What happened in the 2024 NBA Draft: Full recap and analysis of every pick

Shead was the closest thing college basketball had to a Kyle Lowry clone this season, so it's only fitting that he ends up with the Raptors. His ball pressure, energy and intensity will have to make up for his small stature and iffy shooting.

Historically Miami has done much better with undrafted guys than with the late picks they actually selected on draft night. However, Larsson is a plus skill guy loosely in the mold of Duncan Robinson, a good shooter who splashes perfect parabolas in pre-game warm-ups, and a slick passer to boot. He probably slots into a 2-way, but he could likely play some minutes if needed because of his floor spacing.

The Toronto Raptors selected Jamal Shead with the No. 45 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Shead:

Jamal Shead is one of my favorite players in the class, and I am higher on him than consensus. The last time a smaller guard made an NBA All-Defense team was in 2020, when both Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Beverley did so. I think Shead has their kind of upside on that end of the court if he can figure out an offensive role by improving as a shooter. He is among the most instinctive, high-IQ defensive players I’ve ever evaluated and possesses arguably the best motor I’ve seen on defense. I have zero question that Shead will be an impactful player on that end of the floor.

He needs enough offense to consistently stay on the court. He’s still young even though he’s a four-year player, as he won’t turn 22 until after the Summer League. At a minimum, I’d be stunned if he doesn’t carve out a role as a backup point guard in the NBA. If his shooting comes along, there’s even a chance he becomes a high-impact role player. His defense is that good.

The Miami Heat selected 23-year-old Arizona wing Pelle Larsson with the No. 44 pick

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Larsson:

Pelle Larsson’s game should translate well to the NBA. He’s a shooter who is strong and has some explosiveness as a power athlete. He also reads the court well as a passer and is much more effective as a driver than one would think. However, he wasn’t all that impactful by NBA standards in his first three seasons in college and got by with a lot of power elements as a 23-year-old.

When those advantages disappear in the NBA, is he going to be well-rounded enough? Can he up his shot volume? The shooting is ultimately the key: He must be able to fire from distance with a quicker release. He’s strong and physical on the ball on defense but needs to lock in more and not make as many strange help decisions as he did this season. There are a lot of attractive elements to his game, but I had enough worries to place a two-way grade on him. He could clear his issues up and become a solid rotation player in the NBA. If he doesn’t, he might become an excellent Euroleague-level player.

The Atlanta Hawks selected Nikola Djurišić with the No. 43 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Djurišić:

I thought Nikola Djurišić improved a lot on the ball this season. He was much more efficient and decisive than he was a season ago, when it would have been a mistake for him to enter the draft. Now, he could easily play and perhaps thrive in the G League, even though there are still some items to clean up. He must improve his handle and become a better decision-maker; those turnover numbers are crippling. More importantly, he must learn how to play without the ball and impact games when he’s not the driving offensive force. Role versatility is huge in today’s NBA, and not just defensively.

Right now, Djurišić cannot scale his game down effectively. Over the next two years, he needs to show that he can shoot off the catch. I love his confidence and aggressiveness; those traits, along with his on-ball talent, make me willing to give him a guaranteed contract as a second-round pick (or, better yet, stash him overseas for another year). But I can’t grade him as a first-rounder because I worry he’ll be unable to play off the ball while not being good enough to play on it in the best league in the world.

A college assistant coach on new Charlotte Hornets guard K.J. Simpson:

Man, he’s a killer. He’s little, little dude, but dog, he killed the Pac 12. And that’s just about every year. His freshman year, we beat them, and he was crying after the game. He just loves to win. That dude’s a winner. Takes tough shots and make them. He can play. He can pass. He can do it all. He’s just little. We were trying to post him up. He wasn’t playing no defense. But he came back the second half and lit us up. I love him. But you’ve got these bigger guards in the NBA. Size is important.

K.J. Simpson was the third Colorado player taken in this draft, even though he was far and away the best player on the team. His size scared some teams off at 6-0 and probably means he tops out as a backup, but he is a high-energy player who was incredibly productive last season. I like this selection quite a bit for the new Charlotte front office.

The Charlotte Hornets selected 21-year-old Colorado guard K.J. Simpson with the No. 42 pick

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Simpson:

If K.J. Simpson were 6-3, he’d be a clear first-round pick. His improvements this season were drastic as a shooter, and it opened the rest of his game. On top of that, you could project more confidently that the positive work he did on the ball defensively would translate. Unfortunately, Simpson is 6-foot, which leads to questions about how his game will translate to the NBA. Simpson’s feel isn’t poor, but I didn’t get the impression from his tape that he has the same preternatural instincts as someone like Reed Sheppard.

