2024 NBA Draft Scouting Profile: Justin Edwards (2024)

Kentucky wing Justin Edwards would be talked about much more if he didn’t have his high school ranking next to his name. He ultimately had an underwhelming season with the Wildcats that tanked his draft stock. Coming in as the third-best recruit in the class of 2023, he finished averaging 8.6 points (sixth most on the team). Despite the disappointment that would have had him projected in the lottery, Edwards still has the tools to be an NBA player, projected from late first round to the middle of the second round. Rewinding to the trade deadline last season, Utah traded for two draft picks that would become #28 and #32. Of course, Utah could package both of them to secure another prospect with a more reliable ceiling, but from what Edwards showed in high school it could be justifiable to take a chance on him with one of those later picks.

As mentioned before, Justin Edwards was ranked third overall in the 2023 class, with 247 Sports describing him as “the most versatile scorer of the group”. He averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in his junior season with Imhotep Charter, leading the school to a state title and winning MaxPreps Pennsylvania High School Basketball Player of the Year. After committing to the Kentucky Wildcats, Edwards’ pre-season performance was impressive enough to win him the Wooden Award and be selected to be on the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List. Unfortunately, Edwards couldn’t live up to the hype during the remainder of the season, and he now finds himself barely scrapping the top 30 prospects in the NBA Draft.

There’s no doubt that Edwards will be available when Utah is on the clock at #28 or #32, but is it convincing enough for Utah to consider taking a chance on the former top-3 high school recruit?

Current Draft Projections:

CBS Sports - #25

Profile

2023-24 Stats: 32 games, 21.5 minutes, 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 48.6% FG, 36.5% 3P, 77.6% FT

Team: Kentucky

Position: SF

Strengths

Edwards’ offensive skillset was still present during his time at Kentucky. He has the positional size, standing at 6’8”, to knock down three-pointers off the dribble as well as pulling up in the midrange. Many other draft sites agree that his jump shot has a great-looking textbook form, making him excellent at spacing the floor. Although he didn’t shoot the best efficiency, he made the effort to add more threes to Edwards’ shot diet. When he’s not shooting, Edwards has been particularly impressive as an off-ball cutter, using his athleticism to score inside the paint. He averaged an offensive rating of 118.4 during his college season and had a true shooting percentage of 58.9%, which is about league average.

His current frame allows him to add plenty of strength and weight to improve once he progresses to the NBA. Most likely Edwards will be used as a complimentary player in a lineup.

Defensively, Edwards has an upside due to his physical tools and athleticism. During his time at Kentucky, he was able to disrupt plays and garner steals and blocks that could turn him into an elite on-ball defender for a team. When needed, he has the positional side to play as an off-ball guard or as a forward. Edwards possesses some quality skill in the paint and in transition by being able to meet opponents there and swat the shot using his impressive 6’10” wingspan. Scouting experts highly doubt Edwards will be a liability on the defensive end and will be able to positively contribute.

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Weaknesses

On the latter end, Edwards has a long way to go for teams to be highly interested in him. He lacked the ability during his time with the Wildcats to create shots for himself or his teammates. Off the dribble, his looks from beyond the arc are very simple and straightforward forward which didn’t allow Kentucky to space the floor at an elite level. He’s very reliant on easy catch-and-shoot looks, such as lifting to the wing, but he won’t do anything that advanced, for instance rising out of screens or making the defense pay far beyond the three-point line.

Playmaking is definitely a big concern for Edwards, especially considering he averaged less than 1 assist and turnover per game alone in his freshman year. He was barely challenged to make facilitating decisions and solely focused on spot-up scoring. Correlating to strictly an off-ball shooter will limit how much he can contribute to an offense. Once he makes the step up to the next level it will be crucial for him to make more decisions on the floor.

His defense is more tricky because he is rated based on how much potential he has to be a great defender. It’s more of an unknown that isn’t concrete enough to be a defined skill set. Edwards wasn’t pressured with hefty assignments in defense during his time in Kentucky, There were plenty of moments where Edwards wasn’t engaged enough and found himself lost off the ball. His on-ball defense wasn’t that impressive either. Edwards was often in foul trouble, averaging 5 fouls per 100 possessions. There were also times when he struggled to navigate through screens and wasn’t that great of an athlete from a speed standpoint.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Conclusion

Justin Edwards’ greatest asset is that his ranking is based on the potential of how good he can be based on how he is right now. As a two-way forward, his most accurate comparisons are most likely Amir Coffey, DeMarre Carroll or Cam Reddish. What makes a concluding decision on drafting Edwards so tough is that most of his skillset is an unknown, or something difficult to translate at the NBA level. Edwards will probably spend the majority of his first year developing in the G-League, where he can hopefully polish his skills more and get a chance to redeem himself after an uneventful college career.

There is an argument that the Jazz should take a flyer on him with one of their later picks. Utah has already been successful at turning Taylor Hendricks, Kris Dunn and Walker Kessler into elite defensive players, and there’s no doubt they’d try to do the same with Edwards. However, as stated before, Utah could opt to select a prospect with a more trustworthy upside. There are even a plethora of players that have similar skill sets to Edwards at #10 such as Ron Holland, Stephon Castle and Cody Williams.

Recent draft history proves Justin Edwards will comfortably find himself at the end of the first round with a relatively safe-ish ceiling. A blend of 3-level shot-making and athleticism could be a valuable tool to add to Utah’s credible development projects.