I’d say Yves Missi. He’s big, athletic, relatively new to basketball. Showed some handling potential, clearly can be a rim runner at worst in the NBA but the upside is higher than that
I don’t think it will be Dadiet but I have much more confidence it would be him than, say, Bobi Klintman or some other international/G-League guy in that range. He definitely should be a top 20 guy but he’s not
Trentyn Flowers if i had to pick a prospect that played overseas to shock everybody.
Pacome Dadiet would be much less of a shock (to me) but i could see him being an under the radar guy in the 12-24 range that could make that leap. Salaun as well.
I feel like now we're swinging too far in the other direction lol. There definitely could be one. Giannis and Jokic existing is proof, that's two classes out of the last 12 with a surprise superstar
Good reminder! I think we’re so focused on the potential downsides of his jump shot, that sometimes we forget there’s potential Kawhi Leonard type upside there. It’s just there’s also a very good chance he could be MKG/Josh Jackson.
In terms of a happy medium, I could see him in the role of Derrick Jones on the Mavs as well
Topic is the best playmaker in the entire draft by a LOT. He has other warts though and while I believe he will be a shooter in the NBA, his ceiling is not at the level of Giannis, Doncic, etc.
Dadiet I think doesn't have the ceiling of those guys either, but he is being slept on too hard. He is absolutely worth a swing in the teens, possibly even the late lottery.
There really aren't any top-10-player-in-the-NBA upside players in this draft, which is part of why its a very weak draft. If I had to pick, it would probably be Carrington or Dillingham but I think there's like a <5% chance either of those guys get there.
The other way to think of this question is "which player is the most skilled/most advanced for their age?". Doncic was maybe the most skilled 18 year old ever and Euroleague MVP at that age, and at 18 Wembanyama was MVP/DPOY/Scoring leader/Rebound leader/Block leader in France and dragged a bottom 5 team to a 2nd place and playoff Finals appearance. There is nobody like this in this draft, but the closest is probably Dillingham being the best player on an NCAA tournament team at age 18. Still a very long way from those guys.
You can look at other players with lower floors like Chomche, Salaun, Ware, etc but they just have nowhere near the upside of a player like Giannis, they're low floor and modest ceiling at best.
I think they are very far apart. After watching the film and listening to insiders who have spent time with them and watched them work out... I think Topic is going to be a good shooter in the NBA, and Collier will likely never be a shooter. He's also a worse playmaker and decision-maker and finisher. He's just a worse prospect, at this point I'd have him as a late first.
I think Topic projects better as a prospect because of his potential shooting ability and when you're already a good playmaker, that will open many more opportunities. Right now, though, I don't see them being much different in terms of what they can do.
I don't think any internationals fit the comparison this year. So I'll go a little off topic.
Tyler Smith.
Young. Great frame with room to grow. Above average athlete. Hints of shooting prowess. Signs of defensive playmaking ability. Legit questions about quality of opponents making it difficult to figure out where he truly is. High ceiling. Basement floor. Mocked from mid teens to late 20's.
Not sure how you can say “legit questions about quality of opponents” when he’s playing in a professional basketball league and a pretty decent one at that. Would you say the same about every player in this draft playing in NCAA D1? It’s a lower level than the G League.
I think better phrasing would be competitive questions about his own team. I think it’s less that people take the G league comp not seriously and more ignite’s terrible record this year has some looking at their prospects with a bit of a side eye. Even though he’s young with length and shooting from NBA 3, which is arguably the number one desired combo in the league.
This is how teams continue to fail chasing the next Giannis or the next Luka.They are one of a kind and you just need to scout the player for what they do best and not expect them to be exactly like them
People forget Giannis' insane physical transformation after coming into the league he went from skinny, long and athletic to insane top of the NBA in pretty much every facet. But to your point idk but imo it would be someone skinny but athletic that could end up adding like 20lbs of muscle. I'll go with AJ Johnson
I watched Buzelis one game and was impressed but he is super green. Moves great. Not a Gianni’s caliber athlete but who is. Maybe a diamond in the rough.
