Locked On NBA Draft with No Ceilings

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe is joined by James Barlowe and Leif Thulin to break down the biggest NBA Draft takeaways from the opening weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The trio opens by comparing where their brackets stand before diving into Derik Queen’s clutch game-winner and how his performance impacts his draft stock. They then shift to Cooper Flag...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Krysten Peek break down the top NBA draft prospects in the Midwest region, the final region covered ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They start with Georgia’s Asa Newell before diving into a fascinating hypothetical—how would the star-studded Montverde Academy squad featuring Newell, Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen, and Liam Mc...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Leif Thulin break down the top NBA prospects in the South region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, analyzing how strong performances could impact their draft stock. Leif starts by making the case for Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson as the top prospect in the region, comparing him to a younger version of Marquette’s Kam J...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Richard Stayman break down the top NBA draft prospects in the East region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and how strong performances could boost their draft stock. They kick things off with Duke, discussing Cooper Flagg’s ankle injury and how his health could impact both Duke’s title hopes and the tournament as a whole. Flagg...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael and James Barlowe break down the top NBA prospects in the West region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Barlowe Brothers discuss Florida’s Alex Condon and his rapid rise up draft boards, analyzing what has fueled his breakout season. They also highlight the intriguing 8-9 matchup between Oklahoma and UConn, where freshman guards Jeremia...

In MARCH MADNESS: Biggest NBA Draft Takeaways and Prospect Showdowns from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Part 2, the Locked On NBA Big Board team—Rafael Barlowe, James Barlowe, Leif Thulin, and Richard Stayman—continue breaking down the biggest NBA Draft storylines from the tournament field. They analyze key first-round matchups, highlight potential breakout prospects, and discuss which players need a...

In Part 1 of this two-part series, the Locked On NBA Big Board team—Rafael Barlowe, James Barlowe, Leif Thulin, and Richard Stayman—shared their biggest NBA Draft takeaways from the 2025 NCAA Tournament field. They broke down some of the most intriguing NBA Draft matchups in the first round and potential prospect battles in the second round. The crew also discussed a possible Arkansas vs. Kansas s...

On the latest Locked On NBA Big Board Podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Leif Thulin break down the standout performances from Wednesday and Thursday's NCAA Conference Tournament action. They discuss Jeremiah Fears’ back-to-back strong showings in the SEC Tournament and how his stock is rising. The duo also dives into Cooper Flagg’s ankle injury, debating whether Duke should sit him until the Round of 32...

In Rookie Watch Volume 12 of the Locked On NBA Big Board Podcast, hosts Rafael and James Barlowe revisit their thoughts on the 2024 NBA Draft class, which was widely considered weak. They discuss whether their perception has changed and highlight some standout rookies. Stephon Castle headlines the conversation as the front-runner for Rookie of the Year. The Barlowe brothers then turn their attenti...

In this episode of Locked On NBA Big Board, host Rafael Barlowe breaks down six former top prospects—Dillon Mitchell, DJ Wagner, Riley Kugel, Aday Mara, Aaron Bradshaw, and Baba Miller—who entered college with first-round NBA expectations but have struggled to maintain their draft stock. With March Madness and conference tournaments offering a final opportunity to impress NBA scouts, Barlowe analy...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael and James Barlowe break down five prospects whose draft stock is soaring as they head into their respective conference tournaments. The Barlowe brothers start with Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson, who has turned heads with his recent play. They then dive into Florida big man Alex Condon, who Rafael believes is the fastest-risin...

In this episode of Locked On NBA Big Board, brothers Rafael and James Barlowe debate the potential battle for the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft between Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey and Texas freshman Tre Johnson. They discuss why many scouts view Bailey as a near-lock at No. 3, citing his elite upside if he puts it all together, but also acknowledging his inconsistencies. In contrast, Johnson ha...

In this episode of Locked On NBA Big Board, host Rafael Barlowe revisits his Big Board 1.0 and evaluates whether his preseason concerns about the top prospects were answered during the 2024-25 season. Did Cooper Flagg prove he could carry an offense? Has Dylan Harper’s shooting improved? Is Ace Bailey’s decision-making a concern? Rafael breaks down his early projections for projected lottery picks...

