The NBA Draft order is set, and the Atlanta Hawks have secured their first ever number one draft selection following their unlikely ascension to the top of the board.

This year’s class is being lauded as one of the most open in recent memory, with NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski stating it’s the most “unsettled” class in over a decade.

Six NBL Next Stars are taking their talents to the draft with the hopes of hearing their names called, and this is how some of the major outlets see the emerging stars in the ecosystem of this year’s hopefuls.

ESPN

Alexandre Sarr – 1
Bobi Klintman – 22
Ariel Hukporti – 57

The announcement of Atlanta’s rise to the top of the draft lottery has shifted Alexandre Sarr up to the top spot in expert Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo’s estimations.

Woo has labelled Sarr as the “most physically gifted big in this class” that can not only help add needed size to a Hawks frontcourt that relies on Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela, but can also help add defence around star point guard Trae Young.

Cairns’ Bobi Klintman is predicted by ESPN to fall to the Phoenix Suns who, with limited draft capital in their possession for the coming seasons, will need to get this selection correct.

Woo believes Klintman’s age (21) will play in the favour of the Suns, as his experience will enable him to “play a role in the short term” while also adding “perimeter shooting and defensive versatility”, skills which are at a premium in this draft class.

Click here for the full mock draft.

The Athletic

Alexandre Sarr – 1
Bobi Klintman – 26
AJ Johnson – 40
Ariel Hukporti – 51

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has compared Alex Sarr’s defensive skillset to that of former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr and rising defensive talents Evan Mobley and Nic Claxton in terms of his length and agility, and has labelled the French Next Star as capable defensively in a variety of situations.

This defensive prowess has seen Vecenie place Sarr at the top of his draft despite there “not really being a consensus among teams about what the Hawks will do”, but cited drafting Sarr “makes the most sense” due to the final year status of Clint Capela and the side’s poor defence this past season.

Bobi Klintman had “an up-and-down season” in NBL24 according to Vecenie, but despite the Swede’s time on the sidelines due to multiple minor injury issues, he believes Klintman’s potential as a “big wing” is an attractive prospect to teams from just outside the lottery to consider.

Vecenie said “not every team likes Klintman, but the ones who do tend to like the idea of a big wing who can shoot.”

Click here for the full mock draft.

The Ringer

Alexandre Sarr – 1
Bobi Klintman – 26
Trentyn Flowers – 31

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor hasn’t wavered from the largely consensus opinion Alex Sarr looks set to be drafted number one, or that Bobi Klintman will likely be a mid-late first round pick.

Where O’Connor has differed from his contemporaries is on the draftability of Adelaide’s Trentyn Flowers, who he has lurking just outside the first round.

O’Connor has labelled Flowers as “an upside bet”, and he has Flowers at pick 31 due to Toronto’s historic penchant to “take swings” on prospects.

His mail on Flowers is he is a “potential walking bucket thanks to his size, fluidity and athleticism,” but cited a need to improve decision-making and tighten his ball-handling, but that the potential is absolutely there.

 Click here for the full mock draft

Yahoo

Alexandre Sarr – 1
Bobi Klintman – 32
AJ Johnson – 36
Trentyn Flowers – 42

Yahoo’s Krysten Peek has also listed Alex Sarr as the top prospect in this year’s draft, and she believes should Trae Young stay in Atlanta, “Sarr could be the versatile center to play alongside him.”

Sarr first shot to prominence as a potential number one selection when he took on the G-League Ignite’s Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland in a pair of pre-season games for the Wildcats, and Peek has cited those two clashes as the moment Sarr established himself as the top pick.

Click here for the full mock draft