Tennessee Basketball Star Ja'Kobi Gillespie Receives Newest NBA Draft Projection

Story by

Story by
Tennessee Basketball Star Ja'Kobi Gillespie Receives Newest NBA Draft Projection

Mar 29, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0) drives the ball in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during an Elite Eight game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Caleb Sisk · Tennessee Volunteers On SI

Thu, Jun 18, 2026 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

The Tennessee Volunteers are one of the many teams in the college basketball scene that could have multiple players selected in the draft. The Vols have one of the better teams, as they have multiple players with NBA potential, including the best guard on the Vols roster last season.

That player is Ja'Kobi Gillespie . Gillespie is one of the better players in the draft when it comes to college production, as he was awesome for the Vols all season long. Gillespie finished his season with 18.4 points on average, along with a per-game average of 5.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 steals.

Yahoo Sports recently projected that Gillespie will be selected in the upcoming NBA Draft, but it will be later in the second round. Here is what Yahoo Sports had to say.

Yahoo Sports Projects Ja'Kobi Gillespie Will be Drafted by the Phoenix Suns WIth Pick No. 47

"Gillespie spent two seasons at Belmont, transferred to Maryland for a year, then came home to Tennessee as a senior and helped lead the Volunteers to the Elite Eight. In the NBA, he projects as less of a lead guard and more of a spark plug who comes off the bench and fires jumpers and reliably runs the offense. The NBA's track record with guards his size is the obvious concern, but anyone who shoots like Gillespie and processes the game at his level deserves a real chance," Yahoo Sports said.

The Suns seem to be a perfect fit for the talented guard, as he is at his best when he can play a mixture of on and off-ball. This would be the exact case for the standout, as he would be paired with a player like Devin Booker. This would be a great guard duo of two players who can do a lot of the same things, although, at this point, Booker is by far the more polished player. Luckily for the Suns, they would be getting a player who is far beyond his time and ready to take a step up when it comes to the NBA, so this pick would be a slam dunk for the Suns.

Follow Our Social Media Accounts

Follow Vols on SI on X (Click HERE )
Follow Vols on SI on Facebook (Click HERE )
Follow Vols on SI on Instagram (Click HERE )
Subscribe to Vols on SI on YouTube (Click HERE )

Follow Our Staff on X

Follow Caleb Sisk on X (Click HERE ) Follow Dale Dowden on X (Click HERE )

Follow Our Staff on Instagram

Follow Caleb Sisk on Instagram (Click HERE ) Follow Dale Dowden on Instagram (Click HERE )

Follow Our Staff on Facebook

Follow Caleb Sisk on Facebook (Click HERE ) Follow Dale Dowden on Facebook (Click HERE )

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

You can join our newsletter ( HERE )

Today's best reads

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tennessee as Tennessee Basketball Star Ja'Kobi Gillespie Receives Newest NBA Draft Projection .

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: