3 ACC players the Cavs could take in 2022 NBA Draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers were provided a silver lining at the end of the season. Losing in the Play-In Tournament meant missing the playoffs, a stomach-churning result after their strong start to the season, but it did bring a return blessing: the Cavs retained their lottery-protected first-round pick.

Having a pick now rather than later is almost always a good thing for a competing team, and given the level of their play already this year the Cavs will absolutely be pushing for not simply a playoff berth but a series victory or two next season. The sooner they can inject talent into their pipeline, the better.

The Cavs can look to a variety of places to find potential talent for the 2022 NBA Draft. Which ACC players could they take with their first-round pick?

As they look at all of the available players in the 2022 NBA Draft, it’s helpful to divide them into categories. Positions; ages; skillsets. Let’s group some players by where they played college basketball, and start by looking at the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Long a source of elite basketball talent, the ACC had a “down” year this season…until the NCAA Tournament, when two of the Final Four teams hailed from the supposedly woebegone conference. Even in the midst of team disappointment, what players stood out as potential draft picks for the Cavs this summer?