2024 NBA Draft prospect rankings: Kentucky stars rise, Purdue’s Zach Edey falls ahead of March Madness

The madness of March is upon us and draft season is right around the corner. So, now that we’ve gotten through to the final month of the season, it’s time for a reset in our NBA Draft prospect rankings to get a feel for who is rising, who is falling, and most importantly, who to watch as you prep your bracket in the coming weeks. 

Our new prospect rankings are completely refreshed with some big movers and shakers from last update, and the list is also expanded from 30 to 40. That includes a new No. 1 in … drum roll please … Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham. 

Dillingham has shined this season and come on strong down the stretch as an electric offensive weapon and isolation scorer who can help carry the Wildcats deep into the postseason. He had 23 points and five assists in a win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday for a UK offense that has been supercharged with his presence, and his emergence has drawn comparisons to another shifty guard who went No. 1 overall several years ago.

“I think he’s so shifty,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said Wednesday of Dillingham. “That kid has really gotten better. He’s a tough cover for anybody. He’s literally capable of exploding and going for 25 or 30 on any given night. I think that’s why you’re seeing him on projected draft boards because he has that type of ability to be able to play one-on-one, create off the dribble, Kyrie Irving-like.”

The rankings below are not based on where I think players will land, but rather where I would personally rank the players in a vacuum if I were a general manager. Philosophically, my goal with these rankings remains the same as ever: I prioritize prospects who I project highly as future superstars and go down the list from there. This is not production based — Zach Edey would be No. 1 with a bullet — nor is it based on how other talent evaluators or the NBA view certain prospects. I’ve arranged the list in order from most likely to be stars to least likely while accounting for athleticism, positional size, production and what each player could be when projecting ahead, among other things.

Here is where we stand on March 7 with some of the big risers and fallers. The full top 40 can be found here.

Risers

Rob Dillingham

• Current rank: 1
• Previous rank: 10

Dillingham has grown by leaps and bounds as a freshman at Kentucky this season, and in the process he’s developed into one of the most dynamic and exciting offensive playmakers in the sport. He reads defenses well as a playmaker and has a combination of athleticism and burst that makes staying in front of him nearly impossible. He floats around the floor with the ball in his hands and exudes confidence, consistently firing off one-handed lasers to teammates and finishing with flash and creativity around the basket. His defense remains a work in progress, and his 6-foot-3 frame may prompt teams to give him pause this high, especially with so many jumbo wings available. But Dillingham has star potential as an electrifying offensive talent and a personality around which I’d love to build a team. 

Reed Sheppard

• Current rank: 5
• Previous rank: 9

It’s a Kentucky celebration in the prospect rankings. Sheppard is another massive riser like his teammate not just because he’s had a stellar freshman year. He’s a massive riser because he’s been historically good in his role. Sheppard has made 51.2% of his 125 (!) 3-point attempts on the season and rates in the 99th percentile in jump shots, catch-and-shoot attempts and shots from beyond the arc, according to Synergy Sports data. It’s not just his offensive firepower that excites, either. Sheppard is a playmaker on defense who plays with a high IQ. He is seemingly always in the correct position and has a knack for making big plays on defense when his team needs one. He never rests and is always engaged on both ends. Sheppard projects like a very safe, productive two-way guard at the NBA level with shot-making and an underrated ability to pass and make plays. 

Yves Missi

• Current rank: 16
• Previous rank: 24

The more I see from Missi the more I like. The former four-star recruit wasn’t really on the draft radar to start his freshman season, but he has played his way into the lottery discussion for Baylor thanks to his length, athleticism and defensive ability. He’s a long center who has huge hops and swats shots with ease thanks to his long, wiry arms. He’s still a bit undeveloped on offense outside of the paint, but there’s a lot to like in a class short on game-changing bigs with Missi as a rim-running lob threat who can play safety and defend the rim.

Fallers

Isaiah Collier

• Current rank: 12
• Previous rank: 8

USC’s season went off the rails weeks ago, and Collier — once seen as a potential No. 1 pick contender — has not been enough to lift the Trojans out of the muck. The team has struggled with and without him as he recovered from a wrist injury. Collier, by production numbers, is one of the best in this freshmen class, and his playmaking ability with the ball and ability to get to the rim is a genuine asset. However, his defensive ability and outside shot have me a little more skeptical as the season’s progressed. He frequently dies on screens, fails to fight through them or gets lost after getting skinny through them and subsequently losing his man. Top-10 talent with tons of tools I like, but whether he’ll be a top-10 pick remains to be seen.

Zach Edey

• Current rank: 33
• Previous rank: 18

Edey will be 22 when he enters the draft this summer after four seasons at the college level. The list of bigs who have his profile or a similar profile — older bigs who didn’t stretch the floor in college — and have gone on to be difference-makers at the NBA level and worthy of first-round picks is basically none. Edey has been the outlier in college, so maybe that trend continues to the NBA. He’s a dominant interior presence who can win with size and a willing passer when teams double him. I’m also optimistic that he’ll be able to showcase his shooting ability at the NBA level in more of a spread offense than Purdue’s scheme. But it is increasingly difficult to tap Edey as a top-30 player on the Big Board just based off where the NBA game is and how he has won at the college level.