Obinna Ekezie Jr. is wasting no time making his case as one of the most intriguing big men in the 2027 NBA Draft picture.
A couple of weeks into the college basketball season, the mock drafts are already starting to take shape, and the Louisville freshman is showing up near the top of them. Ekezie, a 7-foot-2 center, has quickly become one of the names scouts are circling after a strong start that has people talking about him as one of the best center prospects in the class.
He arrived at Louisville as a 5-star recruit ranked No. 2 overall in the 2027 class before reclassifying to 2026, where he remained the No. 1 center in the country. Now he’s turning that pedigree into production, and the early buzz is real.
SB Nation has Ekezie as high as No. 13 in its latest NBA mock draft, projecting him to the Charlotte Hornets. That kind of stock is being driven by a skill set that doesn’t come around often at his size.
He can stretch the floor, and he’s already showing it in live games. Against Morehead State this past weekend, he went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Earlier this year, he hit 4-of-6 from deep on the road against Kansas.
“Ekezie has stood out from other centers in the class with his strong floor-spacing ability at the center position,” stated Yahoo’s Benjamin Yu. “Ekezie is an efficient shooter who has shot the ball with solid volume for a center. He can punish opposing teams with his three-point shot off of pick-and-pops.”
That shooting touch is a big part of why so many outlets are slotting him as a first-rounder, but it’s only half the story. Ekezie has also made an immediate impact on the defensive end, where his size and length give him a massive presence around the rim. He was already known as an elite shot-blocker in high school, averaging 1.8 blocks per game, and that trait has carried over to college.
His 7-foot-5 wingspan helps him erase shots at the rim, and the numbers back it up. He had five blocks against Kansas and added two more against Morehead State. He’s also been active on the glass, finishing with a double-double against Morehead State with 13 rebounds and grabbing eight boards against Kansas.
“He has also been a great defensive big man in the paint as a shot-blocker, where he is averaging 2.0 blocks per game. His strong frame and length let him be a major presence on the boards,” stated Yu.
At just 18 years old, Ekezie is already being viewed as one of the top centers in college basketball. If the shot keeps falling, his climb in the mock drafts may not slow down anytime soon.
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