LaMelo Ball Headlines NBA Draft Combine Participants; Edwards, More Won't Attend

NBA teams will reportedly have an opportunity to evaluate LaMelo Ball in person during the NBA Draft Combine.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium shared a list of participants joining Ball. Notably absent is potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards, as well as the highly regarded James Wiseman and Obi Toppin:

That is plenty of talent that NBA evaluators will miss out on during the annual event, but they did enough in their collegiate careers to merit consideration in the top five.

The NBA announced some changes to this year's NBA combine that has already been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic that upended the 2019-20 season and moved it to Walt Disney World Resort.

It will take place in phases starting Sept. 28 and run through mid-November prior to the Nov. 18 draft. Part will be virtual, including league and team interviews conducted via videoconference from Sept. 28 through Oct. 16.

Players will also create "Pro Day" videos in October at the nearest NBA team facility with on-court strength and agility testing. The league will use HomeCourt, which is a mobile training application, to record the shooting portion of the combine and provide analytics.

As for the actual draft, this will give Ball a chance to perhaps separate himself from the other top prospects who will not participate in the combine.

In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Edwards to go No. 1 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves with Ball going No. 2 to the New York Knicks in a trade with the Golden State Warriors.

Wiseman went No. 3 in the mock draft, while Toppin went No. 5.