NBA Draft 2022: Final Big Board of top 60 overall prospects

17. Jalen Williams – Santa Clara – Wing – 6’6, 209 lbs – April 2001 – Junior

A late-riser in the pre-draft process, I binged a ton of Williams film after his strong showing at the NBA Draft combine and was very impressed. Standing at just under 6’6 with a 7’2 wingspan, I was expecting a “three-and-D” type of player. But Williams flashed some wildly impressive playmaking.

Williams often operated in the pick-and-roll for Santa Clara and was terrific at making the correct read (whether that was hit the roll man, a corner/wing shooter, or shoot it himself). He has good shooting mechanics and while he won’t be sprinting off of actions for jumpers, he should be able to space the floor effectively.

Defensively, he’s a better team defender than on-ball. He isn’t overly aggressive at the point of attack and still needs to add weight, but he should guard twos and threes effectively and can survive if switched onto a one.

He isn’t overly athletic, but the dribble-pass-shoot ability combined with the length and smarts are enticing to any NBA team and his game is scalable into nearly any system. Those ball skills will need to be used in a smaller-usage role, but smart teams will find a way to do that and Williams could be a positive starting off-ball guard or wing.

18. Ochai Agbaji – Kansas – Wing – 6’6, 216 lbs – April 2000 – Senior

Agbaji bet on himself returning for his senior season at Kansas and it paid off. Agbaji was one of the best players in college basketball, leading the Jayhawks to a title. His appeal is a classic “three-and-D” wing, but I have some questions on both sides of the ball. Agbaji shot 40.7% from deep on the season. But after shooting 46% from deep through January, Agbaji cooled off and shot 34% the rest of the year. Agbaji was sub 37% his previous three seasons, so I just question what level of shooter he really is. He has good versatility as a shooter (off the move, and taking one dribble pull-ups), but if he isn’t knock down then he might lose some of his value.

The defense is fine. He doesn’t pressure the ball well and while I like his ability to get skinny around screens, he’s not a huge deterrent off the ball. Yes, Kansas plays a more conservative scheme, but his rebound, steal, and block numbers were low for someone with a 6’10 wingspan.

As long as the shooting is good, Agbaji can play as a floor-spacer and it’s not like he’s going to get targeted on defense. But Agbaji’s leap came as a senior and I don’t know how much more room he has to grow, so he might end up as a low-end starting wing or bench-rotational wing for his entire career.

19. Patrick Baldwin Jr. – UW-Milwaukee – Forward – 6’10.5, 230 lbs – November 2002- Freshman

I’m not sure there is a more divisive prospect amongst NBA teams and even the internet than Baldwin. He entered the year as a consensus top-ten prospect but struggled in his injury-shortened eleven-game season with the Panthers. The biggest red flag was his numbers against his three most formidable opponents (Florida, Colorado, and Rhode Island) shooting 10-36 (27%) from the floor.

He then coupled that with a poor showing at the NBA Draft combine from an athletic standpoint with the lowest max vertical jump out of everyone and worst standing vertical and worst sprint time of any non-center.

So what do I see in Baldwin? His measuring in at 6’10.5 in shoes honestly makes up for the athleticism. I knew he wasn’t a great athlete coming in and I don’t expect him to be this amazing dunker. I still believe in the jumper. The mechanics look good and he was tasked with way too much responsibility on the ball that will not even be close to replicated at the NBA level. Baldwin should excel playing off the ball next to NBA creators, especially as a shooter.

Defensively he won’t be great and is likely just a one-position defender, but he should hold up. NBA teams want big wings who can shoot and I believe Baldwin will return to the shooting prospect we saw in high school.

20. Wendell Moore – Duke – Wing – 6’5.5, 217 lbs – July 2001 – Junior

Another guy I’m likely higher on than most, I feel like Moore is somehow going under the radar after arguably being the best player on Duke last season. His first two years were largely disappointing as he never put his athletic tools together. But as a junior, Moore did a little bit of everything well. Moore shot a career-best 41.3% from three, 66% at the rim (67% of those makes were unassisted), and flashed his ball-handling and passing while being a pretty good college defender.

Moore doesn’t have a bankable skill right now, but he’s good at everything. Last year, I docked Ayo Dosunmu for that kind of profile, and while they are different prospects (Dosunmu more an on-ball guard, Moore more of a small-ish wing), I think just being a good basketball player can help you stick in a rotation. He’s also basically sophomore age-wise. Moore just does too many things well for me to think he can be a good rotational player.