2023 NBA Draft: Biggest Draft Night Surprises

June 29, 2023

It wasn't the most surprising night ever, but it still had a bunch of surprising moments. Aidin Ebrahimi looks at three of the biggest surprises of the 2023 NBA draft.

After many months of waiting, the 2023 NBA draft finally arrived and lived up to the hype. Every once in a while, we see the dawn of a new era in the NBA, and we might have seen just that when the San Antonio Spurs selected Frenchman Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick on draft night.

Everyone knew Wembanyama would go number one overall, so seeing him join the Spurs is unsurprising. The next few picks also followed a pretty routine order. It wasn't the most surprising night ever, as the Warriors' acquisition of Chris Paul was actually the most shocking thing that happened that day, but it still had its fair share of surprises.

With that in mind, this article will look at the biggest surprises in the 2023 NBA draft, in no particular order. Scoot Henderson falling to number three is not on the list, as there were some people who expected Charlotte to go with Brandon Miller due to him being a better positional fit.

#3 - The Draft Slide of Cam Whitmore

Let's start with the biggest surprise of the night. Cam Whitmore was regarded as a consensus top-ten prospect and rightfully so. Whitmore was a virtual unknown before 2021 but exploded onto the scene in 2021-22, averaging 22.5 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field and 45.2% from three against his regular schedule. He did struggle from three when facing tougher competition, like Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Russell Westbrook's teams in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), but he still shot 49.7% from the field and averaged 16 points in 26 minutes. Due to his outstanding performances, Whitmore was regarded as a five-star recruit heading into college, and he committed to Villanova.

His first and only year as a Villanova Wildcat was polarizing. He missed some time due to injuries and was below average from three, but still managed to keep a high field goal percentage. Once he declared for the draft, almost all analysts expected Whitmore to be a top-ten selection, with some even having him in their top five, but he slid in the draft until the Rockets picked him up with the 20th pick. His broken thumb which caused him to miss seven games at the start of the 2022-23 season was one of the main reasons for his draft slide. Although going through a draft slide is always stressful, Whitmore learned a lot from the experience and called the draft "the best day of my life." Whitmore was reportedly considered by the Lakers with the 17th pick, however, they passed up on him and picked Jalen Hood-Schifino instead, allowing the Rockets to pick Whitmore.

#2 - Bilal Coulibaly Going Seventh Overall

Bilal Coulibaly is a massive project, and we all know how it goes with these "project players" who put up very modest stats overseas. They either pan out and become legendary like Giannis Antetokounmpo or bounce out of the league after a few years. For every success story, there have been around ten failures. Some of the more notable high draft picks who fit this profile are Sekou Doumbouya, Frank Ntilikina, Dragan Bender, Georgios Papagiannis, Mouhamed Sene, and Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who were all drafted despite putting up poor numbers overseas and were picked solely due to their potential. All of these players failed miserably in the NBA. Bilal Coulibaly put up very modest numbers while playing with Victor Wembanyama, putting up just five points and three rebounds a night. It's likely that Bilal would have been drafted way later if he didn't play for Metropolitans 92.

Bilal is clearly a hardworking player, though. He started this season in Metropolitans' B-team but managed to get promoted to the main squad after proving that he deserves to be a rotational piece for the first team. His minutes steadily went up as the season progressed, and his performances got better and better. Bilal is also looking forward to improving in Washington and has very high hopes for himself. "I want to be a franchise player by the next four years." Said Coulibaly while talking to The Athletic. "I want to stay in D.C., give it all for the fans, for the city." This was a very big gamble, and Wizards fans hope that it can work out better than the last time they took a risk like this and drafted Deni Avdija over Tyrese Haliburton.

#1. Orlando's Odd Decisions

The Orlando Magic and questionable draft picks, name a better duo. Despite having three young guards filled with potential in former first overall pick Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony, the Magic made a head-scratching move by selecting Anthony Black from Arkansas. Prior to joining the Razorbacks, Black was a dual athlete in high school, showing his prowess as a scorer on the basketball court and a big play threat as a WR on the football field. Black eventually chose to pursue a basketball career. Black is an outstanding defender who can overhaul Orlando's perimeter defense overnight and is a natural playmaker. However, he struggles with efficiency despite his massive height advantage over his fellow PGs, as Black is 6'7". He is also a pretty poor shooter from deep, and defenders will sag off of him until he can prove himself.

The selection of Jett Howard, the son of Juwan Howard was also a massive reach at pick number 11. Jett impressed early on in high school despite playing alongside players like Scottie Barnes, before joining his father's team, the Michigan Wolverines. Jett is a good scorer who can make shots with ease and just oozes big play ability. However, he is not a good playmaker, can't rebound despite being 6'8", isn't the most efficient scorer despite his tendency to make tough shots, and is certainly not a good defender. For a team that will be looking to take the next step and make the postseason for the first time since 2019-20, they need a do-it-all type of player, because they already have a lot of pure scorers.