3 Arizona Wildcats projected as way-too-early lottery picks in 2027 NBA Draft

Fresh off the heels of three Arizona players being selected in the 2026 NBA Draft (and a total of five landing on NBA rosters), three more Wildcats are projected to be lottery picks in next year’s draft.

Sam Vecenie, who covers the draft, college basketball and the NBA for The Athletic, has five-star incoming freshman Caleb Holt and returners Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov all getting picked in the top 14 of his way-too-early mock 2027 NBA Draft.

Caleb Holt slotted as top-5 overall pick

Holt comes to Tucson as the No. 2 player nationally in his class and one of Tommy Lloyd’s highest-rated recruits ever. Similar to Brayden Burries, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Prolific Prep is an established two-way player who is also a very good rebounder for his position.

While Holt is an elite slasher and known for his ability to attack the rim, the biggest question mark around his draft stock stems from his perimeter shooting and shot mechanics.

But like Koa Peat, Holt is also a proven winner, having accumulated multiple high school state championships and gold medals while representing USA Basketball at the junior level. Lloyd also coached Holt on the USA Basketball U19 team that won the 2025 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland.

Bleacher Report‘s Jonathan Wasserman slotted Holt as the No. 2 overall pick, while Vecenie pegs Holt as the No. 4 overall selection and writes of Holt:

He plays with a terrific motor and impacts the game on both ends at 6 feet 5 with long arms. He finishes well at the rim as a straight-line driver, and his shooting stroke has improved so much over the last six months that I think he’ll knock down shots this season at Arizona.

He passes and is unselfish. On defense, Holt makes life miserable for opposing players. He needs to get more comfortable on the ball to reach a significant ceiling, but Holt has a chance to be an impact NBA player.

Motiejus Krivas projected as top-10 overall selection

Vecenie calls Krivas “the best rim protector in college basketball” and believes the 7-foot-2 Lithuanian would have been a top 20 pick in this year’s draft had he not returned to school for his senior season. Vecenie has Krivas as the No. 9 overall pick in next year’s draft.

If his jumper turns into a more regular weapon this year, don’t be surprised to see him skyrocket up boards, even though he’ll be 22 years old on draft day.

An older prospect, Krivas, 21, began his tenure in Tucson backing up big man Oumar Ballo. During his freshman season, Krivas averaged only 12.1 minutes per game but showed promising flashes in the playing time he received, averaging 10 points and 6.3 rebounds in games where he played at least 15 minutes.

After Ballo transferred to Indiana, Krivas was originally generating draft buzz and poised for a breakout year entering his sophomore season; however, a lingering foot injury limited Krivas to just eight games before he was shut down for the season after undergoing surgery.

That expected breakout came this past season when Krivas posted career-best numbers with 10.4 points (56.9% shooting), 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game. He led the Wildcats with 73 blocks and finished second in rebounds (318) behind senior forward Tobe Awaka (353). He earned All-Big 12 First-Team and All-Defensive Team honors, and Vecenie argues Krivas should have been the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year over Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu.

Ivan Kharchenkov mocked as late lottery pick

Filling the shoes of outgoing lottery pick Carter Bryant, the 6-foot-7 Kharchenkov arrived from Bayern Munich last season and averaged 10.4 points on 49.2% shooting and started all 39 games as a freshman. He added 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.4 minutes per game.

The German international was the Wildcats’ best perimeter defender last season, often guarding the opposing team’s best player and operating as a Swiss Army Knife type of glue guy for Arizona. Kharchenkov also left his mark on last season’s biggest moments and showed up when the season was on the line. He averaged 12.4 points (48.8% shooting), six rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes across five NCAA Tournament games and scored 12 points in the second half of Arizona’s Elite 8 come-from-behind victory over Purdue.

Vecenie slots Kharchenkov as a late lottery pick at No. 14 overall but believes his stock will be determined by his shooting.

Like several of the wings in this mock, Kharchenkov’s selection will depend on his jumper, although he did make 32 percent from 3 on three attempts per game last year and clearly has some potential in that respect.

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