NBA Draft 2019: Previewing the upcoming Portsmouth Invitational
By Logan Butts
The Portsmouth Invitational kicks off on April 17. Let’s take a look at the players invited to this year’s edition with regards to their NBA Draft hope.
Although the 2018-19 season has wrapped, we are not quite through with the nation’s best seniors just yet. March Madness, the dunk and three-point contests, and the 3×3 Tournament are all over, but we still have the NBA draft coming up on June 20, which means player evaluation season will be in full force over these next two months.
One of the key events for outgoing seniors is the Portsmouth Invitational, which gives some of the nation’s best players that aren’t lottery-bound a shot to impress NBA scouts over a four-day tournament. This year’s crop of 64 players features a variety of players including those fresh of off March Madness runs, power conference standouts, mid-major legends, and some legit late first-round pick options.
Just from last season, the Portsmouth invitees included 13 players who have spent time on NBA rosters this year: Jaylen Adams, Justin Bibbs, Chris Chiozza, Gary Clark, Angel Delgado, Brandon Goodwin, BJ Johnson, George King, Zach Lofton, Daryl Macon, Jared Terrell, Jonathan Williams, and Kenrich Williams.
The games will start on Wednesday with two matchups, three on Thursday and Friday, and four on Saturday, including the title game. The rosters are broken up into eight teams of eight players each. Let’s take a look at this year’s squads.