Getty Kentucky Wildcats forward PJ Washington
As the 2019 NBA Playoffs roll on, it means we’re one step closer to the lottery and finding out who’ll have the chance to land one of the top prospects in recent memory. The NBA draft is widely considered to be somewhat top-heavy in 2019, but there’s little question that talent and upside are spread throughout the first round and even beyond.
While the official lottery order hasn’t been decided, we’re going to lay out the latest mock draft by going off strictly the regular season records of each team. This means the New York Knicks will hold the No. 1 pick, but tiebreakers have shaken up a few other situations in the lottery.
As the NBA revealed, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the tiebreaker with the Phoenix Suns while the tie between the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks finished in that order. A number of other tiebreakers were settled, and each one has been factored into the mock draft below.
NBA Mock Draft 2019: Zion Williamson & Ja Morant Remain up Top
*Note: Draft order is not official until the NBA lottery takes place on Tuesday, May 14. This is only for the first round of selections.
| TEAM | PLAYER |
| No. 1 New York Knicks | PF Zion Williamson, Duke |
| No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers* | PG Ja Morant, Murray State |
| No. 3 Phoenix Suns | SG RJ Barrett, Duke |
| No. 4 Chicago Bulls | PG Coby White, UNC |
| No. 5 Atlanta Hawks | SG Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech |
| No. 6 Washington Wizards | SF De’Andre Hunter, Virginia |
| No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans | SG Cam Reddish, Duke |
| No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies (or Celtics)** | PF Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga |
| No. 9 Dallas Mavericks (or Hawks)*** | C Jaxson Hayes, Texas |
| No. 10 Minnesota Timberwolves | PF Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga |
| No. 11 Los Angeles Lakers | PF PJ Washington, Kentucky |
| No. 12 Charlotte Hornets | PG Darius Garland, Vanderbilt |
| No. 13 Miami Heat | SF Nassir Little, UNC |
| No. 14 Boston Celtics (via Kings)**** | SF Louis King, Oregon |
| No. 15 Detroit Pistons | SG Romeo Langford, Indiana |
| No. 16 Orlando Magic | G Tyler Herro, Kentucky |
| No. 17 Brooklyn Nets | PF Sekou Doumbouya, Guinea |
| No. 18 Indiana Pacers | SF KZ Okpala, Stanford |
| No. 19 San Antonio Spurs | C Bol Bol, Oregon |
| No. 20 Boston Celtics (via Clippers) | G Kevin Porter Jr., USC |
| No. 21 Oklahoma City Thunder | C Goga Bitadze, Buducnost |
| No. 22 Boston Celtics | PF Cameron Johnson, UNC |
| No. 23 Utah Jazz | SG Keldon Johnson, Kentucky |
| No. 24 Philadelphia 76ers | PG Carsen Edwards, Purdue |
| No. 25 Portland Trail Blazers | SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech |
| No. 26 Cleveland Cavaliers (via Rockets) | SF Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State |
| No. 27 Brooklyn Nets (via Nuggets) | G Luguentz Dort, Arizona State |
| No. 28 Golden State Warriors | C Bruno Fernando, Maryland |
| No. 29 San Antonio Spurs (via Raptors) | SF Matisse Thybulle, Washington |
| No. 30 Milwaukee Bucks | F Admiral Schofield, Tennessee |
*If Cavaliers select No. 2 I’m predicting they trade the pick to the Suns, with Phoenix landing Morant.
**Boston Celtics receive Memphis Grizzlies’ pick if it falls out of the top eight
***Atlanta Hawks receive Dallas Mavericks’ first-round pick if outside of the top four
***Philadelphia 76ers receive pick if it moves up to No. 1
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