A huge contingent of NBA executives and scouts will descend upon Portland this week for the Nike-sponsored PK85 tournament (Phil Knight Invitational). This year’s primary early-season college basketball extravaganza includes 16 teams, two different brackets in honor of company founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday and, naturally, a wealth of future NBA players who will have a say in how the 2023 draft goes down. Because there’s not much else competing for teams’ attention during Thanksgiving week—many high-level decision-makers will head directly to Portland from the Maui Invitational—the PK85 is quite arguably the biggest scouting event of the season.
Players will have a huge opportunity to leave impressions here, and I will be in attendance all week to keep tabs. Here’s what I’m looking forward to as Thursday draws close. Keep in mind that this is not a list of the five best prospects in the event, simply a selection of buzzy names who I’m most curious about entering Thursday’s slate of games.
Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY Sports
