2024 NBA Draft: The 19th Pick, Ja’Kobe Walter

As the picks were starting to fall into place on draft night, I noticed that several lottery graded prospects on my board had fallen past the 14th pick. Two of them in particular (Dalton Knecht and Ja'Kobe Walter) had been considered lottery level talents across most outlets from very early on in the cycle. As a result, I had neglected to write about them, but began to become excited at the thought of the Raptors potentially coming away with a steal.

Jared McCain (5th on my board) went to Philadelphia at 16. I cursed Daryl Morey's name.

Dalton Knecht (6th on my board) went to Los Angeles at 17. I unsubscribed from JJ Redick's podcast in protest.

Tristan da Silva (13th on my board) went at pick 18, which was a bit of a bummer but I still had prospects available who were rated ahead of him.

The Raptors were on the board at pick 19 with two of my favourite prospects in the class still available: DaRon Holmes (9th on my board) and Ja'Kobe Walter (11th on my board). There was a part of me that really wanted Holmes, but I have to acknowledge that Ja'Kobe was likely the best option here. Let's dig into why.

Ja'Kobe Walter | 6'4.25 | Guard | Baylor | 19 years old