Vecenie Updates Giddey, King and Jessup NBA Draft Status

The Athletic NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie has provided an update on the draft status of NBL Next Stars Josh Giddey, Mojave King and Justinian Jessup.

Giddey and King are eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft while Jessup is eligible for this November’s 2020 Draft.

Speaking on NBL Overtime, Vecenie said all three NBL Next Stars could land in the NBA.

“I would say Giddey is probably the one that brings the most excitement followed by Mojave followed by Jessup,” Vecenie said.

Read Vecenie’s thoughts on the three players below.

Josh Giddey (Adelaide 36ers) 

“A guy that can really shoot the ball, seems to have a real understanding and feel for how to play at 6’7. Really good athlete, he is going to be dependent in terms of how his body fills out over the next couple of years. His feel for the game, his toughness, his ability to shoot, I think he is someone that I will have in the first round entering the 2021 cycle.”

Mojave King (Cairns Taipans)

“Mojave King is a bit of a combo guard and a bit of a scoring guard. He is a guy that I think is skilled with ball in hand but it’s still a little bit stiff for me when I watch him. I’m going to be interested to see how that stiffness evaporates as his body grows and matures and gets stronger and continues to evolve. Him getting into his pull-ups, I think it’s a little bit stiff. I’ll have him right around the top 40 or so entering the 2021 process.”

Justinian Jessup (The Hawks)

“Justinian Jessup is an end of the second-round kind of guy and an elite level shooter. There are going to comparisons made and he is certainly helped by the presence of Duncan Robinson in the NBA Finals. Teams really want guys who can knock down shots at an exceedingly high level. The difference between Jessup and Duncan Robinson is that Jessup’s release point is considerably lower, and it takes him a little bit longer to get the shot off than Duncan Robinson. Entering the NBA and entering the G-League, Duncan Robinson had those same concerns. I think teams could see Jessup as a two-way contract kind of guy or a draft and stash kind of guy that they can work with over the next couple of years and develop into that high leverage quick trigger shooter. We know he has incredible touch.”

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