The future is not looking good so far for the top 2020 NBA draftees

[WestGOAT]

I know it's barely been two years, but despite the short timespan I think you can get a pretty decent vision of the quality of a draft moving forward, and boy does it look rough for most of the top draft picks.

Except for Edwards and LaMelo, all the other top 10 draft picks are actually looking like busts. Busts in a sense that I don't see them even as long-term role players, which is the least you could hope for such high draft picks.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what have the likes of Wiseman, Patrick Williams, Okoro, Okungwo, Hayes, Obi Topping, and Avdija been doing? Or am I being too premature/harsh?

[kuclas]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

[UcanUwill]

James Wiseman is big and athletic, still very young, I dont think he will be bust at all in a few years

Patrick Williams will be very good soon

Onyeka Okongwu - future DPOY candidate maybe

Deni Avdija - great defender with playmaking. Future Draymond?

Yes, OP, you are being very premature.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

Legit chance there’s no all-nba player from this draft but let’s see how it plays out.

[Badly Browned]

Complete busts (no long term role players) is definitely premature. Like, even for Wiseman, as long as he gets healthy, he'll be in the NBA for a while just because he's 7'1" and athletic.

Not every draft is gonna look like how the 2021 draft looks like so far.

[jokeboy86]

Legit chance there’s no all-nba player from this draft but let’s see how it plays out.

Wow not even Melo or Edwards? I think Edwards could possibly sneak onto the 3rd team one of these years because it's not like SG is so deep nowadays. You may be right about Melo though on the all-NBA because I can't determine what is his ceiling statistically and pgs like him really don't make the All-NBA anymore. Unless he joins up with another star and they end up with like that conference's best record or something.

[Stalwart]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

[JShuttlesworth]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

1996 was also a strong draft even outside of Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Allen, Abdur Rahim, Walker, Peja, Jermaine O'Neal. Both Iverson and Allen fit the 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA criteria. Camby was also a rock solid defensive player, including DPOY and 4x All-Defense.

1997 you've got Duncan, McGrady, Billups, who all fit the criteria.

1998 you've got Carter, Dirk, and Pierce all in the Top 10, they all fit the criteria.

So yah, there's lots of examples of strong drafts over the years.

[Knightfall]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

96 was much more than just Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Marbury, Allen, Walker, Peja, Rahim, J. O'neal, Kittles, Big Z, Delk, Malik Rose, Othella Harrington, Shandon Anderson.

[UcanUwill]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

1996 was also a strong draft even outside of Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Allen, Abdur Rahim, Walker, Peja, Jermaine O'Neal. Both Iverson and Allen fit the 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA criteria. Camby was also a rock solid defensive player, including DPOY and 4x All-Defense.

1997 you've got Duncan, McGrady, Billups, who all fit the criteria.

1998 you've got Carter, Dirk, and Pierce all in the Top 10, they all fit the criteria.

So yah, there's lots of examples of strong drafts over the years.

Well guys, OP was only talking about TOp 10. 2020 had Haliburton, Maxey, Cole Anthony, Desmond Bane outside top 10, this class will be just fine

[Stalwart]

Not every draft can be like 1984, 2003 with 4-5 nba hall of famers in the top 10 of the draft

Go down the last 40 years of nba drafts and find one top 10 draft class with 3 or more players who make at least 5 nba all star games and 2 all nba teams. I think that’s a good criteria.

Name me any other draft besides those two draft classes.

Some people will say 1996 class also cause of Kobe and nash. But Kobe and nash were selected outside the top 10.

So stop complaining. 2020 draft class is alright. Not great but not 2000/2013 bad.

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

1996 was also a strong draft even outside of Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Allen, Abdur Rahim, Walker, Peja, Jermaine O'Neal. Both Iverson and Allen fit the 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA criteria. Camby was also a rock solid defensive player, including DPOY and 4x All-Defense.

1997 you've got Duncan, McGrady, Billups, who all fit the criteria.

1998 you've got Carter, Dirk, and Pierce all in the Top 10, they all fit the criteria.

