NBA draft class and position rankings: Top 2019 prospects

Who are the best players at every position and class level for the 2019 NBA draft?

Here are our rankings heading into the college basketball season.

Position rankings

Givony: One-position players are not particularly en vogue in today's NBA. That is reflected in our positional rankings, where versatility is king and we see the greatest glut of talent at the 2/3/4 spots, which are becoming increasingly interchangeable in modern basketball.

The depth of this class early on is clearly in the wing and forward positions, as six of the top eight overall prospects are wings, while 10 of the top 27 are power forwards, most of whom are switchable defensively and offer a varied skill set with plenty of ballhandling, passing and shooting ability. "Pure" point guards aren't easy to find in this group, with just two of the top 28 overall prospects being classified as traditional 1s, while the decreasing value of centers in the NBA is reflected in their placement in our top 100, with four centers cracking our top 35.

Class rankings

Schmitz: As was the case both in 2018 and 2017, the strength of this year's draft lies with its freshmen. While there's a drop-off after the quartet of R.J. Barrett, Nassir Little, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish, both Quentin Grimes (No. 6) and Keldon Johnson (No. 7) are high-floor prospects with NBA starter potential. Plus Romeo Langford (No. 5), Darius Garland (No. 9) and Bol Bol (No. 10) each bring a degree of intrigue and upside as potential fits in the modern NBA.

Where has the NBA's trend toward youth left the rest of the NCAA classes? This year's sophomore crop isn't short on potential breakout candidates, whether it's Virginia's De'Andre Hunter or Murray State's Ja Morant. Even a junior class headlined by Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura features a handful of prospects who could at least contend for first-round status. It's the 2019 senior class that has taken the biggest hit, with only one prospect projected to go in the first round (Eric Paschall).

Since 2010, an average of 4.2 seniors have been selected in the first round, with that number dwindling each year. Is 2019 the year that only one senior is selected in the top 30 picks, or will a prospect such as Jarrey Foster or Matisse Thybulle work himself into the 20s and eventually outplay his draft stock as a rookie like we've seen happen time and time again? With all eyes on the freshmen, it will be interesting to see which seniors can emerge, eventually adding value in the NBA like Josh Hart and Taurean Prince before them.