Michigan NBA Draft preview: Latest mock draft projections, more on Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard

Michigan Wolverines basketball will be well-represented at the 2023 NBA Draft Thursday night in Brooklyn (8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN), with two projected first-round picks in guards Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard, both of whom will be in attendance with their families.

If the mocks turn out to be correct, Michigan will have multiple first-rounders in the same draft for the fifth time in program history, with (Nik Stauskas and Mitch McGary), 2013 (Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.), 1994 (Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose) and 1990 (Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught and Terry Mills) being the other occurrences.

Coming into tonight’s event, Michigan ranks sixth nationally with 29 all-time first-round selections, trailing Kentucky (57), North Carolina (53), Duke (53), UCLA (40) and Kansas (35).

Michigan has had 15 drafts with multiple draftees throughout history, including in two straight, three of the last four and five of the last 10.

Head coach Juwan Howard — who will see his son, Jett, drafted tonight — has produced four NBA Draft picks since being hired in 2019: Franz Wagner (No. 8 in the 2021 first round) Isaiah Livers (No. 42 in the 2021 second round), Caleb Houstan (No. 32 in the 2022 second round) and Moussa Diabate (No. 43 in the 2022 second round).

The Maize and Blue have had nine first-round and 14 overall selections since 2013, leading the Big Ten in both categories. Former head man John Beilein, the winningest coach in program history, produced 11 picks from 2011-19.

Michigan ranks seventh in the country with 65 all-time picks, trailing UCLA (107), Kentucky (104), UNC (99), Duke (92), Kansas (75) and Arizona (69). Maryland is the only other Big Ten team that slots top 10, but the overwhelming majority of the Terrapins’ 57 selections came before they joined the league.

The Wolverines have had 29 first-rounders and 13 second-rounders. They’ve seen two players get chosen No. 1 overall — Cazzie Russell in 1966 and Chris Webber in 1993. Six have gone top five, with the last being Juwan Howard (No. 5) in 1994, and 18 have been lottery picks, with the most recent being Wagner in 2021.

Here’s a look at each prospect and what mock drafts are saying ahead of Thursday evening’s draft.

Kobe Bufkin

Bufkin — the Wolverines’ youngest scholarship player last year — left Michigan after two seasons. He broke out as a third-team All-Big Ten selection (media) in 2022-23, averaging 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 34 minutes per game, while shooting 54.6 percent on twos and 35.5 percent on threes.

Bufkin’s draft stock has surged in recent weeks, and he now has a strong chance to be selected in the lottery (top-14). ESPN.com analyst Jonathan Givony said last week that “every team” was scouring Bufkin film, and that there’s speculation across the league that he has a “promise” in the lottery.

If he does go in the first 14 picks, he’d become Michigan’s fourth lottery choice since 2013 and of this century.

Here’s a look at the latest mock drafts:

• Zach Harper, The Athletic: No. 11 to the Orlando Magic

• Zach Braziller, New York Post: No. 11 to the Orlando Magic

• Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports: No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder

• Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, ESPN.com: No. 13 to the Toronto Raptors

• Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report: No. 13 to the Toronto Raptors

• Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports: No. 14 to the New Orleans Pelicans

• USA Today: No. 15 to the Atlanta Hawks

Jett Howard

Howard is Michigan’s fourth one-and-done prospect this century and the third in the last two seasons. The 6-8, 215-pounder averaged 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game in his lone year in the maize and blue, earning all-freshman team honors from the Big Ten. He shot 41.4 percent overall and 36.8 from three-point range. Howard’s 78 made three-pointers were tied for the ninth-most by a U-M player in a single season.

Howard began the draft process as a potential lottery pick but is now being projected toward the end of the first round.

• Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, ESPN.com: No. 17 to the Los Angeles Lakers

• Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports: No. 21 to the Brooklyn Nets

• USA Today: No. 21 to the Brooklyn Nets

• Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports: No. 22 to the Brooklyn Nets

• Zach Harper, The Athletic: No. 26 to the Indiana Pacers

• Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report: No. 26 to the Indiana Pacers

• Zach Braziller, New York Post: No. 27 to the Charlotte Hornets