NBA Draft Picks Have A Larger Impact Than Just Team Performance
Of all the professional sports leagues in America, the NBA is the on where a single successful draft pick can have the biggest immediate impact on a team’s fortunes. With only ten players on the court at a time-five for each team-the theory goes that the opportunity for an individual player to positively affect his team’s performance is substantially higher than in other major team sports.
Not only is the logic behind this idea solid, actual real-world results. When looking at the last twenty years of draft picks, some of the most successful teams over that span include some of the most-consistently championship-caliber teams like the Spurs, Cavaliers, and Warriors.
Two of those teams were lucky enough to secure the number one overall draft pick and select two of the best players in NBA history in Tim Duncan and LeBron James, while Golden State turned two lottery picks in to the best guard combo in the league in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Add in the success of second-round pick Draymond Green, and it becomes readily apparent just how important the draft has been in crafting the current league-altering Warriors dynasty, while Duncan and James have both reached the top of the NBA mountain multiple times since entering the league.
These recent examples of title-winning teams illustrate just how important it is for teams picking near the top of the draft to get it right and select a player that can lead their team to the promised land of a league title and all the benefits to a city and franchise that come along with it. Tonight’s draft is where teams like the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings can make themselves relevant in the league for the first time in years, so long as they get things right.
Phoenix holds the top pick and seems set on taking dynamic center Deandre Ayton from Arizona. Ayton is a physical marvel that fits the modern NBA’s mold for athletic, floor-stretching big men. Add to that his high level of production while playing in a premier conference during his one season of college ball and this has all the trappings of a sound pick for Phoenix.
From there, however, things get hazier. European guard Luka Doncic was long heralded as among the most NBA-ready prospects on earth and seen as a worthy contender to be picked as high as first overall. Conventional wisdom for months had the 6’ 8” point guard being selected no lower than second overall due to his size and incredibly well-polished game.
Now, however, it looks like Sacramento may go another direction, opting for the less-polished potential of Duke big man Marvin Bagley III, allowing Doncic to fall to the Atlanta Hawks at three or possibly lower. Regardless of the route the Kings choose to take, the impact of their choice will play a major role in shaping the future of their franchise and, potentially, the state of the league as a whole.
In today’s NBA there are only a handful of true title contenders at the start of every season, and when looking around at the franchises counted in that mix it is undeniable that succeeding in the draft is one of the most important steps towards joining that elite company.
