Salman's 2022 NBA Big Board + Rockets Mock Draft (Tier 1)

The Top Tier

The 2022 NBA Lottery is tomorrow and like last year, the Houston Rockets have secured themselves odds at a top five pick in the draft. However, unlike last year, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus top pick, much less a consensus top five. Predictably, this has led to an endless stream of debate on social media, popular fan forums, and the draft community as a whole. More than usual, fit may be a deciding factor in how this draft plays out.

So for the first time ever (in written format), I’ll be releasing my own big board that will rank who I consider to be the 25 best prospects in the draft. In addition, I’ll also put out a Rockets-focused list that will rank the best fits for Houston specifically. I guess you could call this second part a quasi mock draft of sorts? Whatever the case, I’ll be releasing this in increments as we get closer to the actual draft, beginning with the top three.

It’s important to note that the draft is extremely hard and while you’re more than welcome to hold me accountable, I don’t have much experience in this arena of coverage. Last year was my first season covering the draft extensively and judging by the early returns, I was horribly wrong on a couple of players (Scottie Barnes and Jalen Suggs specifically). The top three this year is especially tricky and I’m less confident in my own opinion than last year. In any event, let’s get on with this.

I’ll be using a tiered system for the big board. If you disagree with me ranking a particular player over another, remember that if they are in the same tier, it means I think there’s a reasonable case to rearrange the order. Let’s rank this first tier.