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The top five picks in the NBA draft are already a certainty

The consensus from many NBA executives is that the players who’ll be taken with the top five picks in Thursday’s NBA draft are a foregone conclusion.

It’s the order in which these one-and-done collegiate players will be selected that remains open for debate.

Except that all the executives, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the draft, agree that the Lakers will use their second pick in the draft on UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

With conviction, the executives view the quintuplet as Ball, Washington’s Markelle Fultz, Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox, Kansas’ Josh Jackson and Duke’s Jayson Tatum.