The NBA Draft is full of confident takes that fall apart the second you ask, “What’s the process?” We wanted to go deeper, so we brought on two of our favorite draft evaluators, Parker Fleming and Chip Williams Jr., to explain how they actually build an NBA draft big board from the ground up. We talk film study habits, why recording games changes how you scout, and how to use analytics without letting numbers turn into autopilot.

From there, we get into the stuff every draft fan wrestles with: how much to trust early-season production, how to treat one huge tournament game, and how to keep a single article, rumor, or quote from hijacking your board. Parker and Chip lay out the “holistic” checklist they come back to every year: age, measurements, wingspan, shooting indicators like free throw percentage, playmaking metrics like assist rate and assist-to-turnover, and the on-court context that explains why the data looks the way it does.

Then we start debating names. After the top tier, things get complicated fast, and we dig into prospects like Keaton Waggler, Brayden Burries, Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff, Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Dailyn Swain, plus the kinds of late-first bets that can become real rotation players. We wrap by talking combine risers, workout winners, and the dream outcomes for Memphis if the board breaks right.

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