Texas Basketball: 3 best NBA Draft prospects on the current roster

Who are the most promising 2021 NBA Draft prospects on the current roster for Texas basketball head coach Shaka Smart heading into next season?

The night of the 2020 NBA Draft has nearly arrived, set to take place on Nov. 18. But the Texas basketball program and head coach Shaka Smart don’t have any players from last year’s team eligible in this draft class. That’s not necessarily such a bad thing for the Texas men’s hoops program as it pertains to their outlook for the looming 2020-21 college basketball season. They pretty much return their entire roster from last season.

Last year, we saw one former Longhorn get picked in the NBA Draft Lottery. The former four-star power forward/center recruit and breakthrough star freshman big man Jaxson Hayes was picked up by the New Orleans Pelicans with the eight overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Hayes had a solid rookie campaign with the Pelicans too, registering a 17.6 player efficiency rating and .171 win shares per 48 minutes.

Other big time first round picks out of the Longhorns basketball program in the last decade includes big men Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers), Jarrett Allen (Brooklyn Nets), and Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers), among others.

The next time that the Longhorns really have to look forward to having at least one solid pick in the NBA Draft will be in 2021. That’s when this talented Longhorns team could see the fruits of their player development funneling to the next level. But which players should we watch in particular that could be picked up in the 2021 NBA Draft?

Here’s a look into three players on the current Longhorns roster to watch for the 2021 NBA Draft.