Will the Sacramento Kings draft Michael Porter Jr. at #2 overall? Who will take the risk with Mo Bamba? What about Trae Young––will he fall? With four days remaining until the 2018 NBA Draft in Brooklyn, these are some of the several pressing questions surrounding the top prospects and the teams at the top of the lottery. However, there are three players who I believe have the skills and the mindset to potentially become superstars in the Association.
Luka Doncic
Where to begin? How about the fact that he won the season MVP and the Final Four MVP of the EuroLeague at the age of 19. Unlike most prospects who are coming off of a season in college basketball––competing against 18-23-year-olds––Doncic exerted supreme confidence and dominated against grown men. He is 6’8”, 230 pounds; roughly the same size as a guy like Gordon Hayward, but Doncic has the skills of an elite point guard. He is transcendent in transition and is very creative with his passes. Moreover, he has an incredible feel for the game––something that some other top prospects seem to lack. He can combine that with a lethal arsenal of moves in his pick-and-roll game: in-and-out dribble moves, crossovers, hesitations, step backs, etc. He’ll enter the league having shown shades of James Harden, including the ability to search for mismatches against big men and either get the defender on his hip and attack downhill or utilize a dribble step back for a 3-pointer; it’s almost unguardable. Additionally, he is crafty like “The Scientist” Manu Ginobili, as exemplified by fake passes, shot fakes, and head fakes to create misdirection for a clever shot. If there is one knock on his game, it is his questionable defense; however, he has decent length and competes fairly well to fight off of screens and stay well-positioned. The Phoenix Suns will almost certainly take DeAndre Ayton with #1 overall pick––and he’ll be a force––but Doncic definitely has the talent to win multiple league MVPs and Championships. The scariest thing about him is knowing that this is the worst that he’ll ever be (at 19 years old), barring injury.
Season highlights with Real Madrid: here.
Collin Sexton
Sexton is one of those invaluable guys who everyone loves to play with and hates to play against because of his fiery intensity and charismatic personality. It wasn’t long ago that he was unranked in high-school, and within a week he’ll be signing a multi-million dollar contract with an NBA team. Perhaps the largest reason why I love his game is that he elevates his play when it matters the most. Due to unusual circumstances in a game earlier in the college season, his team, Alabama, found themselves playing 3 vs. 5 for the final minutes against Minnesota. Yet behind Sexton’s 40 points, they actually outscored the Gophers during those stretch of minutes. Furthermore, he came up big against Trae Young and Oklahoma (18 points on 8-14 FG’s), Ayton and Arizona (30 points), and in the Crimson Tide’s SEC (27, 31, and 21 points) and NCAA (25 and 17 points) tournament games. He is shifty, explosive, fearless attacking the basket, and possesses a nice pull-up shot to keep defenders honest. It’s not shocking that he draws comparisons to Russell Westbrook with that aggression and composed anger, but he may be a better 3-point shooter at the next level considering that he loves and embraces the work in the gym. Additionally, he has the potential to become a DPOY candidate for the duration of his career due to his 6’7” wingspan, an insanely strong lower body, and unmatched effort. Simply put, he backs down to no one and emanates confidence throughout the entire team. Who doesn’t want that type of guy to go to battle with? I think that he’ll produce like Donovan Mitchell in his rookie season and eventually develop into a fearful superstar.
Season highlights with Alabama: here.
Kevin Knox
I am of the belief that Jayson Tatum will be a Hall-of-Famer one day. I also think that Kevin Knox’s game is extremely similar to Tatum’s game. Therefore, Knox could wind up as a HOF, too. Alright, biases aside, this kid––who isn’t even 19 yet––will showcase his advanced talents on offense immediately. Like Tatum, he stands at 6’8-9” and has a sweet midrange pull-up, a smooth 3-point shot, crafty finishes around the rim, mesmerizing fadeaways, and he will give you the occasional thunderous slam dunk. Now, he wasn’t as dominant as Tatum was in college; nonetheless, it wasn’t all his fault since he played on a Kentucky team that had at least half-a-dozen future NBA players, which contributed to his stunted development. But that can easily change once he enters the Association, especially if he gets drafted to a team that won’t demand everything from him right away, just like how Tatum got to play loosely with Boston behind Irving and a team-first veteran big man in Al Horford. However, even if he is asked to be “the man” from the start, he’ll be given the opportunity to expedite his ascension to dominance and stardom, as he’ll be able to go toe-to-toe against the Durants, LeBrons, Antetokounmpos, Paul Georges, Kawhis and Tatums of the world in his first season. All in all, Knox has the offensive tools and the versatile frame to be an NBA superstar, and he’s only three years older than me.
Stay tuned for my Final Mock Draft and Big Board on Wednesday and my draft reactions on Friday or Saturday.
(Stats via The Ringer and ESPN)
Kommentare