So yah, there's lots of examples of strong drafts over the years.

I think 83-87, 95-98, and 08-13 are probably the best stretches of NBA draft classes. 91-94 doesn't get mentioned much due to all the injuries. But we were getting 2 to 3 ready made superstars every draft during that period.

[JShuttlesworth]

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

1996 was also a strong draft even outside of Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Allen, Abdur Rahim, Walker, Peja, Jermaine O'Neal. Both Iverson and Allen fit the 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA criteria. Camby was also a rock solid defensive player, including DPOY and 4x All-Defense.

1997 you've got Duncan, McGrady, Billups, who all fit the criteria.

1998 you've got Carter, Dirk, and Pierce all in the Top 10, they all fit the criteria.

So yah, there's lots of examples of strong drafts over the years.

Well guys, OP was only talking about TOp 10. 2020 had Haliburton, Maxey, Cole Anthony, Desmond Bane outside top 10, this class will be just fine

So 1997 and 1998 apply. I don't know why Camby would be ignored inn 1996 though, he was a great defensive player, 4x All-Defense and DPOY has to count for something.

But yes, I don't think 2020 is historically bad or anything

[JShuttlesworth]

2008
Russell Westbrook - 9xAS, 9xAN
Kevin Love - 5xAS, 2xAN
Derrick Rose - MVP

2009
Steph Curry - 8xAS, 8xAN
James Harden - 10xAS, 7xAN
Blake Griffin - 6xAS, 5xAN
Denar Derozan - 5xAS, 3xAN

2010
Paul George - 7xAS, 6xAN
John Wall - 5xAS, 1xAN
Demarcus Cousins - 4xAS, 2xAN

2011
Kawhi Leonard - 5xAS, 5xAN
Jimmy Butler - 6xAS, 4xAN
Kyrie Irving - 7xAS, 5xAN
Klay Thompson - 5xAS, 2xAN
Kemba Walker - 4xAS, 1xAN

2012
Anthony Davis - 8xAS, 4xAN
Damien Lillard - 6xAS, 6xAN
Draymond Green - 4xAS, 2xAN

1996 was also a strong draft even outside of Kobe and Nash. Iverson, Camby, Allen, Abdur Rahim, Walker, Peja, Jermaine O'Neal. Both Iverson and Allen fit the 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA criteria. Camby was also a rock solid defensive player, including DPOY and 4x All-Defense.

1997 you've got Duncan, McGrady, Billups, who all fit the criteria.

1998 you've got Carter, Dirk, and Pierce all in the Top 10, they all fit the criteria.

So yah, there's lots of examples of strong drafts over the years.

I think 83-87, 95-98, and 08-13 are probably the best stretches of NBA draft classes. 91-94 doesn't get mentioned much due to all the injuries. But we were getting 2 to 3 ready made superstars every draft during that period.

I cant remember off hand but in my mind 2000 / 2001 / 2002 were all pretty weak.

[Trey24]

Legit chance there’s no all-nba player from this draft but let’s see how it plays out.

Wow not even Melo or Edwards? I think Edwards could possibly sneak onto the 3rd team one of these years because it's not like SG is so deep nowadays. You may be right about Melo though on the all-NBA because I can't determine what is his ceiling statistically and pgs like him really don't make the All-NBA anymore. Unless he joins up with another star and they end up with like that conference's best record or something.

PGs like Lamelo that can score, rebound, assist, steal, deflect and has the length to be a good defender with more reps don't make the All NBA team anymore????? Damn, what league you watching?

I think Edwards could be All NBA too.

[DaGawd]

Watch on YouTube

Obi had a strong finish to this past season when Randle sat out the last few games. I’ve been far from his biggest supporter BUTTT I’m willing to acknowledge he’s been in a less than ideal situation playing behind presumably the Knicks best player in Randle and a stubborn head coach like Thibs who plays him spot minutes even when he’s having a decent game and panics and yanks him the minute he makes a mistake in the few breather minutes Randle gets in the bench. Thibs admitted at the end of the year he could’ve managed it all better so I’m curious to see how Obi might look with increased usage and role. Definitely needs to develop some go to moves but if he can shoot the way he did to end the season he has a pretty solid foundation to work with coupled with his athleticism in transition

[jokeboy86]

Legit chance there’s no all-nba player from this draft but let’s see how it plays out.

