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2 Kentucky Wildcats projected as first-round NBA draft picks

Two Wildcats were included in the first round in The Athletic’s latest projections.

DANIEL LOCKE3 HOURS AGO

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Kentucky Wildcats

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

With the NBA trade deadline in the past, draft talk has started to circulate.

The Kentucky Wildcats have a roster loaded with talent and are expected to have multiple players selected in the first round once again.

Which Kentucky players are projected to hear their names called on the first day of the 2024 NBA Draft according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic?

Reed Sheppard

Vecenie has Sheppard being taken by the Chicago Bulls with the No. 11 overall pick.

Vecenie’s take on Sheppard: As a 6-3 player without much length or the kind of athletic traits that raise a guard to this level, Sheppard doesn’t look like the typical lottery pick. But I think he has a real case for being one of the five best players in the country as a freshman, and I’d certainly consider him an All-American in some capacity. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 51.4 percent from 3 and 80.8 percent from the line. He racks up 2.6 steals per game on top of averaging nearly one block per game. His closeouts on shooters are textbook and disruptive.

Offensively, he’s potent leading the break in transition or delivering hit-ahead passes to get his teammates involved. When combined with his elite shooting, Sheppard is one of the best connective players in this draft class. Defensively, he’s an impactful playmaker, but has some off-ball lapses that can cause issues for Kentucky. On the ball, he’s excellent at staying in front of guards, but his size can be exploited on mismatches size-wise.

Sheppard presents a fascinating argument. Do you believe in his remarkable feel for the game and high skill level, or do you worry too much about his physical deficiencies? Given the success of other supposed “skill-first” guys across the league, such as Jalen Brunson, Brandin Podziemski, Desmond Bane and others, I buy into Sheppard’s positives more than I fre llt about his negatives