Olivier-Maxence Prosper Selected At #24 In The 2023 NBA Draft!

The day that no one saw coming in mid-March is here.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper is an NBA Draft pick, and not only that, but a 2023 NBA Draft pick, and not only that, but a 2023 NBA Draft first round pick. On Thursday night, he was officially selected at #24 overall and will begin play in the league this coming fall. We have to phrase it that way because #24 was held by the Sacramento Kings, but shortly before the pick was announced, news broke that the Kings were trading the pick to Dallas and effectively selecting Prosper for the Mavericks.

Prosper finished up his second season at Marquette back in March after transferring from Clemson in the wake of Shaka Smart’s hiring in Milwaukee. After starting in 25 of 32 games as a sophomore for the Golden Eagles and helping MU reach the NCAA tournament in Smart’s first season, Prosper was a full time starter for his junior year. He averaged 12.5 points, close to double his rate from the year before, along with 4.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and just under a steal per game. Prosper also connected on 34% of his three-point attempts, up from under 32% as a sophomore.

Combine that shooting ability with his 6’8” height, his more than 7-foot wide wingspan, and weighing in at 212 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, it makes sense that he was drawing attention from NBA scouts. However, what really exploded Prosper from “yeah, maybe” to “bring him to the Combine, let’s see” to “get that guy on a roster right this second” was his performance at the Combine. He was top four in lane agility, shuttle run, standing vertical leap, and max vertical leap, which is all very good stuff, but that only means he’s a good athlete. Prosper only played in one five-on-five scrimmage, but after you put up 21 points and seven rebounds in said scrimmage, you don’t really need to participate in another one the next day.

Let’s run down the other Big East players drafted tonight up through where Prosper was selected:

• UConn’s Jordan Hawkins went #14 to New Orleans
• Villanova’s Cam Whitmore went #20 to Houston

Congrats to OMax, we’re looking forward to what the future holds for you!