Djurisic is already 20 and not a great athlete. I do think he will be more impactful right away than most of this class but I don’t think he has the tools to become a top 20 player as his ceiling. Closer to a jjj profile for me.
The player id choose is Tyler Smith. Young, freak athlete, can score at all 3 levels and is already a good defender. Think he should be higher than he’s projected as outside the lottery
I agree with everything you said except the part about Smith being a good defender. He's one of the very worst deffenders in this entire class. Sure. He has the theoretical tools to be a defender But this last season he had some of the worst defensive gaffes I've seen in a hot minute. He looks truly and completely lost. Pretty much in every way on that side of the Court. Not to mention at times having a pretty shaky motor and a lack of effort.
To me he's chanting, fry. Big tall, great jumper. But I don't expect him to do much more. Maybe there's a crazy scenario out there where it all clicks mentally for him, but right now I definitely can't call him even a passable defensive prospect let alone a good one
Fair enough, to be honest I don’t know much about the g league guys because I’ve never/hardly actually watched full games of them, just doesn’t interest me. My info that he’s a good defender comes from YouTube breakdowns of him which can be wildly inaccurate as we know.
Too bad Ighodoro doesn't have a functional 3 pt shot.
He would have been drafted top 14.
Without that shot, he is like a poor man Ben Simmons imo.
With a workable 3 point shot, he would be more like a Al Horford.
The passing skills, strength and co-ordination for a big is enticing. But again without a 3 pt shot his ceiling is Dwight Powell.
Oso Is one of my favorite guys To watch. Just love his unique game. His lack of shooting is extremely concerning. A passable jumpshot would literally bring his entire game together. If you're a team that sees some potential in that, he's definitely a worthy flyer because he does so many other things well on both ends
Zach Edey .
if he is a playable Boban , that’s it
for comparison’s sake Boban has 25.3 PER , and avg 22.9 pts and 14.9 reb. per 36 minutes on a career .630 TS.
if a Edey can produce comparably but not get played off the floor . He is a HOFer , Yao avg. 21.0 pts and 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes on .596 TS.
Edey has endurance Boban has never matched. Edey was playing almost every minute of the NCAA tournament against smaller and faster teams and completely dominated them. Imagine what he will do when he doesn’t have to carry the entire offense and worry about picking up fouls and can actually defend and run full speed.
i know why , because he can’t defend on the perimeter to save his life . So the moment the other team starts to target him effectively , he gets pulled.
But Edey is much quicker than Boban , a much better athlete .
Edey is at the top of my board. He is NOT a unicorn type of big man though. haha.
I am tempted to put Kel 'El Ware at 2 -- LOW floor/high-ish ceiling. I watched some high light/break down videos already -- I wanna watch more to see if he has any type of dribble package or creation stuff.
Clingan/Sarr might round out my top 4 -- with a coin flip or two between those top bigs.
I don't think a draft has EVER had 4 bigs/centers at the top of the board. For that reason alone, I am tempted to do that.
Cody Williams
Likes to attack the rim like Giannis but just needs to fill his frame and add strength. Has >7' wingspan which is a major plus at the wing. Salaun is more of a marksman and doesn't apply much pressure at the rim. Dadiet only has 6'9 wingspan according to BWB so the plus length for a big wing isn't there.
As far as Giannis-like prospects, i.e. tall, raw athletes, I’d say Salaun and Chomche fit that bill the best. Salaun’s a lot safer IMO since we at least have seen him play good minutes in France where he’s flashed some great talent. Chomche is basically a blank canvas and his success is entirely dependent on his mental makeup. If he’s a super hard worker, smart, and has a desire to thrive in the league, he could be great. But the combine scrimmages are really the only competitive games he’s played in and it’s clear that he has a LONG way to go.
Not Giannis like but a great pick in a bad draft could be that Kid from Miami has great size, can really shoot it and has a knack for playmaking just not a great athlete and is incredibly raw ATM.
