East Lansing has been home to plenty of NBA talent over the years and Tom Izzo could probably name every single Michigan State player of his that went on to get drafted.
After the 2026-27 season, he may have a more difficult time naming all of his NBA draft picks because that group could very well grow by four.
OK, so that may be on the extreme end, but given some early mocks and the fact that a couple of Spartans have already gone through the draft process, there is a legitimate chance that Michigan State’s starting five features four NBA draft prospects.
Don’t believe me? Let’s list them out along with the reason I believe they’re NBA draft prospects.
- Jeremy Fears Jr. — Came back to go from a second-rounder to a first-round pick.
- Jasiah Jervis — Was listed as a top-10 NBA draft prospect by one outlet.
- Coen Carr — Already been mocked in the late-second round and only going to improve that.
- Anton Bonke — Went through the draft process this year and will improve his stock.
That’s four legitimate 2027 NBA Draft prospects that could make up Michigan State’s starting five. The most controversial pick would be Jervis who I don’t believe will be a one-and-done, but obviously that’s possible if he cracks the starting lineup.
I can’t remember the last time Michigan State had such an NBA-heavy starting five. You probably have to go all the way back to 2017-18.
And this isn’t even mentioning the other Spartans who I believe could also be future NBA players like Jordan Scott (I believe he could actually start), Ethan Taylor, Carlos Medlock Jr., Cam Ward, and Kaleb Glenn.
This team has elite potential. We’ll see if it lives up to that hype.
Does Michigan State have any first-round talent?
Obviously this is up for debate, but I do believe that the Spartans don’t just have fringe-NBA prospects but they do have some first-round talent.
Fears returned so he could improve his stock from the second round range to the first round and I truly believe he can be drafted early next year if he locks in with his jumper. Jervis was projected as a top-10 pick before he ever played a single collegiate minute and he’s representing Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup next week so it’s safe to say he has first-round talent.
Other guys like Carr, Scott, and Taylor have the potential to go that early but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done before that can happen.
First-round talent or not, this Michigan State team is going to be loaded.
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