2013 NBA Draft

The 2013 NBA Draft class featured a crop of young talent that had more depth than top level talent. While evaluating this draft class, it was challenging to find "can't miss" players, or even players that were sure to become All-Stars. Consequently, franchises picking in the lottery were left to select prospects who were unlikely to become their franchise's best player. However, the 2013 Draft class provided franchises with an opportunity to select a bevy of role players and players who could make an impact coming off the bench.

Top 5 Prospects 

1) Victor Oladipo, Indiana. After evaluating the 2013 Draft class prior to the draft, Victor Oladipo earned himself the #1 ranking on the Draft Board and seemed to be the prospect with the least amount of risk. An incredible athlete and elite defender, Oladipo appeared poised to be a solid contributor for any franchise that selected him, and he is the prospect who will most likely become an All-Star from this draft class. Oladipo was a 1st Team All-American as a junior at Indiana, and he helped lead the Hoosiers to a pair of deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. His projected per game averages during the peak of his career: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. 

2) Ben McLemore, Kansas. McLemore carried the #1 ranking throughout most of the evaluation period leading up to the draft, but his erratic play in big games left much to be desired. Several times throughout the 2012-13 college basketball season McLemore filled the stat sheet, only to follow up those performances with single-digit scoring outputs. On the plus side, McLemore has a gorgeous shooting stroke, elite athleticism, and lots of potential. Of the players in this draft class, McLemore is most likely to score 20 points per game. His projected per game averages during the peak of his career: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a spot in the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend.  

3) Alex Len, Maryland. Len shot up the charts as the evaluation period progressed. His size, length, and year-over-year improvement was difficult to overlook, and a franchise needing a "big man" would certainly benefit from his skillset. His projected per game averages during the peak of his career: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a starting role on a team.

4) Anthony Bennett, UNLV. Bennett earned his spot on the Draft Board because of his strength, rebounding ability, and versatility. With the ability to play the small forward or power forward position, Bennett has the potential to create mismatches on the court. He will need to convert a portion of his body weight to lean muscle in order to help his foot speed, especially on the defensive end of the court. His projected per game averages during the peak of his career: 14 points, 6 rebounds, and a starting role on a team.

5) Nerlens Noel, Kentucky. Noel would likely have been ranked #1 or #2 on the 2013 NBA Draft Board had he not torn his ACL midway through the college basketball season. Noel is an extraordinary defensive presence, recording over 4 blocked shots and 2 steals per game as a freshman at Kentucky, and he possesses NBA-level athleticism. Noel will need to add weight in order to hold position in the paint. At nearly 7-feet tall and only 210 lbs., it will be difficult for him to compete for space on the low block with larger post players. His projected per game averages during the peak of his career: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and a starting role on a team.

Draft Board

Prior to the NBA Draft each year, The Court of Gold releases its "NBA Draft Board," which shows the rankings of the top 70 players in the Draft. Prospects are rated on a 40-100 point rating system; a player with a score of "100" indicates that the player is a "franchise changer," while a player with a score of 40 indicates that the player is likely to have a short stint in the NBA.

Below are The Court of Gold's rankings for the 2013 NBA Draft (originally published June 27, 2013):