On the latest Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe tackles a range of 2025 NBA Draft questions from his inbox, offering insight on team needs, player fits, and draft stock movement. He breaks down the Dallas Mavericks' draft outlook following Kyrie Irving’s season-ending ACL injury, which has shifted their focus from contending to potentially landing in the lottery for the second time i...

In this episode of Locked On NBA Big Board, host Rafael Barlowe is joined by Richard Stayman, who shares his list of prospects he’s higher on than the consensus. After Barlowe gave his list last week, it’s Stayman’s turn to explain why he’s bullish on certain players heading into the draft. He breaks down the strengths and upside of Yaxel Lendeborg, Max Shulga, Asa Newell, Boogie Fland, and Payton...

In the latest episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Krysten Peek break down ESPN’s way-too-early 2026 mock draft, which features Kansas commit Darryn Peterson as the projected No. 1 pick. This ranking comes as a surprise to some, as BYU commit AJ Dybantsa has long been viewed as the top prospect in the class. Barlowe and Peek discuss the battle between Peterson and Dyb...

On the latest Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Leif Thulin dive into the NCAA tournament bubble and its impact on top 2025 NBA Draft prospects. They discuss highly touted freshmen like Texas’ Tre Johnson, Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears, and Georgia’s Asa Newell—potential lottery picks whose teams are fighting for a tournament berth. Leif breaks down which bubble teams have a realisti...

On the latest episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, Rafael Barlowe and Leif Thulin broke down the strengths and concerns surrounding freshman point guards Jeremiah Fears and Egor Demin, both projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Thulin made the case for Fears as the better prospect, citing his scoring ability and higher upside despite being smaller and the lesser passer of the t...

In James’ Big Board 3.0 Part 2, James Barlowe and Rafael Barlowe continue breaking down James’ latest NBA Draft rankings, diving into more potential lottery picks. James starts by explaining why he’s so high on Maryland freshman Derik Queen and his skill set. He then discusses Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakucionis, weighing the conflicting opinions on him and why he’s intrigued but not as high as s...

James Barlowe joins his brother, Rafael Barlowe, on the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast to unveil his Big Board 3.0 – Part 1, breaking down his top six prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft. James starts with Cooper Flagg, explaining why he’s the clear-cut best player in the class. He then discusses Rutgers teammates Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, evaluating their potential at the next level. In a bold m...

On the latest episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board Podcast, host Rafael Barlowe does a 2025 NBA Draft pulse check, breaking down several prospects who caught his attention over the weekend. He starts with Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears, who had a monster performance against Mississippi State, posting 27 points and 10 assists. Next, he dives into Illinois freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, analyzing...

In this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, host Rafael Barlowe dives into his latest Big Board 3.0 update, available on NBABigBoard.com. However, instead of focusing on the consensus rankings, Rafael highlights a handful of prospects he’s personally higher on than the general scouting community. He breaks down what makes French prospect Noa Essengue, Washington State’s Cedric Coward,...

In this episode of Locked On NBA Big Board, host Rafael Barlowe and analyst Leif Thulin dive into a debate between two freshman wings: Duke’s Kon Knueppel and UConn’s Liam McNeeley. While Knueppel is ranked higher on most consensus big boards and mock drafts, Thulin makes the case that McNeeley is the better long-term NBA prospect and is having the superior freshman season. He argues that Knueppel...

In the latest episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast, hosts Rafael Barlowe, James Barlowe, and Krysten Peek break down the top standouts from the 2025 Basketball Without Borders event, held over NBA All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California. As Rafael’s favorite event of All-Star Weekend, BWB provides a prime opportunity to scout international prospects who could emerge in future NBA drafts....

On this episode of the Locked On NBA Big Board Podcast, James Barlowe and Krysten Peek share live scouting impressions of AJ Dybantsa at the Nike Futures event during All-Star Weekend in Oakland, California. Due to logistics, host Rafael Barlowe conducted two separate interviews—one with his brother James, who was seeing Dybantsa live for the first time, and another with Krysten, who has extensive...