Which class had better top 3 (2014 vs 2015)

[Geaux_Hawks]

Went with 2015 simply because Mudiay should be in the top 3 over KAT. Also, the 2014 class had the athletes, but I think 2015 is more skilled and talented. 2014 has the highest ceiling most likely, while 2015 has the higher floor. I think I would rather have the higher floor, if we assume both have high ceilings regardless.

[californiadude]

Well I have Okafor ahead of everyone, from both classes, but then I have Wiggins and Parker ahead of the others, so is tough, I'd say is kind of even, although my top3 is slightly different, so I am comparing,

Okafor, Mudiay, Russell

But still, the easiest thing will be to compare consensus top7,

Okafor, Mudiay, Russell, Towns, Porzingis, Winslow, Hezonja

with

Embiid, Wiggins, Parker, Exum, Smart, Randle, Gordon or Vonleh

And overall I will go with 2015

That's interesting, Okafor doesn't even make the top 5 for me if I combine both classes.

[princeofpalace]

Wiggins
Russell
Towns
Okafor
Parker
Embiid

[Barnsey]

If I were to rank those 15, pre-draft of course

Okafor
Wiggins
Parker
Embiid
Exum
Mudiay
Russell
Towns
Porzingis
Winslow
Hezonja
Smart
Randle
Vonleh
Gordon

Wow, Towns down below Exum/Parker/Mudiay at #8. Would be interested to hear your explanation..

[reanimator]

Embiid
Wiggins
Towns
Okafor
Mudiay
Russell
Exum
Parker

[djphan]

If I were to rank those 15, pre-draft of course

Okafor
Wiggins
Parker
Embiid
Exum
Mudiay
Russell
Towns
Porzingis
Winslow
Hezonja
Smart
Randle
Vonleh
Gordon

Wow, Towns down below Exum/Parker/Mudiay at #8. Would be interested to hear your explanation..

don't bother... he's a bit out there...

[Marcus]

If I were to rank those 15, pre-draft of course

Okafor
Wiggins
Parker
Embiid
Exum
Mudiay
Russell
Towns
Porzingis
Winslow
Hezonja
Smart
Randle
Vonleh
Gordon

Wow, Towns down below Exum/Parker/Mudiay at #8. Would be interested to hear your explanation..

yeah Fisch is pretty low on Towns.

[misterrunon]

I don't see superstars out of the big three in 2015. None of the three are freak athletes. I see guys making a few all star teams and being solid players. Wiggins and Embiid have the chance to be superstars.

Is every star in the league a freak athlete? I can only name 2 or 3 top 10 players who are freaks.. Lebron, AD and Westbrook. Don't forget that guys like KD, Harden, CP3 and Curry exist.

The rest are average or slightly above, but that's it. People overrated athleticism way too much.

[wolves_89]

Wiggins
Healthy Embiid (hypothetically)
Towns
Okafor
Actual Embiid (taking into account his real history)
Parker
Russell

[No-Man]

If I were to rank those 15, pre-draft of course

Okafor
Wiggins
Parker
Embiid
Exum
Mudiay
Russell
Towns
Porzingis
Winslow
Hezonja
Smart
Randle
Vonleh
Gordon

Wow, Towns down below Exum/Parker/Mudiay at #8. Would be interested to hear your explanation..

yeah Fisch is pretty low on Towns.

I dont see how I am pretty low, I have him as a top4 prospect in this years Draft and top8 all combined with another really strong class at the top.
I like Towns, I think he is going to be an All Star big if he doesnt get any injury issues, I just believe there are guys with higher potential than him, that is basically a Horford/PGasol type, love those players as well, and I like KAT, but I am all in for the highest ceiling in the Draft process, unless I dont believe some players will reach it, or they have any suspicious background, mentally or physicalluy.

[Marcus]

Wow, Towns down below Exum/Parker/Mudiay at #8. Would be interested to hear your explanation..

yeah Fisch is pretty low on Towns.

I dont see how I am pretty low, I have him as a top4 prospect in this years Draft and top8 all combined with another really strong class at the top.
I like Towns, I think he is going to be an All Star big if he doesnt get any injury issues, I just believe there are guys with higher potential than him, that is basically a Horford/PGasol type, love those players as well, and I like KAT, but I am all in for the highest ceiling in the Draft process, unless I dont believe some players will reach it, or they have any suspicious background, mentally or physicalluy.

low by comparison to the general pop sir.

[No-Man]

Well if it is compared to people that expect him to be the new AD/LMA or something like that, yes, I am low compared to them.

[HotelVitale]

I don't see superstars out of the big three in 2015. None of the three are freak athletes. I see guys making a few all star teams and being solid players. Wiggins and Embiid have the chance to be superstars.

Is every star in the league a freak athlete? I can only name 2 or 3 top 10 players who are freaks.. Lebron, AD and Westbrook. Don't forget that guys like KD, Harden, CP3 and Curry exist.
The rest are average or slightly above, but that's it. People overrated athleticism way too much.

The easiest way to become a star is to be a freak athlete, so they're the safest prospects. Guys like TMac, Paul George, Bledsoe, Ibaka, etc have became stars in the league because they slapped some solid skills on top of their athleticism. Athletes who aren't yet stars were some of the best investments over the last couple decades. Teams don't tend to rate athleticism as highly now as a decade ago--Drummond fell, Oubre isn't a likely top-8 pick, Lavine wasn't a top-10 guy, etc--but it's still important.

The examples you list are all very rare examples of near genius athletes who perfect a core of extremely difficult skills and can use them while playing at a super quick pace. Those 4 guys are masters of the game: they can kill you in many ways, always have a counter move, they can always compensate. (Aside from Curry, the other three also have pretty great physcial profiles: KD has freaky length for a SF, Harden is super strong for someone as quick and agile as he is, CP3 is very strong and was very explosive as a draft pick.) Russell has a chance to be one of those guys this year, but development of that kind of mastery is unpredictable and it usually takes a few years. Brandon Roy had basically reached that level, while Rubio disappointed people who thought he was one of those guys.

[dolphinatik]

too early but id go 2014. Towns is a beast but all 3 2014 might be solid.

[Patsfan1081]

I think draft express' ratings were spot on (except for Winslow, I think he's a little overated because of the tourney). I would take Wiggins, Parker, and Embiid befor Okefor. I just don't think Okefor or Towns could be a top five at their position while last year has potential for all three. This was draftexpress' rankings of the top seven each year. It seems to be spot on for me, I would rather have Randle or Smart over Porzingis or Mario. Last year a lot of people had Vonleh going higher, he put up impressive stats in limited minutes.

Parker 100 Towns 98
Embiid 100 Okefor 98
Wiggins 99 Russel 98
Smart 96 Mundaiy 98
Randle 96 Winslow 97
Exum 95 Porzingis 95
Vonleh 95 Mario 94

[Zagor]

Embiid(this guy will be monster)
Wiggins
Towns
D'Angelo
Jabari
Okafor
Exum
Mudiay

I think 2014. class is a little bit stronger. Especially if Exum continue to evolve.

[brackdan70]

Top3 was clearly better last year. Injuries have clouded the judgment of some of you , however after this draft feels way deeper IMO. I think if they were all in the same year with no Injuries.
Wiggins
Embiid
Towns
Parker
Russell
Okafor

[dham1974]

How does anyone put Embiid ahead of Wiggins? Are we forgetting that one is prone to injuries?