NBA Mock Draft: Magic Land Potential 'Steal' in Baylor Guard

Baylor guard Ja'Kobe Walter made the Big 12's all-conference team as a freshman. A couple of the most recent NBA mock drafts predict that he will be go to the Orlando Magic with the No. 18 overall pick.

Feb 26, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Ja'Kobe Walter (4) dribbles against TCU Horned Frogs guard Micah Peavy (0) during the first half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. | Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO — Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Even better is being lucky and good, as in the Orlando Magic drafting a player at No. 18 who initially was projected to be a lottery pick.

In CBS Sports' latest mock draft, they project the Magic will draft Baylor guard Ja'Kobe Walter. Once upon a time, before the 2023-24 season, Bleacher Report predicted that the Magic would have a less successful season and take Walter with the No. 8 pick.

"Walter wasn't the world's most efficient offensive player in his lone season of college basketball," CBS Sports writes. "But he showed all the tools which made him a five-star prospect. He's athletic and rangy with loads of long-term upside. If Walter falls to this range, he could go down as one of the steals of the 2024 draft."

Walter, 19, made the 2023-24 All-Big 12 team and was the conference's Rookie of the Year in his only year at Baylor. The 6-foot-4 guard led the Bears in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game, but shot 37.6 percent from the field, including 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Statistically, Walter measures similarly to Anthony Black, whom the Magic took with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 draft. Black averaged 12.9 points in his lone season at Arkansas.

With Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris set to enter free agency, drafting a playmaking guard isn't out of the question for Orlando. For Walter, joining a team with a need at guard could allow him to contribute immediately.

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