Observations from the 2024 NBA Draft Combine: Standout Performers and Insider Insights
Intel from Scouts and Media to Assess the Biggest Winners and Stock-Risers at the 2024 NBA Combine
The 2024 NBA Draft Combine scrimmages concluded on Wednesday, and here’s what I observed and mostly gathered from others, focusing on the standout performers:
Unfortunately, due to my wife’s recent cancer diagnosis, I couldn’t travel to Chicago as I have in previous years. Instead, I watched the combine on ESPN and relied heavily on information from scouts and media who were in attendance. For instance, it seemed there were more player interviews on Wednesday than actual gameplay, making it difficult to gauge who excelled in the scrimmages.
From my experience of attending in person and following the combine on TV and social media, I can confirm there’s a significant difference; the coverage isn’t always accurate.
A scout in attendance, who also monitored social media posts from media in Chicago, expressed frustration: “This is my least favorite part of the cycle where someone posts a highlight. They’re not doing anything wrong, but it heavily implies positive things that didn’t happen. It’s horribly misleading.”
While it’s easy to look at box scores and highlights to assume a prospect played well, this isn’t always the case, according to one scout.
“The guys who play in scrimmages aren’t usually first-round guys, so I’m not always impressed by the top scorer. I look for things like, can he defend, does he make the right play, how fast does he process things, and can he remember NBA sets.”
Another scout added, "In these scrimmages, the players who struggle are usually the low-feel guys. The ones who do well are the high-feel guys."
Since I missed most of the action, I spent Wednesday evening and Thursday working the phones to gather opinions from trusted scouts to share their thoughts on who stood out.
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Baylor Scheierman
Creighton
Senior
Wing
6’6”| 201
Age on draft night: 23.8
Scheierman looked like the most NBA-ready prospect in Tuesday's first scrimmage. He hit 6 of his 11 shots from the field, including 3 out of 6 from beyond the arc, leading all scorers with 17 points while also contributing 8 rebounds. In the second scrimmage, he finished with 9 points on 4-of-7 shooting but missed all 3 of his long-range attempts.
An NBA scout said,
The concern I hear is about his athleticism and defense. I think those concerns are a little exaggerated. He’s active and scrappy on defense. He can help a team early in his career because he does the little things—he rebounds, makes the right play, and can knock down open shots.
Another scout added,
Athleticism always gets attention in testing, and experience stands out in the scrimmages. Scheierman’s experience was evident; he let the game come to him, made good decisions, and I thought he was the best player on the court on the first day.