Only two days separate us from the 2021 nba draft. So after months of breaking down the tape, talking to talent evaluators, and keeping up with what this class looks like, we’re now ready to draw final conclusions on how we see the class of 2021.
Today we’re releasing cbs sports’ final big board of the class of 2021, which for the first time this draft cycle is a consensus made up of the personal rankings of gary parrish, matt norlander, colin ward-henninger and yours truly. the goal here is to get a bird’s-eye view of how our team sees the class (and smooth out some outliers along the way).
for example: scottie barnes is no. 3 on norlander’s board but 6th on parrish’s. enter the no. 5 on our final board. Jonathan Kuminga is fifth at Parrish but ninth at Ward-Henninger. he is at no. 7 in our final ranking.
There are other differences of opinion as well, so this final top 100 explains it by averaging all of our rankings. Below, our team has also shared in-depth thoughts on specific big-name prospects in the class. full rankings can be found here.
Breakdown: I, like most everyone else, think cade cunningham should be the first pick in the 2021 draft, and the rockets should choose between jalen green, evan mobley and pull suggs. I have gone back and forth on those three perspectives. I like them all. but in my final assessment, i just think that, of the bunch, green has the best chance to be a superstar, and when you pick second in a draft, you should try to add the prospect with the best chance to be a superstar. again, in my opinion, that’s green, just barely above the other two. I’m not predicting that one day he will be a scoring champion, but I could definitely see him as a scoring champion one day. – parish
Breakdown: I’m still high on Barnes, who I think is projected to be an all-star player within his first five years. the bigger question is whether he can develop not only a consistent jump shot, but the ability to create that jump shot on his own. there have been much worse shooters who have done that in the last 15 years in the nba. the league’s ability to develop good shooters out of college should allay those concerns. Barnes has a great IQ on the court, and he has a lot of innate toughness and confidence in his game. one thing I keep coming back to is his natural understanding of the flow of a possession, of anticipating how a defense will react both in transition and at half court. he was almost at an elite level in college. I wonder if he is a player where adjustment will matter significantly. I’m not sure that’s the case, but if you can really defend, your fit doesn’t mean that much. barnes can do that. he won’t be in the top three rookies next season, but he may be in the top three in this class by the end of his first contract. – norlander
Breakdown: I understand the hype for kuminga, he certainly passes the traditional eyesight test on what you look for in an 18-year-old prospect, but to me, he lacks a standout nba skill. One scout told me he wouldn’t even take Kuminga in the lottery, and while he wouldn’t go that far, it’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly how he’s going to contribute to winning at the NBA level. simply being athletic and aggressive is not going to cut it. obviously at his age he has a lot of room to improve, but there are other prospects that appeal to me more in the top eight. – ward henninger
Breakdown: I enjoyed being the mile high guy McBride throughout the draft process – I ranked him in the top 20 on my board during college season, even when it wasn’t clear he was dating. early from school, so I’ll stand my ground here. mcbride is my ride or die. a 6-foot-2 point guard, he’s a blur of a prospect who can go downhill quickly from the rebound, shoot at a high level and can really get into you defensively, using both smarts and length to his advantage. the. Helping in his case: He measured with a wingspan of nearly 6 feet 9 inches at the NBA draft combine. I see him more as a combo shooting guard than a true primary shooting guard in the NBA, but his diverse offensive skill set, particularly as a spot shooter and shooting transfers, suggests he’ll be very comfortable playing at the next level. inside or outside the ball. – boone
top 10 nba draft prospect rankings
see here the complete ranking of the 100 best prospects in the nba draft