Jordan Nwora Projected as Early Second Round Pick in Final SI NBA Mock Draft

Sports Illustrated projects that the former Louisville's men's basketball forward will barely miss the first round their final 2020 NBA Mock Draft.

(Photo of Jordan Nwora: Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal, Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After countless uncertainties surrounded the draft due to the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are finally just two days away from the 2020 NBA Draft.

One player that is expected to hear their name called come Wednesday evening is former University of Louisville forward Jordan Nwora, as he declared for the NBA this past April. Since he declared, he has been steadily climbing up draft boards thanks in part to his uncanny ability to shoot the basketball.

With the draft nearly upon us, when and where are many expecting the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward to be drafted? SI NBA Draft insider Jeremy Woo has some idea, releasing his NBA Mock Draft 8.0 after the lottery based "heavily on intel and the latest buzz (he's) hearing around the league".

Like in the 6.0 iteration of his Mock Draft, he projects that Nwora will be an early second round pick, and be drafted with the No. 36 overall pick currently held by the Philadelphia 76ers by way of the New York Knicks. Woo also ranked him as the No. 43 overall draft prospect on his latest Big Board released earlier this month.

"Although Nwora wasn’t as consistent as he should have been this season, he remains one of the best pure shooters in this draft, which shouldn’t be undersold. It’s easy to nitpick the flaws here, as he’s not an elite athlete or great defender, but he’s a solid rebounder with good size, and teams will primarily ask him to space the floor and make simple plays. Some of the issues at Louisville should be mitigated by the fact defenses won’t be keying on him as much in the NBA. If a team has the framework to cover for Nwora’s weaknesses, he’s a strong value play in the early second round. His jumper is worth the gamble."

A Julius Erving Award & John Wooden Award finalist as well as a First Team All-ACC selection & Third Team AP All-American, the Buffalo, NY native led the team in points per game with 18.0 and was second in rebounding with 7.7. He shot 44.0% from the field and 40.2% on three-point shots.

He was the only player to be ranked in the ACC's top ten in points, rebounding, free throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game.

The 2020 NBA Draft is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ESPN.

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