The 2023 NBA Draft is upon us, starting at 5 p.m. PDT tonight, Thursday, June 22nd. As we wait for the draft to start, we try to get an idea of who the Sacramento Kings will select and how it will impact the team. The Kings hold three draft picks tonight: the 24th, 36th, and 54th overall selections.
The 2023 NBA Draft class is one of the most talented, from top to bottom, that we have seen in a long time. Of course, the top is headlined by a 7’5″ unicorn, Victor Wembanyama, the greatest prospect we have seen since The Chosen One arrived in 2003. While the San Antonio Spurs are locked in for Wembanyama, a load of other talented players will fall all over the draft.
While we are getting an idea of who the Sacramento Kings could draft with the 24th pick, it is more difficult to know who they will select in the second round.
Here are three first-round talents that could fall to the Sacramento Kings at 38:
Gregory Jackson II, PF, South Carolina
GG Jackson is an 18-year-old former best high school player in the country. After reclassifying to join South Carolina’s basketball team a year early, he was a high school senior playing against grown men. Even with an age disadvantage, Jackson showed how much talent he possesses and has all the right tools to translate his skill to the NBA.
Jackson is the youngest prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft as a 6’9″ forward. In his freshman season, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. The big man possesses guard-like skill, but his inefficiency poses questions that drop his draft stock. While averaging 15.4 points per game, he had 38/32/67 shooting splits, but as the youngest player in the class, he is assumed to be more inefficient than other prospects.
GG Jackson is an impressive isolation player for his size, using his handles, athleticism, and size to beat defenders and get the ball in the basket. Jackson is one of the rawest, most talented offensive prospects in this class, but his question marks are too prominent, making his draft stock plummet. If he were to wait another year to enter his name in the draft, he would be an undoubted lottery pick, so if the Kings select him at pick 38, it would be a steal.