With the NBA draft just over two months away, top prospects throughout the basketball ranks have begun declaring their entrance into the pool eligible for selection on June 27.
On Friday, top prospects Alex Sarr, Donovan Clingan, and Matas Buzelis all declared for the NBA draft, according to multiple ESPN reports.
Sarr, a projected top-three pick in this year's draft, made the announcement himself on ESPN's NBA Today show.
"I had a great year playing professional basketball in the NBL," Sarr told ESPN. " I'm ready for the next step so it was obvious for me to declare for the draft. I'm grateful for the year I spent in the NBL with the Perth Wildcats."
The 18-year-old out of Bordeaux, France, is coming off a season in Australia where he averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks through 17 minutes per game. He first put scouts on notice in September when his squad played a two-game series against the G League ignite and he averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6 blocks to go with plenty of highlight reel moments.
At 7-foot-1, Sarr reminds a lot of scouts of last year's No. 1 overall pick, also from France, Victor Wembenyama. Both have great size and are incredibly mobile despite their large frames.
Meanwhile, two-time NCAA Champion with the UConn Huskies, Donovan Clingan, also declared for the NBA draft on Friday according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 20-year-old is coming off a dominant college career and March Madness run that's worked him into being a top pick in this upcoming draft, currently ranked third in ESPN's Top 100 prospects list.
Clingan averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the Huskies in the 2024 tournament, all higher than his averages.
At 7-foot-2, he was just one of two players with 400 points, 80 blocks, and 50 assists in Division I this season, along with Canadian Zach Edey.
Former G League Ignite forward and top prospect Matas Buzelis will declare for the 2024 NBA Draft, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Buzelis is ranked as the No. 6 prospect heading into this draft year by ESPN and has averaged 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds across 32 minutes per game for the Ignite.
The 19-year-old joined the Ignite ahead of the 2023-24 season, choosing to begin his professional career in the G League over playing college basketball.
This was the final season for the Ignite, the G League's designated development team, after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced in March that the league would shut down the team.
Initially, the Ignite provided young prospects the opportunity to develop their game while also receiving financial compensation — at the time, not permitted under NCAA rules — but the implementation of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights in college basketball reduced that need.
