NBA Draft: Just How Good is Colorado's Tristan da Silva?

The Buffaloes forward has declared for the NBA Draft – where will he be picked?

Colorado Buffaloes forward Tristan da Silva (23) reacts after scoring during NCAA Men’s Basketball / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA

Though Colorado's season ended with a close loss in the NCAA Tournament to Marquette, the Buffaloes have three players that will have their names called in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The obvious player of the three is of course Cody Williams, a mid-lottery prospect and the brother of Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams.

There is also KJ Simpson, who will likely be an early second-rounder but could sneak into the first round if things break his way.

The focus of this piece, however, is combo forward Tristan da Silva, a player who will end up in the first round.

The question is where he will end up. This past season, he averaged 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, on top of shooting 49.3% from the field and 39.5% from three.

As one of the best teams in the Pac-12 this past season, the Buffs had a good balance of scoring between Simpson, Williams, and da Silva.

His overall scoring ability was very impressive this year, but additionally, put up 1.7 stocks per game (0.6 blocks, 1.1 steals).

One of the primary reasons he is such an attractive piece as a prospect is that he is 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, and still shot nearly 40% from three over his junior and senior years.

In a draft short on high-upside, young pieces, a player like da Silva may be more attractive than in typical drafts. Plus, with the recent success of guys like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Trayce Jackson-Davis, the idea of drafting upperclassmen in the first round is becoming more and more accepted again (imagine hearing that sentence in 1990s, where it was only upperclassmen in the first round).

Overall, da Silva is the kind of player that has a high floor because of his experience, but also a higher ceiling than the typical junior in college because of his size and shooting ability.

Tristan da Silva is a lottery pick. Book it.

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