Nick Boyd did a lot to help his NBA draft stock this week at the NBA Combine, but it may still not be enough. He showed he's one of the fastest players in the draft, one of the best point guards, and capable of leading a team. However, he's still out of the draftable range according to ESPN's latest big board.
ESPN ranks the top-100 players in the NBA Draft, and while Boyd was No. 92 last month and he's now No. 84, there are only 60 players who will be drafted. That's just not quite enough. Sure, there will be players who take themselves out of the draft, and that could be somewhere around 20. So, the math is close, but it may not be enough.
Boyd truly needs NBA teams to see things differently from the ESPN Big Board. His combined performance was impressive, and he proved among his peers that he's one of the top point guards available.
The biggest knock on Boyd is his age. He's already 25, and the NBA values potential and youth in the NBA Draft. Teams love a good project, and if a team decides to select a 25-year-old, they want him to be mostly ready to go. So the question will be: "Is Nick Boyd ready to go at the NBA level?"
Nick Boyd's impressive NBA Combine still wasn't enough to get much love from ESPN
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While some worried about his height as he clearly wasn't 6'3 (his listed Wisconsin height), but he came in a little over 6'1, and for a point guard, that's not the worst. Sure, NBA teams would love a 6'3 or 6'4 point, but 6'1 won't immediately send him packing. His other stats came back positive.
Boyd also showed his impressive speed, recording (tied) the second fastest sprint speed in the combine. Wisconsin fans won't be surprised to read that he's fast, really fast. He then dominated the first scrimmage, putting up a line that turned heads with 23 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds.
The second scrimmage wasn't as impressive, but Boyd still had 2 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. Add in the fact that he had the best plus/minus total for his scrimmage team, which feels notable.
As Boyd chases his NBA dream, he will be anxious to watch some of the underclassmen making decisions to return to school. Add in the hope that there are NBA teams that have a higher valuation of him than ESPN does, that's what he needs.
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