INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 15: Georgetown Hoyas forward Thomas Sorber (35) looks to the sidelines … More
The NBA Finals are over, which means we shift our focus to the NBA Draft, the two events separated by mere days, instead of weeks.
While most are aware of the top prospects projected to go in the top five, there is considerable talent to be found in the mid-to-late lottery, and even outside of it.
Over the next few days, we’ll be looking at nine players, broken down into bigs, guards, and wings, who could be seen as draft day steals down the road.
Today, we start off with three big men.
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
The power forward has been covered on these pages before, and for good reason. The lefty is a highly intelligent defender, a strong rebounder, and a developing scorer (16.8 points per game this season).
While the 20-year-old has some shooting concerns (26.5% from three-point range), he does literally everything else on the floor, and has been vocal about improving the shooting to a point where that won’t stick out.
Murray-Boyles is projected in the 9-15 area, but it shouldn’t come as a shock if a team takes a swing higher up, as he could turn into one of the best players in this class. In fact, someone probably should.
Khaman Maluach, Duke
Maluach is widely seen as being in a slightly higher projected draft slot, with 5-9 being his expected range. If we assume he lands closer to #9 than #5, he’ll count as a mid-to-late lottery selection, where he could present tremendous value.
At an enormous 7’2, a 7’6 wingspan, and a 250-pound frame, there’s no doubt that Maluach will be able to overpower and outsize most opponents. He’s got a strong interior touch, and his 76.6 free throw percentage indicates further shooting upside.
He’s not an elite leaper, meaning he won’t challenge shots defensively to the extent of, say, Victor Wembanyama, but his size and intelligence will deter a lot of shots around the rim. Teams should be able to rely on him defensively in time, as he’s still just 18 years old.
Thomas Sorber, Georgetown
Unlike Maluach and Murray-Boyles, Sorber is projected to get picked at least a tier below those two, and has not been getting as much lottery buzz. Sorber seems to be mostly viewed as a player who gets picked outside of the lottery, or by the tail-end of it.
That has a chance of aging poorly, as Sorber is a behemoth of a human being. He’s 6’11, sports a near 7’7 wingspan, and carries a wide 263-pound frame with him, which makes him exceedingly difficult to move.
Sorber is just a rock solid big, who does what you want out of a starting center. He sets mean screens, rebounds (8.5 per game), blocks shots (2.0), scores near the rim, and ultimately has a fairly high floor coming in. There is some shooting upside to his game, and he’s arguably one of the most polished big man freshmen in college basketball.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