No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	S / BPG*	Entry
1	Victor Oladipo	Indiana	SG	6-4	214	21	91	13.6	6.3	2.1	59.9	74.6	44.1	2.2/0.8*	Junior
2	Ben McLemore	Kansas	SG	6-5	190	20	90	15.9	5.2	2.0	49.5	87.0	42.0	1.0	Frosh
3	Alex Len	Maryland	C	7-1	255	20	87	11.9	7.8	1.0	53.4	68.6	12.5	2.1	Soph
4	Anthony Bennett	UNLV	PF	6-7	240	20	87	16.1	8.1	1.0	53.3	70.1	37.5	1.2	Frosh
5	Nerlens Noel	Kentucky	PF	6-11	210	19	87	10.5	9.5	1.6	59.0	52.9	N/A	2.1/4.4*	Frosh
6	Trey Burke	Michigan	PG	6-1	190	20	86	18.6	3.2	6.7	46.3	80.1	38.4	1.6	Soph
7	Otto Porter	Georgetown	SF	6-8	200	20	85	16.2	7.5	2.7	48.0	77.7	42.2	1.8/0.9*	Soph
8	C.J. McCollum	Lehigh	PG	6-3	200	21	84	23.9	5.0	2.9	49.5	84.9	51.6	1.4	Senior
9	Cody Zeller	Indiana	PF	7-0	230	20	84	16.5	8.1	1.3	56.2	75.7	N/A	1.0/1.3*	Soph
10	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	Georgia	SG	6-5	205	20	84	18.5	7.1	1.8	43.3	79.9	37.3	2.0	Soph
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
11	Dennis Schroeder	Germany	PG	6-2	165	19	83	8.3	2.5	3.3	43.6	83.8	40.2	0.9	Int'l
12	Kelly Olynyk	Gonzaga	C	7-0	235	22	83	17.8	7.3	1.7	62.9	77.6	30.0	0.7/1.1*	Junior
13	Shabazz Muhammad	UCLA	SF	6-6	220	20	82	17.9	5.2	0.8	44.3	71.1	37.7	0.7	Frosh
14	Michael Carter-Williams	Syracuse	PG	6-6	185	21	82	11.9	4.9	7.3	39.3	69.4	29.2	2.8	Soph
15	Giannis Adetokunbo	Greece	SF	6-9	186	18	82	9.5	5.0	1.4	62.1	72.0	31.3	0.7/1.0*	Int'l
16	Mason Plumlee	Duke	PF	6-11	238	23	82	17.1	10.0	1.9	59.9	68.1	N/A	1.0/1.4*	Senior
17	Tony Mitchell	North Texas	SF	6-8	235	21	81	13.0	8.5	0.8	44.0	67.5	30.0	1.0/2.7*	Soph
18	Steven Adams	Pittsburgh	C	7-0	255	19	81	7.2	6.3	0.6	57.1	44.3	N/A	2.0	Frosh
19	Tim Hardaway, Jr.	Michigan	SG	6-6	200	21	81	14.5	4.7	2.4	43.7	69.4	37.4	0.7	Junior
20	Lucas Nogueira	Brazil	C	7-0	215	20	81	5.4	3.4	0.3	66.1	66.7	N/A	1.1*	Int'l
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
21	Shane Larkin	Miami	PG	5-11	176	20	81	14.5	3.8	4.6	47.9	77.7	40.6	2.0	Soph
22	Sergey Karasev	Russia	SF	6-7	197	19	80	15.4	4.3	1.9	48.0	87.9	30.4	0.9	Int'l
23	Rudy Gobert	France	C	7-2	238	20	80	8.4	5.4	0.4	71.8	70.4	N/A	0.7/1.9*	Int'l
24	Reggie Bullock	North Carolina	SG	6-7	205	22	80	13.9	6.5	2.9	48.3	76.7	43.6	1.3	Junior
25	Tony Snell	New Mexico	SG	6-7	200	21	80	12.5	2.6	2.9	42.2	84.3	39.0	0.8	Junior
26	Myck Kabongo	Texas	PG	6-2	180	21	80	14.6	5.0	5.5	41.8	79.2	29.6	2.0	Soph
27	Gorgui Dieng	Louisville	C	6-10	245	23	79	9.8	9.4	2.0	53.4	65.2	N/A	1.3/2.5*	Junior
28	Allen Crabbe	California	SG	6-6	200	21	79	18.4	6.1	2.6	45.9	81.3	34.8	1.1	Junior
29	Livio Jean-Charles	France	SF	6-9	217	19	78	3.3	2.7	0.5	56.7	58.8	42.9	0.5	Int'l
30	Nate Wolters	S. Dakota State	PG	6-4	190	22	78	22.3	5.6	5.8	48.5	81.3	37.9	1.7	Senior
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
31	Jamaal Franklin	San Diego State	SG	6-5	191	22	77	17.0	9.5	3.3	41.3	78.6	28.0	1.6/0.8*	Junior
32	Archie Goodwin	Kentucky	SG	6-5	189	18	77	14.1	4.6	2.7	44.0	63.7	26.6	1.1	Frosh
33	Erick Green	Virginia Tech	SG	6-4	185	22	76	25.0	4.0	3.8	47.5	81.6	38.9	1.3	Senior
34	C.J. Leslie	N.C. State	SF	6-8	210	21	76	15.1	7.4	1.5	51.9	61.2	33.3	1.0/1.2*	Junior
35	Ray McCallum	Detroit	PG	6-3	190	22	75	18.7	5.1	4.5	49.1	71.7	32.3	1.9	Junior
36	Trevor Mbakwe	Minnesota	PF	6-8	235	24	75	10.0	8.7	1.1	56.5	61.4	N/A	1.4*	Senior
37	Isaiah Canaan	Murray State	PG	6-0	190	22	74	21.8	3.5	4.3	43.1	82.2	37.0	1.5	Senior
38	Mike Muscala	Bucknell	C	6-11	239	21	73	18.7	11.1	2.3	50.9	78.9	25.0	2.4*	Senior
