NBA Mock Draft: Spurs Grab Top Pick and Consolation Prize

The 2024 NBA Draft lottery is under a week away, with a handful of teams hoping they come away with the coveted No. 1 pick.

In a recent mock draft I posted to YouTube, the San Antonio Spurs lucked out on the Tankathon spin, grabbing the top pick despite just a 10.5% chance at it, with the Raptors pick conveying to No. 7 as well.

To start the mock, San Antonio nabbed Nikola Topic of Crvena zvezda in the EuroLeague. An 18-year-old, 6-foot-6 point guard, Topic saw fairly incredible production in ABA, averaging 18.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 12 games, earning himself a EuroLeague bid.

A knee injury halted his season, but he’s now bounced back to again look the part in a great pro league with strong basketball feel, craft and an improving game.

With the Spurs, Topic would function as a strong table-setter for franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama, slicing and dicing his way to the ring on the chance the 7-foot-4 forward can’t get open.

At pick No. 7, the Spurs grabbed Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, a 23-year-old sharpshooter who led one of the best teams in college basketball last season. An average of 21.7 points per game is alreayd impressive, but it doesn't tell the full story.

At 6-foot-6, Knecht is one of the best off-ball scorers in the class, gravitating towards space and coming off screens to shoot a deadly, high-rising jumper. With on-ball forces in Topic and Wembanyama, Knecht could function as an ancillary piece, shooting threes and scoring on-ball when needed.

San Antonio has already won for the foreseeable future in nabbing Wembanyama last season, but surrounding him with good pieces at the 2024 draft is the next step in the process.