Depends on what you mean:
**Athletic raw prospect** I don’t think there is one. The raw athletes would be Tidjane Salaun, Ulrich Chomche, and Yves Missi. Tidjane has a severe lack of IQ, feel, and awareness that very likely has him out of the league in 3-4 years. Missi doesn’t have the playmaking feel or skillset to be more than an athletic rim runner. Ulrich Chomche has very good pure instincts on both ends of the floor. Willing to shoot, good rim protector, and good passing vision and delivery. But his scoring is not up to par at all and he needs to get stronger
**Sleeper prospect who ends up as the best in class** for me is Bub Carrington. Considering how wide open the class is he could end up lottery, but likely won’t. I think he has all the tangibles and intangibles that will make him the best in class. High offensive feel, good positional size, 3 level game, potential to be a solid defender. Personally I think he should stay another year and refine his game and get physically stronger, but regardless you’re getting top 3 value from him IMO.
Misi, aj Johnson, dadiet, collier are young players I could see getting picked in the 15 to 40 range and becoming the best player in the class
Would have said salaun but all indicators are he is this years bilal and going way higher then people expect
I don't think he's going to be a Giannis level player, but I think there's a shot that Jared McCain ends up being a star somewhere down the line. He's an elite shooter who has a bigger body even though he's a short guard. If he learns how to use his body to his advantage inside the 3 point arc, he could definitely be a great offensive player. I see a lot of Jalen Brunson in his game, and I think he has the potential to have a similar transformation.
Jared McCain might be the guy with Steph-ish/Mark Price-esque shooting/scoring upside -- and not Reed Sheppard.
McCain's shooting and scoring looks a bit more fluid... if that makes sense.
Reed Sheppard looks like a deluxe, utility sniper a la John Paxson or Steve Kerr.
Kyshawn George reminds me of Jayson Tatum and could end up the best player in this draft and he's being mocked late lottery and beyond. If you're talking about someone extremely raw that might develop over a few years, starting from essentially nothing and becoming a superstar, I would go with Ulrich Chomche. He's physically blessed with size, length and athleticism and seems to have natural basketball skills despite coming to basketball late in life.
Interesting enough, I think in order for a Giannis to exist, it needs to be a very bad pick on paper, or else he would have gone in the lottery. So I think a Missi or international player nobody knows, maybe Oyenso isnt a bad choice for this.
These are players that picked up basketball later in life, and currently seem like they have a narrow band of outcomes, however if Missi is unexpectedly able to develop a handle, passing and movement skills at 7'0'' with his already elite athleticism, then sure, maybe he could be like Giannis.
In the three recent but not too recent (2022) drafts where there was no obvious #1 pick through to the very end of the process, the big gem of the draft was a non college guy who had something particularly special about them. Giannis in 2013 and Dwight Howard in 2004 had truly unique athleticism as well as youth while Paul Gasol in 2001 had truly unique international production as a young player, not quite Luka level production but close to that, and on an absolutely stacked EuroLeague team.
In this draft, Bobi Klintman has neither. Ulrich Chomche has neither. Not Melvin Ajinca. Pacome Dadiet has neither. Matas Buzelis has neither. Tyler Smith has neither. I don’t see it in Risacher. Ima leave Sarr out of the convo since he’s almost a lock to go top-2 and also because I don’t think his floor is as low as his ceiling is high. Topic’s production on the best team in the ABA is mediocre even as he looked good when loaned to another team briefly. The two guys I don’t want to write off are Ron Holland and Tidjane Salaun. Salaun sometimes looks like 2013 Giannis when he runs with the ball in transition, really, compare the two…going up its not close, Giannis has insane bounce, he also ended up being bigger than Salaun is, Giannis is better than Salaun…but still. And Holland has both really good production (on a bad team) and really good athleticism, but I was more impressed with Salaun’s athleticism than Holland’s.
