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2023 NBA Draft Player/Agent Pairings

2023 NBA Draft Players and Agents

Welcome to another year of providing the player/agent pairings as well as some notes for those selected in the NBA Draft.

Notes

  • WME Sports led all agencies with 5 clients selected in the 1st round. Wasserman and CAA each had 4 1st round selections. Klutch Sports and Priority Sports each had 3 clients picked.
  • Here’s how agencies did throughout the entire NBA Draft: WME Sports (8 clients selected), Wasserman (6 clients selected), CAA (5 clients selected), Klutch Sports (4 clients selected), Priority Sports (4 clients selected), Excel Sports (4 clients selected). Those 6 agencies’ clients made up more than half of the 2023 NBA Draft.
  • You won’t be able to convince me that anyone had a better night than Troy Thompson, founder of G.A.P.P. Sports Group. He saw his two sons, Amen and Ausar Thompson, picked 4th overall and 5th overall, respectively. He also serves as their agent.
  • Bouna Ndiaye, who started Comsport and has had a lot of success representing players from outside the U.S., started off the draft strong with the 1st overall pick (Wembanyama) followed by the 7th (Coulibaly).
  • A cool personal story for me is that I taught the agents who represent the 10th and 11th overall picks in the NBA Draft, Max Lipsett and Dave Spahn. The course was Sports Agency Management at Indiana University Bloomington and was taught over a decade ago.

Round 1

  1. Victor Wembanyama – Bounda Ndiaye of Comsport
  2. Brandon Miller – Wilmer Jackson of Spencer Sports Management
  3. Scoot Henderson – No agent
  4. Amen Thompson – Troy Thompson of G.A.P.P. Sports Group
  5. Ausar Thompson – Troy Thompson of G.A.P.P. Sports Group
  6. Anthony Black – Bill Duffy and Justin Haynes of WME Sports
  7. Bilal Coulibaly – Bouna Ndiaye and Jeremy Medjana of Comsport
  8. Jarace Walker – Joe Branch, Bill Duffy, and Justin Haynes of WME Sports
  9. Taylor Hendricks – Raymond Brothers of I AM Sports & Entertainment
  10. Cason Wallace – Max Lipsett, Marcus Monk, and Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports
  11. Jett Howard – Dave Spahn of CAA
  12. Dereck Lively II – Rich Paul of Klutch Sports
  13. Gradey Dick – Bill Duffy, David Mondress, and Isiah Turner of WME Sports
  14. Jordan Hawkins – Ty Sullivan of CAA
  15. Kobe Bufkin – Jelani Floyd, Thad Foucher, and Joe Smith of Wasserman
  16. Keyonte George – Thad Foucher, Jason Ranne, and Joe Smith of Wasserman
  17. Jalen Hood-Schifino – Austin Brown of CAA
  18. Jaime Jaquez Jr. – Aaron Mintz of CAA
  19. Brandin Podziemski – David Mondress and Bill Duffy of WME Sports
  20. Cam Whitmore – Joe Branch, Bill Duffy, and David Mondress of WME Sports
  21. Noah Clowney – Rich Paul of Klutch Sports
  22. Dariq Whitehead – Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports
  23. Kris Murray – Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports
  24. Olivier-Maxence Prosper – Todd Ramasar and Mike Simonetta of Life Sports Agency
  25. Marcus Sasser – Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports
  26. Ben Sheppard – George Langberg of GSL Sports Group
  27. Nick Smith Jr – Lucas Newton of Klutch
  28. Brice Sensabaugh – Jelani Floyd, Thad Foucher, and Joe Smith of Wasserman
  29. Julian Strawther – Darren Matsubara of Wasserman
  30. Kobe Brown – Kieran Piller and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports

Round 2

  1. James Nnaji – Jim Tanner, Deirunas Visockas, and Gerard Raventos of Tandem/YouFirst Sports
  2. Jalen Pickett – Daniel Curtin of LAMF Sports
  3. Leonard Miller – Bill Duffy, David Mondress, and Diego Arguelles of WME Sports
  4. Colby Jones – Jared Mucha and Sean Kennedy of Excel Sports
  5. Julian Phillips – Dave Spahn of CAA
  6. Andre Jackson Jr – Drew Gross of Roc Nation Sports
  7. Hunter Tyson – Eric Fleisher of Assist Sports, LLC
  8. Jordan Walsh – Ramon Sessions
  9. Mouhamed Gueye – Amandeep Dhesi of PNW Sports Group
  10. Maxwell Lewis – No agent
  11. Amari Bailey – Bernie Lee of Thread Sports Management
  12. Tristan Vukcevic – Jason Ranne of Wasserman
  13. Rayan Rupert – Jeremy Medjana of Comsport
  14. Sidy Cissoko – Jim Tanner, Nicolas Dos Santos, and Maxwell Wiepking of Tandem/YouFirst Sports
  15. Gregory Jackson II – Lakeysha Alston
  16. Seth Lundy – Paolo Zamorano of Glushon Sports Management
  17. Mojave King – Daniel Moldovan of Octagon
  18. Jordan Miller – Mitch Butler and Chris Smoot of Rival Sports Group
  19. Emoni Bates – Steve Haney of Par-Lay Sports & Entertainment
  20. Keyontae Johnson – Ross Aroyo and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports
  21. Jalen Wilson – David Mondress and Diego Arguelles of WME Sports
  22. Toumani Camara – Dave Putterie
  23. Jaylen Clark – Greg Lawrence of Wasserman
  24. Jalen Slawson – Aaron Turner of Verus Sports
  25. Isaiah Wong – Bill Duffy, Erik Kabe, and David Mondress of WME Sports
  26. Tarik Biberovic – Nikolaos Spanos of Network Sports International
  27. Trayce Jackson-Davis – Max Lipsett of Excel Sports
  28. Chris Livingston – Rich Paul of Klutch Sports

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.