2023 NBA Draft: Breaking Down The Youngest Eligible Players
Every year the youngest prospect in the draft typically receives a lot of love due to them being so talented while also being nowhere near their ceiling. Last year Detroit’s Jalen Duren was the youngest prospect in the draft and turned out as a lottery pick due to his age, unreal physical tools, and intriguing flashes. Let’s dive into the three youngest players eligible for the draft this year.
GG Jackson | Forward
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Jackson is the youngest prospect eligible for the draft this year as he was born on December 17th, 2004. Scouts seem to be very split on the South Carolina freshman as some see him as a lottery level talent while others see him as a fringe first rounder. The flashes of high level creation skills and shot-making ability at 6-foot-9 while being extremely young indicates he has one of the highest ceilings in the draft.
On the flipside of things he struggles being efficient with his scoring despite having size and a good frame, he lacks true feel as a passer, the motor is extremely inconsistent, and he looks far from NBA ready. While these concerns are real, the big question is how much of these areas of concerns were inflated because of the poor roster Jackson was on? There was a clear lack of shooting and creators for South Carolina which often led to teams shrinking the floor on them and giving Jackson remotely no room to operate.
The team finished the season with 11 wins and 21 losses so it’s understandable why Jackson showed a lot of frustration and poor body language on the floor because of how much his team struggled this year. He’s one of the most intriguing college prospects in the entire draft and despite all of his red flags, there’s still something worth betting on in the first round due to his combination of talent, age, and upside.
James Nnaji | Center
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Nnaji is the second youngest prospect eligible for the draft this year, born on August 14th, 2004. He has drawn comparisons to former lottery pick Jalen Duren due to the similarities of their draft age and unreal physical tools at such a young age. Nnaji plays for FC Barcelona so the playing time has been very inconsistent for him this season which is understandable given how talented the roster is.
He’s only averaging nine minutes per game in a total of 34 games played this season this point so a lot of what we’ve seen from him this year is a small sample size but when he’s on the court for a reasonable amount of time, he makes his impact felt with his offensive rebounding ability, above the rim finishing, and shot-blocking skills. Nnaji has a very high motor combined with unreal upper body strength which helps him fight for position to get second chance points for his team.
He’s a good vertical athlete with an unreal wide catch radius as he possesses a 7-foot-7 wingspan which makes him one of the best lob threats in the draft this year. Nnaji is extremely limited offensively and despite being extremely young, it’s hard to imagine he ever expands his offensive arsenal due to some of his limitations. The lack of touch, moves in the post, and poor shooting limits his offensive ceiling but there’s a clear role in the NBA for him as a lob threat that serves well as a roll man.
Dariq Whitehead | Wing
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Whitehead is the third youngest prospect eligible for the draft this year as he was born on August 1st, 2004. Coming into the season the wing was in consideration as a top five prospect as he had an incredible high school career for Montverde Academy and showcased real two-way ability in AAU and high school. He suffered a preseason injury which forced him to miss valuable reps heading into the season and ultimately played a factor in him having an inconsistent season while not being able to carve out a big offensive role for Duke.
He finished the season shooting 42.9% from three which is extremely impressive considering he wasn’t known for his shooting throughout his high school career as it actually was an area of concern for him for the majority of his years before college. Whitehead has proven to be a real shooter paired with great size for a wing and a high offensive ceiling.
There are reasonable concerns for his creation skills as his handle is fairly weak and the lack of a quick first step hurt his ability to create space off the dribble and offense in the half-court. Whitehead has the shot-making ability to make up for the lack of creation skills but can he ever reach his ceiling if he’s living off of tough contested jumpers or hoping a teammate creates an open look for him? Dariq is a projected first round pick due to his two-way potential and I wouldn’t count him out being a star quite yet.
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