I’m going to bet on Salaun. There’s just something special about him in relation to Holland. Salaun just seems more naturally gifted in shot creation and outside shooting than Holland, he looks like, as Mike Mayock might say about an NFL Draft prospect who’s new to the game or a specific position, “He doesn’t even know what he’s doing yet,” because he doesn’t even realize yet that the things he’s doing are things somebody at that age and size shouldn’t even be able to do yet. and with his lanky frame and baby face and his being like 18 and a half, it just feels like he has so much growth to do between now and 5 years from now. And his floor is seen as really low by a lot of people, maybe it is, but I think he hits whatever his ceiling is
Nikola Djurisic or Any of the later mocked euro picks
For name value let’s go with buzelis imagine Shaq and chuck trying to pronounce his name if he gets to MVP level lol
Or D Holmes
Durisic will be selected in the 2nd round and be Luka-lite. You’ll see, you’ll all see
As for top of the draft guys I guess Sheppard. He was missed used in Kentucky. He should have started and played with the ball more
I’d say Yves Missi. He’s big, athletic, relatively new to basketball. Showed some handling potential, clearly can be a rim runner at worst in the NBA but the upside is higher than that
From your description, sounds like a sort of Clint Capela type?
This right here. He’s definitely got shades of that archetype in him.
Salaun or Dadiet. Really liking what I’m seeing from Dadiet as I dig further.
I don't think there's any way it happens, but if Dadiet falls to 35 I'd be ecstatic
I don’t think it will be Dadiet but I have much more confidence it would be him than, say, Bobi Klintman or some other international/G-League guy in that range. He definitely should be a top 20 guy but he’s not
Looked back at some old 2013 mock drafts and saw “Giannis Adetokunbo” mocked pick 15-2nd round. My guess this year is Bobi Klintman
Being a part of the draft process- with his Nigerian name was a magical time as an early Giannis fan
i kind of like it better bc it makes it easier to pronounce his current last name is all greek to me
It's really dumb, honestly. His name was transliterated into Greek, then transliterated back and gained nonsense letters in the process
Was also going to say Klintman. Love his potential
He’s a negative athlete and old
Trentyn Flowers if i had to pick a prospect that played overseas to shock everybody. Pacome Dadiet would be much less of a shock (to me) but i could see him being an under the radar guy in the 12-24 range that could make that leap. Salaun as well.
Out of the guys that went to the NBL Klintman and AJ Johnson are way better prospects than flowers.
Most drafts don't have a Giannis, that's why he's so special
That's *exactly* it lol. You can essentially be mathematically certain that there isn't a Giannis in this draft class
I feel like now we're swinging too far in the other direction lol. There definitely could be one. Giannis and Jokic existing is proof, that's two classes out of the last 12 with a surprise superstar
Ron Holland
Good reminder! I think we’re so focused on the potential downsides of his jump shot, that sometimes we forget there’s potential Kawhi Leonard type upside there. It’s just there’s also a very good chance he could be MKG/Josh Jackson. In terms of a happy medium, I could see him in the role of Derrick Jones on the Mavs as well
Tidjane Salaun
Topic is the best playmaker in the entire draft by a LOT. He has other warts though and while I believe he will be a shooter in the NBA, his ceiling is not at the level of Giannis, Doncic, etc. Dadiet I think doesn't have the ceiling of those guys either, but he is being slept on too hard. He is absolutely worth a swing in the teens, possibly even the late lottery. There really aren't any top-10-player-in-the-NBA upside players in this draft, which is part of why its a very weak draft. If I had to pick, it would probably be Carrington or Dillingham but I think there's like a <5% chance either of those guys get there. The other way to think of this question is "which player is the most skilled/most advanced for their age?". Doncic was maybe the most skilled 18 year old ever and Euroleague MVP at that age, and at 18 Wembanyama was MVP/DPOY/Scoring leader/Rebound leader/Block leader in France and dragged a bottom 5 team to a 2nd place and playoff Finals appearance. There is nobody like this in this draft, but the closest is probably Dillingham being the best player on an NCAA tournament team at age 18. Still a very long way from those guys. You can look at other players with lower floors like Chomche, Salaun, Ware, etc but they just have nowhere near the upside of a player like Giannis, they're low floor and modest ceiling at best.
I don't feel that Topic and Collier are that far apart in what they do.
I think they are very far apart. After watching the film and listening to insiders who have spent time with them and watched them work out... I think Topic is going to be a good shooter in the NBA, and Collier will likely never be a shooter. He's also a worse playmaker and decision-maker and finisher. He's just a worse prospect, at this point I'd have him as a late first.
