPN 2024 NBA Mock Draft that dropped on Thursday, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo had Collier going first to the Spurs, and here’s their reasoning:

Collier is no stranger to the top prospect conversation, having earned the No. 1 Men’s Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RSCI) ranking in the 2023 high school class and entering the season at No. 2 in our mock. Through his first six games with USC, Collier has been a bit of a mixed bag — some pronounced highs and lows — but his overall production has been up to snuff.

The good: He’s averaging an efficient 18.2 points per game, shooting 56% on 2s, 41% from 3 and 76% from the line.

The bad: He’s turning the ball over 5.3 times per game — to just four assists — an alarming turnover clip for any prospect, much less a player that figures into the discussion at No. 1. While it’s a tiny sample size, it’s safe to say there’s much for Collier to improve on to shore up his place atop draft boards.

Don’t forget to check out our latest NBA Mock Draft from Kalbrosky!