NBA Combine 2017: List of Participants, Schedule and Players to Watch
The NBA combine, one of the first significant steps toward the draft for many prospects, is set to take place in Chicago on Thursday and Friday.
Despite some big names opting to forego the event this summer, there's still plenty of players who could make noise and move up or down teams' big boards based on how they perform.
There will be no Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson or Jayson Tatum, but Markelle Fultz will be in attendance, at least to talk. "Fultz is on the list to attend the combine, but expect him to do only interviews and possibly medical testing," ESPN's Chad Ford wrote. "I doubt we'll see him on the court."
There will still be plenty of players on the court with an opportunity to improve their draft stock. The list of 67 players the league announced as participants was officially released last week.
| Bam Adebayo | Kentucky |
| Rawle Alkins | Arizona |
| Jarrett Allen | Texas |
| Kadeem Allen | Arizona |
| Ike Anigbogu | UCLA |
| OG Anunoby | Indiana |
| Jamel Artis | Pittsburgh |
| Dwayne Bacon | Florida State |
| V.J. Beachem | Notre Dame |
| Jordan Bell | Oregon |
| Jaron Blossomgame | Clemson |
| Chris Boucher | Oregon |
| Tony Bradley | North Carolina |
| Isaiah Briscoe | Kentucky |
| Dillon Brooks | Oregon |
| Thomas Bryant | Indiana |
| John Collins | Wake Forest |
| Zach Collins | Gonzaga |
| Hamidou Diallo | Kentucky |
| Tyler Dorsey | Oregon |
| Damyean Dotson | Houston |
| PJ Dozier | South Carolina |
| Jawun Evans | Oklahoma State |
| Terrance Ferguson | Adelaide (AUS) |
| De'Aaron Fox | Kentucky |
| Markelle Fultz | Washington |
| Harry Giles | Duke |
| Josh Hart | Villanova |
| Nigel Hayes | Wisconsin |
| Isaiah Hicks | North Carolina |
| Wesley Iwundu | Kansas State |
| Frank Jackson | Duke |
| Justin Jackson | North Carolina |
| Justin Jackson | Maryland |
| Jonathan Jeanne | Nancy (FRA) |
| Peter Jok | Iowa |
| Andrew Jones | Texas |
| Luke Kennard | Duke |
| Kyle Kuzma | Utah |
| TJ Leaf | UCLA |
| Tyler Lydon | Syracuse |
| Frank Mason III | Kansas |
| Kennedy Meeks | North Carolina |
| Eric Mika | BYU |
| Donovan Mitchell | Louisville |
| Monte Morris | Iowa State |
| Johnathan Motley | Baylor |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | Kansas |
| Semi Ojeleye | SMU |
| Cameron Oliver | Nevada |
| Justin Patton | Creighton |
| Alec Peters | Valparaiso |
| Ivan Rabb | California |
| Davon Reed | Miami (FL) |
| Devin Robinson | Florida |
| Kobi Simmons | Arizona |
| Edmond Sumner | Xavier |
| Caleb Swanigan | Purdue |
| Sindarius Thornwell | South Carolina |
| Melo Trimble | Maryland |
| Moritz Wagner | Michigan |
| Derrick Walton Jr. | Michigan |
| Thomas Welsh | UCLA |
| Derrick White | Colorado |
| Nigel Williams-Goss | Gonzaga |
| D.J. Wilson | Michigan |
| Omer Yurtseven | North Carolina State |
Schedule
The combine began Tuesday May 9 and will end Sunday May 14. Athletic testing and scrimmages will take place on Thursday and Friday, with ESPN scheduled to broadcast both days' events.
Players to Watch
Duke big man Harry Giles entered the 2016-17 season as Scout.com's No. 2 high school recruit. After averaging just 11.5 minutes, 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds as a freshman for the Blue Devils, Giles is no longer near the top of the hill.
And no matter what he does at the combine, he's probably not climbing to the same level as Fultz, Ball, Jackson and others locked into the top five to 10 picks. But that doesn't mean he can't work his way back into lottery consideration.
Giles' combination of size (6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan, per DraftExpress) and explosiveness made him one of the hottest commodities in recruiting before his lone college season. If he can remind scouts of that in tests and drills in Chicago, someone might be willing to roll the dice on him in the middle of the first round.
Hamidou Diallo
The big mystery of this year's draft may be Hamidou Diallo, a 6'5" guard who enrolled at Kentucky during the 2016-17 season but never played a game.
"I love the kid," ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said, per SEC Country's Matt Jennings. "I'd like to see him play at Kentucky for a year, but there are at least three teams that I know of that have multiple picks in the 20s. He'll be one of the most athletic guys in the draft."
A gamble really isn't much of a gamble for some of those teams at the back end of the first round that have more than one pick. You can bet big on the potential of Diallo and then hedge against it by using the other pick on a more conservative selection.
If Diallo has a solid showing at the combine, reinforcing his reputation as an elite athlete, he may make his way onto the big boards in several front offices.
Justin Jackson
No, not that Justin Jackson. Although North Carolina's leading scorer is probably someone to keep an eye on this week as well. This Justin Jackson is an intriguing one-and-done from Maryland.
In his lone season with the Terrapins, Jackson averaged 15.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per 40 minutes. But the most impressive number is probably the 43.8 percent he shot on 105 three-point attempts.
That versatility, when combined with his 6'7" height and 7'3" wingspan, had DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony comparing Jackson to Draymond Green at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit.
"Jackson had some of the most impressive measurements seen from anyone at this event on either roster, standing 6'7 with an outrageous 7'3 wingspan, a 229 pound frame and gigantic hands," Givony wrote. "While not freakishly athletic, he's easily big enough to play power forward at pretty much any level, and may even be able to operate as somewhat of a small-ball 5 in the Draymond Green mold."
DraftExpress currently has Jackson projected as a second-rounder, but if he can show some defensive versatility and hints of playmaking ability, he may be able to creep toward the first.
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