ESPN Projects Beekman and Dunn as 1st Round Picks in 2024 NBA Mock Draft

For the second year in a row, the Virginia men's basketball program did not have a player selected in the NBA Draft. But according to an early ESPN projection for the 2024 NBA Draft, that won't be the case again next June.

Less than two days after Thursday night's NBA Draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo posted an early mock draft for the 2024 NBA Draft on Saturday morning. Their predictions have not one, but two Cavaliers being selected in the first round of next year's draft. Rising sophomore forward Ryan Dunn is projected to go No. 21 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies, while rising senior point guard Reece Beekman, who tested the waters before ultimately deciding to withdraw his name from this year's draft and return to Virginia for another season, is projected to go No. 30 overall to the Denver Nuggets.

Click here to see ESPN's full 2024 NBA Mock Draft. (ESPN+ required)

A 6'8" forward who might still be growing, Dunn is perhaps the player most primed for a breakout season on UVA's roster in 2023-2024. He showed flashes of serious potential in a relatively small dose (12.9 minutes played per game) as a true freshman. Dunn has the tools to be an elite defender both on-ball and as a rim protector with quick feet, a long wingspan, and remarkable leaping ability. On the offensive end, he frequently showed off his incredible athleticism with eye-popping dunks like this one that landed him the No. 1 spot on the SportsCenter Top 10:

The development of Dunn's all-around offensive arsenal - and specifically his perimeter shooting - will be the key to unlocking his sky-high potential. He shot 31.3% from beyond the arc in his first collegiate season, but his stroke and form look good and that number should climb next year. How much of an offensive threat he becomes next season in terms of shooting the ball and creating his own shot off the dribble will determine how big his sophomore leap can be.

Spent time with Ryan Dunn in LA to talk about his trajectory as a player and the next steps in his evolution. The Virginia wing looks primed for a breakout season next year. pic.twitter.com/kPCbZW76Ue
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 29, 2023

For Reece Beekman, it's simpler. He's already an elite on-ball defender, as evidenced by his 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award and multiple ACC All-Defensive Team selections. He's a great facilitator and decision-maker, leading the ACC in assist/turnover ratio last season. Beekman simply needs to be more aggressive in hunting his own shot and continue to develop as a three-point shooter. He shot 24.3% from beyond the arc as a freshman, jumped to 33.8% as a sophomore, and shot 35.1% from three last season. Beekman was shooting up above 40% from the perimeter early in the year before suffering a hamstring injury and enduring a shooting slump that brought his season-long average down to earth. If he can get somewhere in the ballpark of 40% from three and increase his scoring average (9.5 points per game last season), that'll mean big things for Virginia's team prospects next season and for Beekman's draft stock in 2024.

Virginia's last first round NBA Draft pick was Trey Murphy III, who went No. 17 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021. The last time UVA had two first round picks was, of course, in 2019, when De'Andre Hunter (No. 4) and Ty Jerome (No. 24) each went in the first round a couple of months after leading the Cavaliers to their first-ever national championship.

Tony Bennett and company will certainly be hoping history repeats itself if Beekman and Dunn indeed end up hearing their names called in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

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