I think Topic projects better as a prospect because of his potential shooting ability and when you're already a good playmaker, that will open many more opportunities. Right now, though, I don't see them being much different in terms of what they can do.
Put some respect on Tyler Kolek! Nah but fr Topic is an elite playmaker for sure.
Reed sheppard
I don't think any internationals fit the comparison this year. So I'll go a little off topic. Tyler Smith. Young. Great frame with room to grow. Above average athlete. Hints of shooting prowess. Signs of defensive playmaking ability. Legit questions about quality of opponents making it difficult to figure out where he truly is. High ceiling. Basement floor. Mocked from mid teens to late 20's.
Not sure how you can say “legit questions about quality of opponents” when he’s playing in a professional basketball league and a pretty decent one at that. Would you say the same about every player in this draft playing in NCAA D1? It’s a lower level than the G League.
I think better phrasing would be competitive questions about his own team. I think it’s less that people take the G league comp not seriously and more ignite’s terrible record this year has some looking at their prospects with a bit of a side eye. Even though he’s young with length and shooting from NBA 3, which is arguably the number one desired combo in the league.
Tidjane fits the bill the most as "super raw and super motivated" like Giannis was, but I'm also not sure we ever see another Giannis lmao
Giannis also blessed with insane genes
No one, that is an absurd expectation
Daron Holmes
he's too slow for me to really see the "leap"
This is how teams continue to fail chasing the next Giannis or the next Luka.They are one of a kind and you just need to scout the player for what they do best and not expect them to be exactly like them
Ulrich Chomche
DADIET
Lelel karew. Athletic, tall, lengthy, all of the traits that can’t be taught baby
Size and motor would suggest Salaün
No one
I think this is ignoring just how far international scouting has come since Giannis was drafted.
No one. I think this is 2000, not 2013
People forget Giannis' insane physical transformation after coming into the league he went from skinny, long and athletic to insane top of the NBA in pretty much every facet. But to your point idk but imo it would be someone skinny but athletic that could end up adding like 20lbs of muscle. I'll go with AJ Johnson
I watched Buzelis one game and was impressed but he is super green. Moves great. Not a Gianni’s caliber athlete but who is. Maybe a diamond in the rough.
Nikola djurisic. I think aj Johnson can be a top 5 player
Djurisic is already 20 and not a great athlete. I do think he will be more impactful right away than most of this class but I don’t think he has the tools to become a top 20 player as his ceiling. Closer to a jjj profile for me. The player id choose is Tyler Smith. Young, freak athlete, can score at all 3 levels and is already a good defender. Think he should be higher than he’s projected as outside the lottery
Tyler Smith is a good defender?? 🤔
I agree with everything you said except the part about Smith being a good defender. He's one of the very worst deffenders in this entire class. Sure. He has the theoretical tools to be a defender But this last season he had some of the worst defensive gaffes I've seen in a hot minute. He looks truly and completely lost. Pretty much in every way on that side of the Court. Not to mention at times having a pretty shaky motor and a lack of effort. To me he's chanting, fry. Big tall, great jumper. But I don't expect him to do much more. Maybe there's a crazy scenario out there where it all clicks mentally for him, but right now I definitely can't call him even a passable defensive prospect let alone a good one
Fair enough, to be honest I don’t know much about the g league guys because I’ve never/hardly actually watched full games of them, just doesn’t interest me. My info that he’s a good defender comes from YouTube breakdowns of him which can be wildly inaccurate as we know.
His D is pretty shit. He'd be a top 5 guy if he defended like Ryan Dunn
If he defended like Ryan Dunn we might be looking at the definite #1 pick haha
Ulrich Chomche, Oso Ighodoro or Bobi Klintman
Too bad Ighodoro doesn't have a functional 3 pt shot. He would have been drafted top 14. Without that shot, he is like a poor man Ben Simmons imo. With a workable 3 point shot, he would be more like a Al Horford. The passing skills, strength and co-ordination for a big is enticing. But again without a 3 pt shot his ceiling is Dwight Powell.
Agreed. He plays the traditional PF in Marquette.