Wow not even Melo or Edwards? I think Edwards could possibly sneak onto the 3rd team one of these years because it's not like SG is so deep nowadays. You may be right about Melo though on the all-NBA because I can't determine what is his ceiling statistically and pgs like him really don't make the All-NBA anymore. Unless he joins up with another star and they end up with like that conference's best record or something.

PGs like Lamelo that can score, rebound, assist, steal, deflect and has the length to be a good defender with more reps don't make the All NBA team anymore????? Damn, what league you watching?

I think Edwards could be All NBA too.

Melo is not a score first pg and in this era if you're not a score-first pg you either better be on a team that finishes high in the conference(Lowry/Rondo/Wall) or you're Chris Paul and even then I don't know if Lamelo can be as efficient offensively as Paul was. He'll make plenty of All-star games though but that's different than All-NBA. Just look at the All-NBA guards for the past ten years and you'll see my point.

[cupcakesnake]

Too soon. A lot of these guys are still showing a lot of promise. Some are looking like probable disappointment (sorry Killian, I loved thee well). Also I feel OP you might have forgot about a bunch of names?

It's not just Melo and Edwards this year, a bunch of guys became seriously productive starters this year: Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Cole Anthony

I see no reason to give up yet on:
- Okongwu: looked awesome when he got minutes this season.
- Patrick Williams: injury wiped out this season but he's still the biggest part of Chicago's hopes and dreams.
- Jalen Smith: got written off in his first year but quietly played quite well.
- Devin Vassell: looks on track to become at least a very good starter
- Saddiq Bey: awful shooting plagued Detroit as a whole but he still looks like a great draft pick.
- Precious Achiwa: started the season pretty awful, but in the second half he was knocking down 3s and was one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA (he was drawing major defensive assignments over guys like OG, Barnes, and Siakam)
- Jaden McDaniels: another slow start but Minny fans are still super high on him.

[AdamTH21]

The talent pool isn't hugely broad, but to write off most of the top guys as busts after a whopping 2 years of NBA experience is just plain weird. A draft class is only as good as the public hype it up to be in comparison to other, or in some cases, more recent classes. These guys are two years into their careers. They're still babies. If you look at these guys through tunnel vision, I'm really not seeing how you can decide this class is a write-off. A lot of them have been victims of being drafted to less-than-ideal teams or not staying healthy.

Edwards - Will be an all star next year.
Wiseman - Unlucky with injuries, will still be prominent within the league for his athletic presence alone even if he doesn't develop much as an actual player.
LaMelo - Already an all-star, has made Charlotte the most relevant they've been in a long time.
Williams - Very good player, unlucky with injuries.
Okoro - He's fine. From what I've seen he's a pretty solid 3 and D player and Cleveland is a nice spot for him to develop.
Okongwu - Crazy underrated, unfortunate that he's behind Capela in the rotation.
Hayes - No argument here, he sucks.
Toppin - Again, kind of unfortunate circumstance. His rookie season he was stuck with limited playing time behind All-NBA Randle. Will still bounce around the league even if he doesn't develop as a player due to his athletic ability.
Avdija - Nice enough player.
Smith - Another victim of circumstance regarding playing behind Ayton. Didn't see much of him for Indiana but the numbers aren't awful.

If we're focusing on just the top 10, then yeah, it's not as glamorous as some other recent classes, but after two years it's way to soon to pass judgement.

[DeBrick]

Okoro and Obi Toppin at least are definitely NOT busts IMO. Wiseman still too early to judge

[DaGawd]

Watch on YouTube

This is now the Obi Toppin highlights thread

I really hope we either trade Randle or let them play together more next season