Players at or below six-feet tall tend to make it one of two ways: By being outliers in some shape or form, or by being physically strong. Simpson isn’t either of those things. Still, there is a pathway for Simpson to become a backup point guard. He’s tough, plays hard and has drastically improved over the course of his college career. If his shooting maintains, he’ll probably end up sticking. On top of that, he’s won at every level. I like him as a player in which to invest a two-way contract.

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Adem Bona with the No. 41 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Bona:

Adem Bona is limited, but he’s good at the things NBA teams ask their bigs to be good at. He’s a good rim protector, and he’s an active, aggressive defender who has versatility on the perimeter. He’s athletic and consistently plays with a high-end motor. He’s a true energy-giver to his team in the way he’s able get second-chance opportunities and momentum-shifting recovery blocks. Still, Bona needs to improve in specific areas of his skill to reach even just the bare minimum level required for an NBA rotation big.

He needs to operate in dribble-handoffs comfortably and to feel more comfortable on the perimeter with the ball in his hands. He needs to finish more efficiently inside if someone takes away a dunking opportunity. And he needs to read the floor better as a passer and playmaker. I think these are reachable goals, and Bona projects as a solid backup NBA center long-term with potential starter upside if he can clean up all those factors. He’ll have limited usage, but the strengths dovetail nicely with what teams want from the center position.

A college assistant coach whose team played Marquette said this about Oso Ighodaro, picked by the Suns at No. 40.

He’s not very big. He might be 6-9-ish, maybe. But he and (Tyler) Kolek were incredible, because Oso can really handle and pass and create at the five spot, incredibly athletic, and really, really good defensively. He didn’t shoot at all outside of five, 10 feet. He had that floater he was shoot in the paint off of dribble handoff keeps. So, he’s a guy, I hope I’m wrong, was a great college player, had a really good team, the shooting around him, and an incredible playmaking and creative guard like Tyler Kolek. But I just don’t quite know how he will translate as a five man at the next level. Because he’s small. And he doesn’t shoot it. If he was a 3-point shooter, with his playmaking ability, and his athleticism, and his defense, then I would say, no doubt about it. But his shooting is worrisome to me at the next level. There’s a place for him in the league, because he is talented. I just don’t know how you become successful with him in the game, offensively. If he’s in the game, I’m in perpetual drop (coverage) at all times.

Ighodaro was one of my favorite sleepers in this draft, and as an added bonus, he's a native Arizonan who gets to come home and join the Suns. With his ability to pass from the elbows and switch onto the perimeter defensively, I think he is capable of playing backup 5 minutes immediately, although he doesn't do some of the "traditional" big things (rebound, block shots) at a super high level.

The Phoenix Suns selected Oso Ighodaro with the No. 40 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Ighodaro:

Oso Ighodaro was one of my favorite players to watch in college basketball over the last two years. His blend of ingenious playmaking and pristine synergy with Tyler Kolek in ball screens was a sight to behold. He was constantly communicating with his teammates and helping them get into the right spots. He’s an incredible passer from all areas of the court, and I’m not sure I saw someone as dynamic in screens, re-screens, handoffs and all the little ways big men help their guards get loose on the perimeter. He also moves his feet well and was useful on defense. Yet, I just couldn’t quite get there for his NBA projection because of his lack of size and strength. Bigs in the NBA are physical.

They move big players around like it’s nothing. Additionally, the players in Ighodaro’s archetype — interior scorer and passer — that tend to work (think Jokić, Sabonis, even Nikola Vučević) tend to be of the much more physical, strong types as opposed to the finesse types. I ended up with a second-round grade and see him on the borderline of being worth a guaranteed contract or a two-way contract.

The Memphis Grizzlies selected 20-year-old Washington State wing Jaylen Wells with the No. 39 pick.

The Athletic NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie on Wells: Jaylen Wells is the kind of player a lot of teams see as an undervalued asset. With a COVID-19 season breakout in high school, combined with a late growth spurt, Wells was off the radar for so long that he didn’t get noticed until this season. He wasn’t even starting on his junior varsity high school team as a sophomore. That means he’s early in his developmental process, and it shows on tape. He’s still learning a large portion of his game, from defense to passing to overall movement and footwork on offense.

Wells has one thing that you cannot teach: He can fire the ball up from 3. His mechanics and touch are pristine. On top of that, the intel is he's a high-character person who works hard at his game. I think he’s worth a bet in the top 50. The rest of his game outside of his shot is so far away that it would be hard for me to give him a guaranteed contract, but I see him as one of my priority two-way bets in the class because of his jumper. If you can knock down shots from distance at this level, you have a real chance to make an impact in the NBA.

Klintman is another high-upside swing for Detroit. Likely spends next year in the G League. Needs to bulk up and the defense is a mess, but there are some offensive tools.