2024 NBA Draft Superlatives: Top Perimeter Defenders

The 2024 NBA Draft is still ways away and even the college season is still a couple months out. It’s never too late to dive into some draft superlatives. Who are the top three perimeter defenders in the draft?

Every NBA team could use an elite perimeter defender that has the ability to take star ball-handlers out of their groove. We have seen players change games with their elite perimeter defense with guys like Gary Payton, Jrue Holiday, Michael Jordan and many others. Here are the top three perimeter defenders that are eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Reece Beekman | Virginia

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Reece Beekman is an upcoming senior that’s the best point of attack defender in this entire draft class. His ability to get into ball-handlers and take opposing teams out of their offense allows him to be such an elite perimeter defender. Him playing under Tony Bennett who’s one of the best defensive coaches in college basketball enables Beekman to shine on the defensive end with how pesky and smart he is on that end. With an even bigger role coming his way in his senior year, we should expect Beekman to showcase his two-way ability for the Virginia Cavaliers.

Kevin McCullar | Kansas

Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin McCullar elected to return to Kansas for his final season in college basketball. The elite perimeter defensive prospect has great tools at 6-foot-6 with a high IQ on that end. McCullar this past season averaged two steals per game due to his great defensive activity and awareness on that end. The Kansas wing is typically seen matched up against the top wing player on the other team due to his defensive ability. If McCullar can improve his 3-point shooting percentage, we could be seeing valid arguments for him being the best 3-and-D prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Josiah-Jordan James | Tennessee

Josiah-Jordan James will be playing his fifth and final season in college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers and throughout his college career he has been one of the top defensive wings in all of college basketball. At 6-foot-6 James has some of the best perimeter defense you’ll see eligible for the draft next season. He can get active in the passing lanes but also has the ability to block some shots for a wing. He can be really disruptive on the defensive end and has made his mark in college basketball as one of the best defensive players in not only the SEC, but in college basketball.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.