Winners and losers from 2023 NBA Draft. Starting with the Spurs.

For a night that changed the fortunes of at least one franchise — and, when we look back on this night in a few years, probably a few more — the 2023 NBA Draft was relatively drama free. It followed form.

There were not a lot of surprises and the most eye-popping thing of the night was Gradey Dick’s fashion choice.

Who were the winners and losers of the 2023 NBA Draft? Let’s break it down.

WINNER: San Antonio Spurs

They were winners back in May when the NBA Draft Lottery smiled on them and gifted them the No. 1 pick, but it doesn’t change the fact they are now home to Victor Wembanyama, the most hyped prospect of a generation.

Wembanyama is a generational talent. He’s 7’3 with a nearly 8-foot wingspan, is a defensive force, moves well, has handles and can drain the 3 like a shooting guard. He is the total package, and he is doing things we have never seen before.

Most importantly, Wembanyama appears to have the maturity to handle this spotlight. San Antonio is the perfect place for him to land. He gets coached by Gregg Popovich and mentored on the side by Tim Duncan. He’s (relatively) out of the most intense media spotlights. And the Spurs will bring him along slowly without the pressure to win immediately. Wembanyama is as set up for success as one can be.

LOSER: Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte had the No. 2 pick and a chance to pick a player that can play next to LaMelo Ball and define the franchise for the next decade. Then, when they did what everyone had heard they would do for the past month and took Alabama’s Brandon Miller No. 2, passing on hyper-athletic guard Scoot Henderson. Even the team mascot seemed disappointed.

It is impossible to say as we stand here today if the Hornets made the right pick taking Miller over Henderson, even if Henderson had been the projected second-best prospect in the draft for more than a year.

However, we do know two things. First, GM Mitch Kupchak said outgoing owner Michael Jordan watched the workouts, met with the players, and at the least influenced the pick. Jordan. He was the guy who famously pushed for his team to draft Kwame Brown. Then a few years later to draft Frank Kaminsky. That’s the guy making the final call?

Second, history has taught us one thing at the top of the draft: TAKE THE BEST PLAYER, SCREW FIT. Not taking a player because you already have someone at the position is how the Kings pass on Luka Dončić (even if De’Aaron Fox has proven to be a player), it’s how the Blazers famously pass on Jordan himself because they have Clyde Drexler (again, great player, but…).

Miller is a more natural positional fit next to Ball than Henderson. We will see how it plays out over the coming years, maybe this was the right call. But we know what the fan base thinks.

WINNER: Thompson Twins

Hold me now the Thompson twins are good. We knew that going in. But to see them go back to back in the top five of the draft — Amen Thompson at No. 4 to the Rockets and Ausar Thompson at No. 5 to the Pistons — was impressive nonetheless.

Both players go to crowded backcourts: Jaylen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. in Houston, and that assumes James Harden doesn’t complicate the situation; then in Detroit Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Still, they are elite players whose talent will get them minutes. Good for them and the Thomson family, this was a night to celebrate.

LOSER: Fans hoping for league-changing trades during the draft

People who spent the three hours of the draft watching Beat Bobby Flay saw more drama.

There were no big trades. Not that we should have expected Zion Williamson to be on the move — and Damian Lillard was even less likely, everyone outside the city wants to trade him more than he wants to be traded — but there was very little that surprised anyone. The Raptors still have Pascal Siakam, the Timberwolves still have KAT and everyone, and the list goes on and on. The biggest shock was fast-rising Wembanyama teammate Bilal Coulibaly going seventh. Which, at best, was medium spicy sauce.

WINNER: Dallas Mavericks

The best move of the 2023 NBA Draft goes to Dallas. Everyone knew they wanted out of the No. 10 spot and it wasn’t exactly a secret they liked Duke center Dereck Lively II.

Still, Dallas was able to trade back two spots, still get their man Lively, and in the process get off the contract of Davis Bertans. That created a trade exception they later used to add Richaun Holmes and fast-rising prospect Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

Well played Mavericks, well played.

LOSER: College basketball

Through the first seven picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, only two players — Brandon Miller and Anthony Black — played in the NCAA. The growth of the game internationally and the multiple other paths to the NBA Draft — Scoot Henderson with the G-League Ignite, the Thompson Twins with Overtime Elite — showed a generation coming up in the sport they have options.

College basketball is far from dead, but with one-and-done not going anywhere (a frustration in and of itself) more elite talent will look at these other paths in the coming years.

LOSER: Cam Whitmore… or the teams that passed on him

Nobody fell further on draft night than Cam Whitmore. Our consensus NBA Mock Draft had him going No. 5 — he is that kind of talent. He fell all the way to No. 20.

Why? Two things, reportedly. First was a concern about his medicals (he missed the start of the college season for Villanova with a thumb injury but returned from that and played well). The second, and seemingly more significant issue, was apparently his attitude and focus in workouts, something Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned on the broadcast. This rumor had been out there before (he reportedly was disinterested in practices at the Hoops Summit event, but then flipped the switch in games).

We weren’t in the room, we don’t know what was said or done, but that is a heck of a fall for a guy with all that talent.

WINNER: Houston Rockets

The Rockets won because they got two top-five talents in the first round. They picked Amen Thompson at No. 4 as expected — note to Charlotte, they took the best player on the board and ignored fit — then they ended Whitmore’s slide and got him at No. 20.

Can Ime Udoka develop these young players (and the ones they already have on the roster)? Time will tell, but the Rockets just added real talent on draft night, and that is the name of the game.