The Top 10 HIGHEST CEILING PROSPECTS in The 2024 NBA Draft Class

There’s a lot that goes into determining what makes a player a top prospect in a draft class. You're always factoring in things like fit, production, NBA readiness, and desirable skill sets. But of course the number one, most exciting thing that everyone talks about is: what prospects have the chance to make that leap and become a true all star or superstar level player? Who has that superstar ceiling? Today, we are going to get in to just that. Just for fun, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe to be the 10 highest potential prospects in the 2024 NBA draft class. All other traits have been disregarded, this list is just simply, “who, based on the flashes they have shown or their physical traits, has the chance to be an absolute superstar at the NBA level. Now, keep in mind, this is just discussing theoretical ceilings. A guy could make it on this list even when he’s a prospect rated in, say, the late first as a player overall simply due to the fact that he is not even close to being NBA ready, but has certain traits that if he does develop, could turn out insanely well. It’s totally possible none of these guys end up panning out and being that superstar, but these are the 10 players I feel have the best chance.
Welcome to the channel! Over my life, I have developed a passion for diving deep into the stats, history, and play styles of various basketball players and teams, and in my opinion no better way to get those ideas out there than through rankings, comparisons and tier lists.
I tend to discuss detailed breakdowns of individual players' strengths and weaknesses, their historical achievements, and their current performance on the court, to determine where they rank in the list in question.
The tier lists are carefully crafted to reflect the latest trends and developments in the league, and I always stay up to date with the latest news and analysis.
Whether you're a basketball history fan, or someone who wants to learn and talk about the modern game, this channel will have content for you. Subscribe for regular basketball ranking content and highlights!

[@VocalChainsStudio]

Thank you for another highly entertaining pre-draft video. Much appreciated! I hope my Blazers can nab a couple of these high ceiling players. There is really no excuse for them not to. Also,
13:54 - I never noticed the arena smoke going off after a made field goal at the end of a quarter? European hoops look fun. With no US born MVP since 2018, and only one US born player on this season’s all nba 1st team, it’s a fitting metaphor for how far basketball has come as an international sport. I hope the Blazers remember this and don’t fail to consider a talent like Topic.

[@hoophierarchy]

I watch some of these Euro games and the atmosphere looks crazier than almost any NBA game I’ve ever seen. They bring a lot of the football/soccer energy into any sport that they watch and I’d love it if we adopted some of that in the US

[@kylegabriel5794]

Bro Holland before topic is genuinely crazy man, Holland has shown significantly more flashes of shooting and shot creation while being an elite athlete, topic has amazing playmaking but is also an awful defender, idk about that mann

[@hoophierarchy]

It’s a toss up. I’ve said before though, look at all the elite PGs in the NBA. Most aren’t great defenders. But being an elite playmaker will get you far. That being said, Holland certainly has an argument to be great and he’s, I’d say, in that top tier of prospects as far as potential goes

[@michaelahurt]

I honestly think I’d take Reed as the highest ceiling. The Nash, Curry, Halliburton stuff is in play. That applies to Brunson and VanVleet too. Even Jokic. These guys who just know how to play basketball seem to figure it out. And I think Sheppard sees and understands the game at an insanely high level
Plus I’m buying the Kentucky effect where he gets to the NBA and unveils these extra skills we didn’t know he had
And if he leans into off ball movement like Steph - I think his on and off ball creation potential is so much higher than Salaun (Tatum-ish or baby Giannis) or Sarr (AD/KG type all court defender + scoring) whose value lies a lot in their defense
But at that point it’s preference. I just always value shot creation because I know you can make the defense work. All three could be top 5-10 players if everything hits

[@hoophierarchy]

The “knows how to play basketball” effect is real. That’s why I mention guys like Djurisic and Castle as well as Sheppard. Guys who just know how to play.
And you’re right about them all having really solid potential. I don’t know if I’d say it’s likely, but everyone hating on this draft now, it’s not impossible we look at this draft in the future and there’s a few really elite players that come out of it

[@michaelahurt]

@@hoophierarchy 100% agree. It's not likely for any given player but I won't be surprised if there are 3-4 dudes in this class.
It's a lot like 2020.
People forget now but Edwards, Wiseman and LaMelo were serious boom or bust guys. All three had WAY too many red flags to be top 3 picks in a normal year, much like this year.
The difference was the two guards had very obvious game breaking talent which sets it above 2024 a little in my mind as an overall class. But if Reed is this draft's Haliburton I won't be remotely surprised

[@hoophierarchy]

I actually remember at the time multiple people saying Ant was one of the weakest #1 picks in recent memory because he said before the draft that he liked football more than basketball or something lol

[@michaelahurt]

@@hoophierarchy Yeah. I mean that part was stupid but Ant shot 40/29/77 at Georgia with horrific shot selection and decision making.
If he had turned out to be Dion Waiters it wouldn't have been surprising

[@sweetnupe8077]

Honestly, I'm not feeling this video. I know this is just your opinion, but I think it's misleading to say if these guys reach their ceiling based upon the potential they have flashed on the court, but then give some guys an exception for skills they haven't displayed and not give others credit for this they have displayed. For instance, you rank Topic very high, but dismiss the fact that he is a very poor defender and basically hasn't shown any ability to be a good shooter in the league. You say if he develops a shot. Heck, if Ryan Dunn develops a more dynamic shooting prowess, he could be the best 2 way player in the game. Also, you dismissed Kel'el Ware basically by remarking upon the debunked theory that he has a low motor. Yet, he has displayed he is a great defender and 3 potentially 3 level scorer in the NBA. Thus, if he got better from the free throw line and surged up his perimeter defense, he certainly has the potential to be a superstar. So, I'm just disappointed that you basically turned this into your biased opinion based video. I'm okay with it, I just expected more...that's all. Next time, it would probably be best just to talk about if the players hit their ceiling based upon the game they have already shown...including their issues or if you make exceptions for some players then you need to do the same with all. In other words, just keep it consistent across the board.

[@hoophierarchy]

To be fair this whole channel is based on me giving my opinion on these guys. It’s not possible to be unbiased and do scouting reports or to analyze prospects. I can only look at these guys through my personal lens and try to determine who has potential and who doesn’t.
As for your points on particular prospects, I fully acknowledge that Topic isn’t projected to be a great defender, but you look at many of the best PGs in the league and any of them being a good defender is an outlier. Curry, Haliburton, Brunson, Trae, Luka the first elite PGs to come to mind off the top of my head and none of them are great defenders. Additionally, contrary to popular knowledge Topic has shown signs of being a decent shooter, or having potential to be decent as a shooter. He’s a very good free throw shooter and had stretches of good three point shooting. It isn’t a stretch for him to become more consistent.
As for Ware, don’t take any of this as me trying to hate on him as a prospect. He’s in the honorable mentions for a reason. I think he’s good and has good potential. Just because I find it likely that his high end outcome isn’t as high as some other guys doesn’t mean that I don’t like him. I’d take him all day in the actual draft over Ulrich Chomche for example. I know Ware and watched every single game he played this year (IU fan). He’s very talented. Just because there’s a couple things that held me back from putting him top 10 in overall potential doesn’t make me think less of him as a player.
Overall, this isn’t intended to be any sort of insult to the guys that aren’t included or are lower or higher than any others. It’s just a fun idea to try to envision what could be with some of these players. Don’t think there’s any point in being unhappy or upset with what I said, it’s all about having an interesting friendly discussion

[@cleigh212001]

@@hoophierarchyReally enjoy your videos but I gained some additional respect for this well thought out response. Keep up the great work and the respectful fan interactions. Got you a new subscriber!