Baylor Freshman Phenom Ja'Kobe Walter Declares for NBA Draft
Big 12 Freshman of the Year Ja’kobe Walter declared for the NBA Draft Monday morning via his social media accounts.
The freshman phenom averaged an impressive 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 32.3 minutes per game. He shot 34% from three on 220 attempts while notching a true shooting percentage of 54.4% and an offensive rating of 115.5 per KenPom.
The McKinney, Texas native will hope to continue the Bears’ three-year streak of first-round draft picks, following in the footsteps of Davion Mitchell, Jeremy Sochan and Keyonte George from 2021 to 2023. Beyond that, Walter has a shot at becoming the third Bear selected in the lottery portion (top 14 picks) of the draft in the last four years joining Mitchell and Sochan who were both No. 9 picks.
Mock drafts and projections have Walter ranked anywhere from the middle of the lottery to around pick No. 20.
| Projection | Pick No. |
| ESPN | 11 |
| NBADraft.net |
10 (Atlanta) |
| The Ringer | 11 (Atlanta) |
| NBA.com (B/R) | 19 (Cleveland) |
| CBS Sports | 6 or 12 |
The first round of the NBA Draft will be held on June 26th in New York City, with the second round on the following day.