During most of the 2021-22 college basketball season, the battle to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft appeared to be wide-open as Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, Purdue's Jaden Ivey, Duke's Paolo Banchero and Auburn's Jabari Smith all made a case as the potential top talent in this year's draft class. Yet as the draft lottery approaches on Tuesday and the draft draws closer, it more and more appears as if Holmgren, the Gonzaga 7-footer, is emerging as the 1A -- if not the definitive frontrunner -- to be the top pick in June's top-heavy draft.
Holmgren is as unique a prospect as I've ever scouted, with a 7-foot, 195-pound frame that allows him to move like a wing but with skills akin to a guard and a center. He's a monster defensively, with a block rate last season that rated top-10 in college among all players and innumerable shots affected around the rim. His plus-wingspan and ability to cover space helped key Gonzaga's top-three defense. On offense, he's just scratching the surface, even though what we've seen -- from his ability to create off the bounce to knocking down above-the-break 3-pointers -- is already plenty intriguing. We could be talking about a two-way force in the league for years to come from a player whose skill and frame is one-of-a-kind.
There's factors at play that could keep Holmgren from ultimately becoming the top pick, to be sure: team fit this year -- more part of the equation than in recent years -- may force him to slip. His slender frame and potential injury concerns may also be a consideration, particularly if a team would prefer a safer, more projectable prospect like Banchero or Smith, perceived as perhaps safer options. But hey, good luck arguing any player in this class has more long-term upside than Holmgren. That is why he once again finds himself No. 1 in our latest mock draft as we gear up for the stretch run of the draft cycle.
Here's where he and the rest of our first-round projections sit ahead of Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery.
2022 NBA Mock Draft: Chet Holmgren's skills and size too good to pass up at No. 1 - CBS Sports
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