2024 NBA Draft: Projected Top Picks Facing Injuries
The 2024 NBA Draft is beginning to have a solid consensus top nine prospects in the draft in which all are scrambled in a different order. Can things change though as we have seen three different top prospects in Alexandre Sarr, Nikola Topic and Isaiah Collier go down with injuries and will miss a good portion of time.
Let’s dive into each prospect’s situation.
Alexandre Sarr | Perth Wildcats
Graham Denholm/Getty Images
Sarr suffered a minor hip strain back in early January and isn’t projected to return until early February. Is there any chance Sarr shuts it down for the season? It could be an idea that has been thrown around. It probably would be the case if his team was bad, but as of right now the Perth Wildcats are second in the NBL as they have 13 wins and seven losses.
A big negative to Sarr’s hip injury is that it limits his ability to move his hip around so when defending out in space or on defense in general, it could affect him a good bit until he gets 100% healthy.
Nikola Topic | KK Crvena zvezda
FIBA.com
Topic suffered a knee injury in just his second game with Red Star and is projected to return in the middle of February. His case is a bit interesting as Topic has been flying up draft boards as he’s beginning to be a consensus top three prospect in this year’s draft but with him making a team change in the middle of the season and now suffering a knee injury, does he lean towards shutting it down for the year?
As of right now his team is 13th in EuroLeague out of 18 teams with a losing record but in the ABA they are first as they have 14 wins and two losses in that league. It could be a tad bit risky trying to give it a go, especially if his burst isn’t the same right away when he returns but Topic is known to make some big time risks with his basketball career which is a good thing.
Isaiah Collier | USC
© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Collier suffered a right hand injury in a game versus Washington State about a week ago. The 6-foot-5 lead guard is projected to return towards the middle or end of February. This a brutal injury not only Collier but USC as they have been having a very underwhelming and poor year. With them having a down year and Collier injuring his shooting hand, does the projected top ten pick want to give it another go to try and salvage the season?
Collier isn’t really known for his shooting but he has adequate shooting splits across the board but if his right-hand isn’t 100% when he returns we could see his percentages take a hit as well as his stock. This could be a case where the lead guard elects to shut it down as there’s too much on the line, but Collier is known to be a fighter and a tough competitor.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.