2024 NBA Draft Recap: Surprises, Trades, and French Players Back-to-Back at the Top of the Draft

Insiders Weigh In on a Night of High-Stakes Moves and Unexpected Deals

Dear NBA Big Board subscribers,

I want to explain why I didn't post a final mock draft and Big Board this week. Unfortunately, my wife's chemotherapy started earlier than expected. Here's a screenshot of a tweet I posted yesterday explaining the situation.

Despite the challenges, I was still able to follow the 2024 NBA Draft, which had many of the elements we expect on draft night — trade rumors and actual trades, surprise lottery picks, and Green Room invitees who didn’t get selected in the first round. Wednesday night was a great night for French basketball, marking the second consecutive year a Frenchman has been drafted as the first overall pick. French prospects Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr went back-to-back at the top of the draft, with Tidjane Salaun joining them in the top 10 and Pacome Dadiet going No. 25 overall to the Knicks.

The Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rank as my biggest draft night winners. Additionally, Zach Edey going to the Grizzlies and AJ Johnson getting picked in the first round ahead of Tyler Smith, Kyle Filipowski, and Tyler Kolek were among the more shocking moves from last night.

Here are my thoughts on last night's draft.