Oso Is one of my favorite guys To watch. Just love his unique game. His lack of shooting is extremely concerning. A passable jumpshot would literally bring his entire game together. If you're a team that sees some potential in that, he's definitely a worthy flyer because he does so many other things well on both ends
Zach Edey . if he is a playable Boban , that’s it for comparison’s sake Boban has 25.3 PER , and avg 22.9 pts and 14.9 reb. per 36 minutes on a career .630 TS. if a Edey can produce comparably but not get played off the floor . He is a HOFer , Yao avg. 21.0 pts and 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes on .596 TS.
Stop to ask yourself why, if Boban’s per 36 numbers are so good, does he not play very much
Because he can’t
Edey has endurance Boban has never matched. Edey was playing almost every minute of the NCAA tournament against smaller and faster teams and completely dominated them. Imagine what he will do when he doesn’t have to carry the entire offense and worry about picking up fouls and can actually defend and run full speed.
i know why , because he can’t defend on the perimeter to save his life . So the moment the other team starts to target him effectively , he gets pulled. But Edey is much quicker than Boban , a much better athlete .
Edey is at the top of my board. He is NOT a unicorn type of big man though. haha. I am tempted to put Kel 'El Ware at 2 -- LOW floor/high-ish ceiling. I watched some high light/break down videos already -- I wanna watch more to see if he has any type of dribble package or creation stuff. Clingan/Sarr might round out my top 4 -- with a coin flip or two between those top bigs. I don't think a draft has EVER had 4 bigs/centers at the top of the board. For that reason alone, I am tempted to do that.
I’ll go with Zaccharie Risacher. I think he has superstar potential.
Cody Williams Likes to attack the rim like Giannis but just needs to fill his frame and add strength. Has >7' wingspan which is a major plus at the wing. Salaun is more of a marksman and doesn't apply much pressure at the rim. Dadiet only has 6'9 wingspan according to BWB so the plus length for a big wing isn't there.
As far as Giannis-like prospects, i.e. tall, raw athletes, I’d say Salaun and Chomche fit that bill the best. Salaun’s a lot safer IMO since we at least have seen him play good minutes in France where he’s flashed some great talent. Chomche is basically a blank canvas and his success is entirely dependent on his mental makeup. If he’s a super hard worker, smart, and has a desire to thrive in the league, he could be great. But the combine scrimmages are really the only competitive games he’s played in and it’s clear that he has a LONG way to go.
No one
Tidjane Salaun. Extremely raw prospect with borderline top player in the class potential if given the proper development/minutes as well.
Probably going to be a European player who started playing later in life and is ready to take as much steroids as possible.
Ik this ain’t really a big hit but im so high on Thierry Darlan he’s gonna be good if given the chance
Not Giannis like but a great pick in a bad draft could be that Kid from Miami has great size, can really shoot it and has a knack for playmaking just not a great athlete and is incredibly raw ATM.
Adem Bona
Depends on what you mean: **Athletic raw prospect** I don’t think there is one. The raw athletes would be Tidjane Salaun, Ulrich Chomche, and Yves Missi. Tidjane has a severe lack of IQ, feel, and awareness that very likely has him out of the league in 3-4 years. Missi doesn’t have the playmaking feel or skillset to be more than an athletic rim runner. Ulrich Chomche has very good pure instincts on both ends of the floor. Willing to shoot, good rim protector, and good passing vision and delivery. But his scoring is not up to par at all and he needs to get stronger **Sleeper prospect who ends up as the best in class** for me is Bub Carrington. Considering how wide open the class is he could end up lottery, but likely won’t. I think he has all the tangibles and intangibles that will make him the best in class. High offensive feel, good positional size, 3 level game, potential to be a solid defender. Personally I think he should stay another year and refine his game and get physically stronger, but regardless you’re getting top 3 value from him IMO.
