With the 2022 NCAA Tournament complete, it’s a good time to take a look at the 2022 NBA draft and mock out the first round. While the draft order is not set, we’ve taken the liberty of setting the order courtesy of Tankathon.com. The Indiana Pacers have wound up with the No. 1 selection, while the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder hold three first-round picks each. The Portland Trail Blazers have two lottery selections and could end up with another pick if they deal star point guard Damian Lillard.
Even with a lot of things in flux, here’s how the first round of the 2022 NBA draft looks based on our simulation order.
No. 1 - Indiana Pacers - Paulo Banchero (Duke)
No. 3 - Detroit Pistons - Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
No. 4 - Orlando Magic - Jabari Smith (Auburn)
No. 5 - Houston Rockets - Keegan Murray (Iowa)
No. 6 - Oklahoma City Thunder - Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
No. 7 - Portland Trail Blazers - Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
No. 8 - Sacramento Kings - Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
No. 10 - San Antonio Spurs - Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
No. 12 - Portland Trail Blazers (via Pelicans) - TyTy Washington (Kentucky)
No. 13 - Houston Rockets (via Nets) - Jeremy Sochan (Baylor)
No. 14 - Charlotte Hornets - Jaden Harden (G-League Ignite)
No. 15 - Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers) - Walker Kessler (Auburn)
No. 17 - Indiana Pacers (via Cavaliers) - Tari Eason (LSU)
No. 19 - Chicago Bulls - Mark Williams (Duke)
No. 20 - San Antonio Spurs (via Raptors) - Christian Koloko (Arizona)
No. 21 - Memphis Grizzlies (via Jazz) - Dyson Daniels (G-League Ignite)
No. 23 - Milwaukee Bucks - Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
No. 24 - Brooklyn Nets (via 76ers) - Malaki Branham (Ohio State)
No. 25 - Dallas Mavericks - Nikola Jovic (Mega Basket)
No. 26 - San Antonio Spurs (via Celtics) - Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
No. 28 - Miami Heat - Kendall Brown (Baylor)
No. 29 - Memphis Grizzlies - Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
No. 30 - Oklahoma City Thunder (via Suns) - Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)