This article is part of our NBA Draft series.
Somewhat surprisingly, nearly all of the biggest names in the 2018 Draft are slated to be in attendance next week at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine.
Arizona freshman DeAndre Ayton and Serbian guard/wing/basketball player Luka Doncic -- arguably the top two prospects in the class -- will forgo the event, as will Dzanan Musa, another well-regarded European prospect in what's shaping up to be an American-heavy draft.
While the NBA Combine doesn't generate as much intrigue as its NFL counterpart, it's nonetheless encouraging that only two top prospects will skip the event altogether. Last year, Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum all opted out, while Markelle Fultz attended but did not participate in any drills or workouts.
In all, 69 players are slated to descend on the Quest Multisport complex near downtown Chicago.
Of course, it bears noting that most lottery-projected prospects will only go through select measurements/workouts and interviews. Some will take part in the entire gamut of agility and strength testing, in addition to shooting workouts, while others will pick and choose their drills.
Less-heralded prospects -- usually borderline-first-rounders and beyond -- generally participate in most, if not all, of the athletic testing, in addition to two sessions of full-court, five-on-five scrimmages.
In addition to Ayton and Doncic, the other household names in the draft are highly unlikely to scrimmage. The 5-on-5 games offer prospects perhaps their best opportunity to stand out, but there's little to gain for players already bound for the lottery. However, a strong showing by a prospect projected to go in the 25-to-60 range could mean the difference between coming off the board in the late-first-round or sometime in the second.
A year ago, Utah's Kyle Kuzma, then a 21-year-old redshirt junior, was among the standouts on Day 1 of scrimmages. With his stock definitively on the rise, Kuzma withdrew from Day 2 and focused instead on nailing down individual team meetings and workouts. The Lakers ultimately took Kuzma with the 27th pick in the draft.
After the Combine, which wraps up on May 20, prospects who have not hired an agent will have until June 11 to decide whether they'll remain in the draft or withdraw and retain their collegiate eligibility.
By now, virtually every first-round prospect has an agent, but notable names like Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo, Cincinnati's Jacob Evans, and ex-Louisville commit Brian Bowen will gauge their stock at the Combine before making an official decision.
Below is the full list of prospects expected to attend:
Rawle Alkins, 6'5" shooting guard (Arizona)
Grayson Allen, 6'4" shooting guard (Duke)
Kostas Antetokounmpo, 6'10″ forward (Dayton)
Udoka Azubuike, 6'11" center (Kansas)
Marvin Bagley III, 6'1" forward/center (Duke)
Mohamed Bamba, 7'0" center (Texas)
Jaylen Barford, 6'3" guard (Arkansas)
Keita Bates-Diop, 6-7 forward (Ohio St.)
Tyus Battle, 6'7" wing (Syracuse)
Brian Bowen, 6'7" small forward (South Carolina transfer)
Mikal Bridges, 6'7" forward (Villanova)
Miles Bridges, 6'6" forward (Michigan St.)
Bruce Brown, 6'3" shooting guard (Miami)
Troy Brown, 6-7, wing (Oregon)
Jalen Brunson, 6'2" point guard (Villanova)
Tony Carr, 6'3" point guard (Penn St.)
Jevon Carter, 6'2" point guard (West Virginia)
Wendell Carter Jr., 6'10" center (Duke)
Hamidou Diallo, 6'5" shooting guard (Kentucky)
Donte DiVincenzo, 6'5" point guard (Villanova)
Trevon Duval, 6'3" point guard (Duke)
Jacob Evans, 6'6" wing, (Cincinnati)
Bruno Fernando, 6'10" center (Maryland)
Melvin Frazier, 6'6" small forward (Tulane)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 6'6" guard (Kentucky)
Devonte' Graham, 6'2" point guard (Kansas)
Devon Hall, 6'5" shooting guard (Virginia)
Jaylen Hands, 6'3" point guard (UCLA)
Kevin Hervey, 6'7" small forward (Texas Arlington)
Aaron Holiday, 6'1" point guard (UCLA)
Kevin Huerter, 6'6" shooting guard (Maryland)
Chandler Hutchison, 6'7" wing (Boise St.)
Jaren Jackson Jr., 6'1" forward/center (Michigan St.)
Justin Jackson, 6'7" forward (Maryland)
Alize Johnson, 6'9" power forward (Missouri St.)
George King, 6'6" small forward (Colorado)
Kevin Knox, 6'9" forward (Kentucky )
Sagaba Konate, 6'8" power forward/center (West Virginia)
Caleb Martin, 6'7" small forward (Nevada)
Cody Martin, 6'7" small forward (Nevada)
Yante Maten, 6'8" power forward (Georgia)
De'Anthony Melton, 6'3" guard (USC)
Chimezie Metu, 6'10" power forward/center (USC)
Brandon McCoy, 6'11" center (UNLV)
Shake Milton, 6'6" guard (SMU)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, 6'8" shooting guard (Kansas)
Malik Newman, 6'4" guard (Kansas)
Josh Okogie, 6'4" shooting guard (Georgia Tech)
Jontay Porter, 6'10" center (Missouri)
Michael Porter Jr., 6'10" forward (Missouri)
Billy Preston, 6'10" power forward (Igokea)
Jerome Robinson, 6'5" point guard (Boston College)
Mitchell Robinson, 6'11" center (Western Kentucky)
Collin Sexton, 6'2" point guard (Alabama)
Landry Shamet, 6'4" point guard (Wichita St)
Anfernee Simons, 6'4" shooting guard (IMG Academy)
Zhaire Smith, 6'5" small forward (Texas Tech)
Omari Spellman, 6'9" power forward (Villanova)
Khyri Thomas, 6-3 shooting guard (Creighton)
Gary Trent Jr., 6'5" shooting guard (Duke)
Allonzo Trier, 6'5" shooting guard (Arizona)
Jarred Vanderbilt, 6'8" small forward (Kentucky)
Moritz Wagner, 6'11" center (Michigan)
Lonnie Walker IV, 6'4" shooting guard, (Miami)
P.J. Washington, 6'8" power forward (Kentucky)
Austin Wiley, 6'11" center (Auburn)
Kris Wilkes, 6'7" forward (UCLA)
Kenrich Williams, 6'7" power forward (TCU)
Trae Young, 6'2" point guard (Oklahoma)