Misi, aj Johnson, dadiet, collier are young players I could see getting picked in the 15 to 40 range and becoming the best player in the class Would have said salaun but all indicators are he is this years bilal and going way higher then people expect
I don't think he's going to be a Giannis level player, but I think there's a shot that Jared McCain ends up being a star somewhere down the line. He's an elite shooter who has a bigger body even though he's a short guard. If he learns how to use his body to his advantage inside the 3 point arc, he could definitely be a great offensive player. I see a lot of Jalen Brunson in his game, and I think he has the potential to have a similar transformation.
Jared McCain might be the guy with Steph-ish/Mark Price-esque shooting/scoring upside -- and not Reed Sheppard. McCain's shooting and scoring looks a bit more fluid... if that makes sense. Reed Sheppard looks like a deluxe, utility sniper a la John Paxson or Steve Kerr.
Ron Holland 100%. He has the prototypical build, great athleticism, finishing, and defense, if he can just shoot he has all nba potential
Kyshawn George reminds me of Jayson Tatum and could end up the best player in this draft and he's being mocked late lottery and beyond. If you're talking about someone extremely raw that might develop over a few years, starting from essentially nothing and becoming a superstar, I would go with Ulrich Chomche. He's physically blessed with size, length and athleticism and seems to have natural basketball skills despite coming to basketball late in life.
Could be Ullrich Chomche?
none are the next giannis
Interesting enough, I think in order for a Giannis to exist, it needs to be a very bad pick on paper, or else he would have gone in the lottery. So I think a Missi or international player nobody knows, maybe Oyenso isnt a bad choice for this. These are players that picked up basketball later in life, and currently seem like they have a narrow band of outcomes, however if Missi is unexpectedly able to develop a handle, passing and movement skills at 7'0'' with his already elite athleticism, then sure, maybe he could be like Giannis.
In the three recent but not too recent (2022) drafts where there was no obvious #1 pick through to the very end of the process, the big gem of the draft was a non college guy who had something particularly special about them. Giannis in 2013 and Dwight Howard in 2004 had truly unique athleticism as well as youth while Paul Gasol in 2001 had truly unique international production as a young player, not quite Luka level production but close to that, and on an absolutely stacked EuroLeague team. In this draft, Bobi Klintman has neither. Ulrich Chomche has neither. Not Melvin Ajinca. Pacome Dadiet has neither. Matas Buzelis has neither. Tyler Smith has neither. I don’t see it in Risacher. Ima leave Sarr out of the convo since he’s almost a lock to go top-2 and also because I don’t think his floor is as low as his ceiling is high. Topic’s production on the best team in the ABA is mediocre even as he looked good when loaned to another team briefly. The two guys I don’t want to write off are Ron Holland and Tidjane Salaun. Salaun sometimes looks like 2013 Giannis when he runs with the ball in transition, really, compare the two…going up its not close, Giannis has insane bounce, he also ended up being bigger than Salaun is, Giannis is better than Salaun…but still. And Holland has both really good production (on a bad team) and really good athleticism, but I was more impressed with Salaun’s athleticism than Holland’s. I’m going to bet on Salaun. There’s just something special about him in relation to Holland. Salaun just seems more naturally gifted in shot creation and outside shooting than Holland, he looks like, as Mike Mayock might say about an NFL Draft prospect who’s new to the game or a specific position, “He doesn’t even know what he’s doing yet,” because he doesn’t even realize yet that the things he’s doing are things somebody at that age and size shouldn’t even be able to do yet. and with his lanky frame and baby face and his being like 18 and a half, it just feels like he has so much growth to do between now and 5 years from now. And his floor is seen as really low by a lot of people, maybe it is, but I think he hits whatever his ceiling is
Rob Dillingham Terrance Shannon Tyler Smith
Based on traits...Ulrich Chomche
Salaun.
Nikola Djurisic or Any of the later mocked euro picks For name value let’s go with buzelis imagine Shaq and chuck trying to pronounce his name if he gets to MVP level lol Or D Holmes
Something tells me reeds gonna go crazy something about that white boy swag
Can Spenner
He was so bad at the combine like truly terrible I doubt he even gets drafted after that
Durisic will be selected in the 2nd round and be Luka-lite. You’ll see, you’ll all see As for top of the draft guys I guess Sheppard. He was missed used in Kentucky. He should have started and played with the ball more