:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72372620/1470640725.0.jpg "2023 NBA mock draft: Cam Whitmore, Cason Wallace rising while Jordan Hawkins drops out of lottery")
The 2023 NBA Draft is one week away, and the San Antonio Spurs are still highly likely to select Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick. The intrigue begins after the Spurs make their pick, as the Charlotte Hornets could go in several directions with the No. 2 spot. That's where this draft really starts.
Here's our mock draft for the full first round of the 2023 NBA Draft one week before the event.
Whitmore and Wallace are the two risers in this portion of the draft. The Villanova product has impressed in the pre-draft process, and fits well with Detroit's current setup. Walker may have been mocked to Detroit from the beginning, but Whitmore does offer a better positional fit at the moment.
Hawkins, one of the prominent players from UConn's title team, has fallen since the process began. It'll be interesting to see if some team in the lottery takes him but he's likely fallen out of the top 14 picks. The back half of the first round is another spot where we could see some teams go for the upside of more raw prospects rather than solidify rotation spots.