Alabama Basketball: NBA Draft Lottery, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney

The NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night gave the San Antonio Spurs the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. There was some news about former Alabama basketball player, Brandon Miller as well.

The Spurs are expected to choose the 7’4″ young Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama. Had another NBA team won the lottery, that team would also take Wembanyama. It is a no-brainer decision, even though the Spurs are yet to announce it.

The drama on Draft Night (June 22) is what team picks what player at No. 2. Based on the lottery, the Charlotte Hornets have the second pick, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets. That order could change multiple times during the next five weeks.

The great majority of NBA pundits and NBA Draft experts believe the second choice will be either Scoot Henderson of the NBA G League or former Alabama basketball star, Brandon Miller. In many post-Lottery mock drafts, Miller was a clear favorite to be chosen No. 2.

For those who need reminding, Miller going No. 2 was, according to some, never going to happen. At least that was the opinion of those who painted Miller in an unfavorable light, following the Jamea Harris tragedy. What was said about Brandon Miller on Tuesday night must have saddened Clay Travis and Joseph Goodman, two among many who remorselessly attacked Miller.

No one in the media world knows more about the NBA than ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, frequently referred to as Woj. Speaking about Brandon Miller and how NBA teams viewed the young man, as tweeted by Charlie Potter, Woj stated,

"Not only did they not find anything that they would consider disqualifying to select Brandon Miller, they are finding a young man who they say is mature, focused, whose character and his habits are actually an asset."

Moving on from Alabama Basketball

Tuesday night mocks showed Miller going either No. 2 or No. 3 in June. A couple of outliers had Miller dropping to No. 4 or No. 5. There was zero indication any NBA team would pass on Miller because of non-basketball issues.

Based on those mocks, Noah Clowney will be drafted anywhere from late in the first round to the Middle of the second round.

The NBA teams taking the former Alabama basketball players in June will be getting young men with outstanding NBA potential and in both cases good character as well.