What is the NBA BIG Board?
The NBA BIG Board Newsletter was created by former ESPN.com NBA Draft writer Chad Ford as the place to go to for in-depth information about the NBA Draft.
In February, Rafael Barlowe, formerly of NBA Draft Junkies, came on as the Director of Scouting. On April 8, Rafael became the sole owner and author of this newsletter upon Chad’s retirement.
Why subscribe?
Inside, expert opinion
Want in-depth scouting reports, Big Board, Mock Drafts, scouting videos and insight into what what NBA scouts think about prospects and who will go where on draft night? This is the newsletter and website for you.
Immediacy and convenience
We will deliver NBA Draft news, Mock Drafts, Big Boards, stock watches, scouting reports and special features right to your inbox as soon as we publish them. You can expect at least two posts per week, and as we get closer to the draft, you’ll get even more.
No ads, no clutter
If you are tired of navigating busy sites that make it hard to find what you want, this is the place for you. We won’t put messy pop-up ads and annoying pitches from sponsors in your way on the site or in the newsletter.
You get what you pay for
Your membership allows us to research the NBA Draft and provide this coverage. You can make a direct impact on our coverage, with your support and by interacting with me and our other members.
Exclusive access
You’ll get cool access to bonus articles, scouting reports, chats and live Zoom calls — and the opportunity to interact with us and our readers.
Twitter can be toxic and exhausting. Here you will interact directly with us and the biggest NBA Draft fans for deeper conversations about prospects, plus we’ll reveal more about the process of NBA scouting and putting together the Big Boards and Mock Drafts.
About Rafael Barlowe
In my journey into the world of basketball scouting, I realized I needed to be different, so over the last 12 years I’ve created my own lanes as a videographer, skills trainer and basketball scout.
After working in basketball operations for the Texas Legends (the Dallas Mavericks’ G League affiliate), I started Barlowe Basketball, a coaching and player-development operation that led me to becoming a skills trainer for players with NBA, EuroLeague, EuroCup, Champions League, G League and NCAA Division I experience.
As a videographer, I created YouTube mini-documentaries for a few of the NBA players I trained and gained valuable experience working with elite AAU programs like Mo Williams Academy Elite and D1 Basketball that have produced McDonald's All Americans and first-round NBA draft picks.
My combination of skills training and the ability to create video content has afforded me the opportunity to see the world while doing what I love and what I’m passionate about. My video projects have led to having numerous NBA and NFL players as clients, and my work has been featured on NBA.com, washingtonpost.com, USAToday.com, CBS.com and NBA TV.
I’m proud to say I have visited 22 countries and have worked on basketball-related projects on five continents.
In 2016 I started NBAdraftjunkies.com to use my website as a live résumé to showcase my love for scouting the NBA Draft. I have this ridiculous goal to find the next Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić or Luka Dončić, so last year I packed my bags and moved to Europe to expand my knowledge of the international game and to get a head start on covering the top international NBA prospects of the future.
