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Where Chaz Lanier in projected in ESPN's updated NBA mock draft after combine

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•05/19/25•

GrantRamey

Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics

Chaz Lanier was an NBA Draft Combine standout last week, but it wasn’t enough for the former Tennessee Basketball one-and-done transfer star to make a jump in ESPN’s updated NBA mock draft after the combine.

ESPN NBA Draft analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo published their new mock draft on Monday morning, with Lanier moving up one spot to No. 40 overall to the Washington Wizards. ESPN has previously projected Lanier at No. 42 to the Sacramento Kings and No. 41 to the Golden State Warriors.

ESPN listed Lanier as one of the combine standouts last week after he shot 77% from the field during Tuesday’s shooting drills. ESPN on March 25 ranked Lanier No. 38 on its list of the top 100 NBA Draft prospects.

“We knew Lanier would look like one of the best shooters entering the combine,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote, “and that carried over Tuesday. He has been one of the premier perimeter shotmakers in college basketball over the past two seasons, making 44% of his 3s in 2023-24 at North Florida and 39.5% last season at Tennessee.”

Chaz Lanier was second in shooting percentage at NBA Draft Combine

Lanier has a 39-inch max vertical, measured 6-foot-3 barefoot and had a 6-foot-9 wingspan. His 77% shooting was second highest of the day, behind only Alabama’s mark Sears at 83%. 

“He finished in the top five in all three 3-point shooting drills,” Borzello wrote, “and his touch and agility also caught the eyes of scouts. He had the fifth-fastest time in the pro lane agility drill, the third-highest no-step vertical leap and the fourth-highest max vertical leap.”

ESPN updated its NBA mock draft after the league held its draft lottery last Monday.

Chaz Lanier last season: 18.0 points, 43.1% FG, 39.5% 3FG, 123 3FG

Lanier, a Nashville native who spent one season at Tennessee after transferring from North Florida, averaged his 18.0 points per game last season while shooting 43.1% from the field and 39.5% from the 3-point line. He made 123 3-pointers in 38 games, breaking the previous record of 118 held by Chris Lofton. 

Lanier had a breakout senior year at North Florida in 2023-24, averaging 19.7 points per game and making 108 threes in 32 games, shooting a career-high 44.0% from the 3-point line.

He entered the NCAA Transfer Portal last spring while going through the NBA Draft process, before ultimately picking Tennessee over Kentucky and BYU.

Head coach Rick Barnes has produced four first-round picks (Dalton Knecht, Keon Johnson, Jaden Springer and Grant Williams) and four second-round picks (Julian Phillips, Kennedy Chandler, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone) in his 10 seasons as Tennessee’s head coach. The Vols have had 13 first-round picks in program history and 15 second-round picks.

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