NBA Draft 2022: Putting a high school spin on the projected lottery after Tuesday's draw

The NBA Draft is still a little over a month away, but with the NBA lottery set, it felt like a good time to play the partial mock draft game.

High school sports are our specialty, so we're going to assess the projected lottery with emphasis on each athlete's high school accomplishments. We did the same before the NFL Draft last month for the entire first round and will repeat that process in the days leading up to the NBA Draft on June 23. 

Here are picks 1-14 (as projected by Sports Illustrated), including a quick snapshot of each player's high school basketball career (if they had one):

1. Magic: Jabari Smith Jr., F, Sandy Creek High School (Georgia)

Auburn | Height: 6' 10" | Weight: 220 | Age: 19 | Freshman

The McDonald's All-American led Sandy Creek to a state runner-up finish in 2020-21 after averaging 23.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.5 blocks per game during his senior season. He went to Auburn ranked No. 6 nationally by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals.

2. Thunder: Chet Holmgren, F/C, Minnehaha Academy (Minnesota)

Gonzaga | Height: 7' 0" | Weight: 190 | Age: 20 | Freshman

The Gatorade National Player of the Year and McDonald's All-American was the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2021 by ESPN and 247 Sports. Holmgren finished his prep career with 1,567 points, 964 rebounds and 456 blocked shots while helping Minnehaha Academy rack up a 128-15 record.

3. Rockets: Paolo Banchero, F, O'Dea High School (Washington)

Duke | Height: 6' 10" | Weight: 250 | Age: 19 | Freshman

His name has been appearing in 2022 mock drafts since he was in high school, when he was a McDonald's All-American and consensus top-5 recruit in the country, checking in at No. 2 for Rivals and 247 Sports and No. 4 per ESPN. He led O'Dea to the Class 3A Washington state championship as a junior.

4. Kings: Shaedon Sharpe, SG, Dream City Christian Academy (Arizona)

Kentucky | Height: 6' 5" | Weight: 200 | Age: 19 | Freshman

Sharpe enrolled at Kentucky a semester early as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2022 class by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. He began his high school career at H.B. Beal Secondary School in his Canadian hometown and led his team to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Championship. As a junior at Dream City Christian Academy he averaged 24.1 points and six rebounds per game.

5. Pistons: Jaden Ivey, G, La Lumiere School (Indiana)

Purdue | Height: 6' 4" | Weight: 200 | Age: 20 | Sophomore

Ivey started his high school career at Marian and finished at La Lumiere, averaging over 15 points a game playing an elite schedule in his one year there. At Marian he scored 958 career points and averaged over 25 points per game as a junior.

6. Pacers: Keegan Murray, F, Prairie High School (Iowa)

Iowa | Height: 6' 8" | Weight: 215 | Age: 21 | Sophomore

After graduating from Prairie High School in 2019, Murray spent a post-graduate year at DME Sports Academy in Florida before going back to Iowa for college. The four-year honor roll student at Prairie was a three-year letter winner in golf and averaged 20.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior.

7. Trail Blazers: Bennedict Mathurin, SG, Canada

Arizona | Height: 6' 6" | Weight: 210 | Age: 19 | Sophomore

The Montreal native grew up playing football and ice hockey but joined the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City, becoming its first Canadian-born player. He committed to Arizona as the top Canadian prospect in his class.

8. Pelicans: Dyson Daniels, G/F, Australia

G League Ignite | Height: 6' 6" | Weight: 200 | Age: 19

Daniels starred in Australian rules football and basketball growing up in Victoria, Australia. He signed with the G League via the NBA Global Academy in Canberra.

9. Spurs: Johnny Davis, SG, La Crosse Central High School (Wisconsin)

Wisconsin | Height: 6' 4" | Weight: 195 | Age: 20 | Sophomore

Named 2020 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All-American, Davis finished his high school career as La Crosse Central's all-time leading scorer with 2,158 points. He also was a first-team all-state starter at quarterback, passing for 6,572 yards and 56 touchdowns, while rushing for more than 2,000 yards and scoring another 34 touchdowns on the ground.

10. Wizards: Jalen Duren, C, Montverde Academy (Florida)

Memphis | Height: 6' 11" | Weight: 250 | Age: 18 | Freshman

Duren helped Montverde to the 2021 High School Nationals championship and averaged 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 62.9% from the field as a junior. After reclassifying to the Class of 2021, Rivals ranked him the No. 1 prospect in the nation.

11. Knicks: A.J. Griffin, G/F, Archbishop Stepinac (New York)

Duke | Height: 6' 6" | Weight: 220 | Age: 18 | Freshman

Griffin missed his senior year with an ankle injury, but his two-plus years at Archbishop Stepinac were good enough to make him a five-star recruit. He led Stepinac to the CHSAA Archdiocesan title alongside his older brother Alan as a freshman and again as a junior, though he missed much of that season with a knee injury.

12. Thunder (from Clippers): Jeremy Sochan, F, La Lumiere School (Indiana)

Baylor | Height: 6' 8" | Weight: 220 | Age: 18 | Freshman

Sochan is as well-traveled as they come. Born in Oklahoma and raised mostly in Southampton, England, Sochan attended Orange Academy in Germany and has competed for the Polish national team. He played his junior year of high school for La Lumiere before returning to Europe as a senior because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

13. Hornets: Ochai Agbaji, SG, Oak Park High School (Missouri)

Kansas | Height: 6' 5" | Weight: 215 | Age: 22 | Senior

Agbaji guided Oak Park to a 23-3 record in 2017-18 and its conference title, averaging 27.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He also played soccer in high school and was ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals entering college.

14. Cavaliers: Malaki Branham, SG, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio)

Ohio State | Height: 6' 5" | Weight: 180 | Age: 19 | Freshman

Branham in 2021 became the first St. Vincent-St. Mary player since LeBron James to be named Ohio Mr. Basketball. The two-time state champion (2018, 2021) scored 1,501 career points at STVM, averaging 21.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a senior.