39	Jackie Carmichael	Illinois State	PF	6-9	240	23	72	17.4	9.3	0.8	52.7	68.1	18.2	1.0/2.1*	Senior
40	Jeff Withey	Kansas	C	7-0	225	23	70	13.7	8.5	0.9	58.2	71.4	100.0	0.8/3.9*	Senior
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
41	James Ennis	Long Beach State	SF	6-7	210	22	69	16.5	6.7	2.1	49.1	83.4	35.7	1.8/1.3*	Soph
42	James Southerland	Syracuse	SF	6-8	215	23	69	13.3	5.2	1.1	45.0	78.9	39.8	1.5/0.9*	Senior
43	DeShaun Thomas	Ohio State	SF	6-7	225	21	69	19.8	5.9	1.3	44.5	83.4	34.4	0.5	Junior
44	Lorenzo Brown	N.C. State	PG	6-5	186	22	69	12.4	4.3	7.2	41.9	77.1	26.3	2.0	Junior
45	Glen Rice, Jr.	Georgia Tech	SG	6-5	210	22	69	13.0	6.7	2.3	45.7	60.6	33.3	1.3/0.9*	Soph
46	Ricardo Ledo	Providence	SG	6-6	197	20	68	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	Frosh
47	Kenny Kadji	Miami	C	6-11	242	25	68	12.9	6.8	0.8	47.1	66.1	35.1	1.3*	Senior
48	Robert Covington	Tennessee State	SF	6-9	204	22	68	17.0	8.0	1.3	43.5	85.0	38.8	2.2/1.7*	Senior
49	Carrick Felix	Arizona State	SF	6-6	197	22	68	14.6	8.1	1.6	50.0	66.4	37.4	1.4/1.1*	Junior
50	Pierre Jackson	Baylor	PG	5-10	180	21	67	19.8	3.8	7.1	42.7	80.0	35.9	1.5	Senior
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
51	Dewayne Dedmon	USC	C	6-11	240	23	67	6.7	7.0	0.6	50.0	68.1	0.0	1.1/2.1*	Jun
52	Colton Iverson	Colorado State	C	7-0	260	23	67	14.2	9.8	1.3	59.6	59.0	0.0	0.7*	Senior
53	Ryan Kelly	Duke	PF	6-11	230	22	65	12.9	5.3	1.7	45.3	81.2	42.2	1.6*	Senior
54	Grant Jerrett	Arizona	PF	6-10	235	19	65	5.2	3.6	0.5	40.9	81.8	40.5	1.0*	Frosh
55	Brandon Paul	Illinois	SG	6-4	200	22	64	16.6	4.4	2.7	40.1	73.8	32.5	1.2	Senior
56	Erik Murphy	Florida	C	6-10	238	22	64	12.2	5.5	1.4	51.6	78.4	45.3	0.7*	Senior
57	Peyton Siva	Louisville	PG	6-0	180	22	62	10.0	2.4	5.7	40.4	86.7	28.8	2.3	Senior
58	Adonis Thomas	Memphis	SF	6-7	240	20	62	11.7	4.5	1.9	40.5	75.2	29.2	0.7	Soph
59	Matthew Dellavedova	Saint Mary's	PG	6-4	190	22	62	15.8	3.4	6.4	40.4	85.2	38.2	1.1	Senior
60	Arsalan Kazemi	Oregon	PF	6-7	226	23	61	9.4	10.0	1.4	59.5	67.5	0.0	2.0	Senior
No.	Name	College	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Rating	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%	SPG/BPG*	Entry
61	Solomon Hill	Arizona	SF	6-7	220	22	61	13.4	5.3	2.7	45.8	76.6	39.0	1.1	Senior
62	Nemanja Nedovic	Serbia	PG	6-4	195	22	61	9.8	2.5	2.1	36.7	70.0	34.3	0.8	Int'l
63	Phil Pressey	Missouri	PG	5-11	175	22	60	11.9	3.3	7.1	37.6	73.5	32.4	1.8	Junior
64	Alex Abrines	Spain	SG	6-5	190	19	59	5.1	1.1	0.3	44.6	100.0	32.4	0.4	Int'l
65	B.J. Young	Arkansas	SG	6-3	180	20	59	15.2	3.5	3.4	44.9	66.9	22.7	0.7	Soph
66	Michael Snaer	Florida State	SG	6-5	202	22	59	14.8	4.5	2.5	42.5	81.7	38.4	1.0	Senior
67	Vander Blue	Marquette	SG	6-5	200	20	59	14.8	3.2	1.8	45.4	75.6	30.3	1.0	Junior
68	Richard Howell	N.C. State	PF	6-7	250	22	59	12.7	10.9	1.7	57.0	64.8	0.0	1.0/0.9*	Senior
69	Andre Roberson	Colorado	SF	6-7	210	21	59	10.9	11.2	1.4	48.0	55.1	32.8	2.2/1.3*	Soph
70	Brandon Davies	BYU	PF	6-9	235	21	59	17.7	8.0	2.4	52.2	68.2	35.7	1.3/1.0*	Senior

Prospectus

Most Potential: Ben McLemore, Kansas
The Sure Thing: Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Biggest Reach: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Overrated: Lucas Nogueira, Brazil
Underrated: Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
Overall Draft Quality (1-10 scale): 4
Overall Draft Depth (1-10 scale): 6.5