2 Kentucky Wildcats projected as first-round NBA draft picks

Two Wildcats were included in the first round in The Athletic's latest projections.

With the NBA trade deadline in the past, draft talk has started to circulate.

The Kentucky Wildcats have a roster loaded with talent and are expected to have multiple players selected in the first round once again.

Which Kentucky players are projected to hear their names called on the first day of the 2024 NBA Draft according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic?

Reed Sheppard

Vecenie has Sheppard being taken by the Chicago Bulls with the No. 11 overall pick.

Vecenie's take on Sheppard: As a 6-3 player without much length or the kind of athletic traits that raise a guard to this level, Sheppard doesn’t look like the typical lottery pick. But I think he has a real case for being one of the five best players in the country as a freshman, and I’d certainly consider him an All-American in some capacity. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 51.4 percent from 3 and 80.8 percent from the line. He racks up 2.6 steals per game on top of averaging nearly one block per game. His closeouts on shooters are textbook and disruptive.

Offensively, he’s potent leading the break in transition or delivering hit-ahead passes to get his teammates involved. When combined with his elite shooting, Sheppard is one of the best connective players in this draft class. Defensively, he’s an impactful playmaker, but has some off-ball lapses that can cause issues for Kentucky. On the ball, he’s excellent at staying in front of guards, but his size can be exploited on mismatches size-wise.

Sheppard presents a fascinating argument. Do you believe in his remarkable feel for the game and high skill level, or do you worry too much about his physical deficiencies? Given the success of other supposed “skill-first” guys across the league, such as Jalen Brunson, Brandin Podziemski, Desmond Bane and others, I buy into Sheppard’s positives more than I fret about his negatives.

His range is all over the map. I get individual evaluators working for NBA teams who rate him as a top-five player, and I just as often hear some who believe he shouldn’t be picked in top 25. In the end, I think Sheppard’s name will end being called in the lottery. Too many people who work for NBA teams love his game.

Rob Dillingham

Vecenie believes that Dillingham will be selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 14 overall pick.

Vecenie's take on Dillingham: With Dillingham, scouts point to his elite speed with the ball in his hand in addition to his touch. Dillingham plays fast but maintains his control at a really high level. He’s averaging 14.7 points and four assists this season while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3. He has a bevy of high speed crossovers, then he’ll use his speed to play off a hesitation game to change pace. Having said that, he’s also listed at 6-3, and scouts have some questions as to whether he’ll measure quite that big. That impacts him as a finisher at times despite his explosiveness, but it really causes issues on defense. Dillingham has a real case as the worst defender in the class, struggling to get over screens at the point of attack and having issues dealing with any sort of mismatch. He also can get a bit distracted off the ball and make poorly timed digs and rotations.

The questions surrounding Dillingham are pretty simple. Can he be a starting point guard, or is he more of a backup? Is he a good enough distributor? Or is he going to settle in largely as a score-first guard? Can he hold up at all on defense to allow him to close games? The best comparison I have been able to come up with for Dillingham is Lou Williams. Where would a team take Williams in this class? My best bet right now is in the back end of the lottery. But I’ve gotten ranges from No. 5 all the way down to No. 20.

Vecenie has two Wildcats projected to be taken in the second round: D.J. Wagner with the No. 32 overall pick by the Utah Jazz and Justin Edwards with the No. 52 pick by the Detroit Pistons.