The Ringer's updated 2024 NBA Mock Draft has 2 Wildcats in lottery

Several Kentucky men’s basketball players will have some tough decisions to make over the coming weeks. A handful of them will decide whether or not to make the leap to the professional level. Judging by The Ringer’s latest mock draft, two of them are considered future lottery picks for June’s 2024 NBA Draft.

Kevin O’Connor updated both his Mock Draft and Big Board on Wednesday. He projects a pair of Kentucky freshmen guards to hear their names called in the lottery (a top 14 pick) with two more projected to fall into the second round.

Here is where O’Connor has those four Wildcats in his latest Mock Draft.

• No. 9 Reed Sheppard | Utah Jazz
• No. 11 Rob Dillingham | Chicago Bulls
• No. 40 Justin Edwards | Portland Trail Blazers
• No. 51 DJ Wagner | Detroit Pistons

New 2024 NBA mock draft with all 58 picks and my updated big board: https://t.co/3T6tol9HAb

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 27, 2024

O’Connor also provided some thoughts on both Sheppard and Dillingham.

Sheppard: “Sheppard’s shooting prowess and secondary playmaking could end up making him a dynamic partner for Keyonte George. That backcourt would be on the smaller side, but it’d often be flanked by long-armed players in the frontcourt. Though Sheppard played his worst game in Kentucky’s opening-round loss of March Madness, a coach like Will Hardy won’t be as slow as John Calipari to make adjustments to help his young players.”

Dillingham: “Dillingham struggled in Kentucky’s tournament loss, looking a bit lost against a zone defense. But he remains a high lottery pick, and he’d likely have better success finding space in the NBA. Pairing him in a backcourt with Coby White would create a dynamic duo that defenses could have a tough time containing.”

Those Mock Draft projections are based on an individual team’s need, though. In O’Connor’s Big Board update, which ranks the best players available based on his personal opinion, he’s actually higher on Sheppard and Dillingham but is slightly lower on Edwards and Wagner compared to his Mock Draft.

• No. 4 | Reed Sheppard
• No. 7 | Rob Dillingham
• No. 43 | Justin Edwards
• No. 55 | DJ Wagner

Regardless, the vast majority of Mock Drafts up to this point believe that Sheppard and Dillingham will land somewhere in the lottery. Edwards’ stock is all over the place while Wagner appears to be a firm second-rounder.

Third Team All-American Antonio Reeves was not listed in either O’Connor’s Mock Draft or Big Board. The fifth-year guard will have an opportunity to change that during the NBA Draft Combine (May 12-19) and pre-draft process.

The 2024 NBA Draft is set for June 26-27 in Brooklyn, NY.