Alabama 2022 NBA Draft Preview
If a Crimson Tide player hears their name called during Thursday night's NBA Draft, Alabama will have accomplished something that hasn't been done in the program since 2003—have at least one player drafted three years in a row.
Last time it was Gerald Wallace in 2001, Rod Gizzard in 2002 and Mo Williams in 2003. And in 2022 JD Davison, Keon Ellis and Jaden Shackelford look to continue the streak started by Kira Lewis Jr. in 2020 and continued on by Joshua Primo and Herbert Jones in 2021.
This means that Alabama head coach Nate Oats can have at least one player drafted from each of his rosters in his first three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Even though he has gotten to work out for some NBA teams, it is highly unlikely that Shackelford will get drafted. He was not invited to the NBA Combine, and is not projected to get drafted. However, Davison and Ellis were both invited to the combine, and their names appear in multiple mock drafts.
Davison came to Tuscaloosa as one of the highest rated in-state prospects in Alabama history with the expectation that he would be a one-and-done player and potential lottery pick.
With an up-and-down freshman season, Davison's draft projections continued to slide. In his freshman year, Davison averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.9 turnovers per game. He led the team in assists.
There were several highlight reel moments in his short Crimson Tide career, including a dunk over fellow 2022 draft prospect Walker Kessler, several big plays in Alabama's upset win over Baylor and the game-saving block against Houston.
The athleticism displayed in plays like that and his natural abilities are part of the high appeal to NBA scouts, but his decision making and shooting left major concerns after his one year at Alabama. Because of his athleticism alone, Davison can be drafted on potential and built on as a prospect like Primo was by the Spurs last year.
Ellis spent his first two years at junior college before transferring to Alabama in 2020. Oats consistently called Ellis one of the best two way players in the country, and his prowess on defense is especially appealing and translatable to the NBA. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds per game. The senior also led Alabama in 3-point percentage at 36.6 percent, but attempted 100 less than Shackelford.
At times throughout the season, Ellis seemed like a lock to be selected in this year's draft, but some of the latest projections have him out of the 58-pick draft (Miami and Milwaukee were each docked a second round pick because of tampering violations.) Those two picks could end up being the difference whether or not Ellis is drafted.
If Davison and Ellis are both drafted, it will mark the first time since 1983-1984 that Alabama has had multiple players drafted in back-to-back drafts.
Here are some of the mock draft projections for Crimson Tide players:
JD Davison
Alabama Athletics
Keon Ellis
Alabama Athletics
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
