These NBA Rookies Could Take The League By Storm
This year’s NBA Draft class appears to be one of the more lackluster ones in recent memory, but as with any draft class, there could be a few stars that break the mold and surprise us. Even if they aren’t megastars, they could turn into big contributors for their teams soon.
1. Dalton Knecht
The Lakers added a few guys throughout the draft that could contribute, but maybe none more than Dalton Knecht. Although some teams were scared of his age, the Lakers saw no problem with Knecht being 23 years old.
Knecht had a great season at Tennessee last season, securing Consensus All-American honors to go with his First Team All-SEC selection, the SEC Player of the Year trophy, the Julius Erving Award, and being named to the NCAA Tournament All-Region team. In 36 games, Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game, good enough to lead the SC and finish eighth in the entire NCAA. Lebron James teams need shooters, and they just got a good one at pick 17.
2. Bub Carrington
Through a series of trades that are too complicated to care about because the NBA can’t just do draft trades like a normal league, The Wizards ended up selecting Pitt guard Bub Carrington with the 14th overall pick. They were also able to grab Alex Sarr earlier in the draft to form a little bit of a two-headed monster to go with Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma.
The six-foot-four guard will bring elite playmaking and above-average shooting to the Wizards. Last season at Pitt he averaged 13.8 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, and 5.2 rebounds per game, shooting 41.2% from the field and 32.2% from deep. If the Wizards can develop him properly, he could turn into a lethal combo guard in the NBA.
3. Donovan Clingan
Coming off of the National Championship runs at UConn, we’ve gotten to see a lot of Donovan Clingan in the past two years. The Trailblazers selected him seventh overall and are likely looking to him to jumpstart this rebuild. Lucky for them, the 20-year-old might be able to help out with that. Clingan’s seven-foot-seven wingspan will help him become an elite shot blocker in the league just like he was in college.
Standing at seven foot two inches and 282 pounds, he already has the frame to be a defensive anchor in the league. Switching could be a problem for Clingan, but they’ll figure it out. Last season at UConn he averaged 13 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game. Good enough to land on the NCAA All-Tournament team and finish fifth in the NCAA in blocks and eighth in field goal percentage.
4. Nikola Topic
The Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping they landed the next Luka Doncic in the 12th overall pick Nikola Topic out of Serbia. Scouts have described the European guard as a great distributor who looks like a veteran with the ball in his hands. His shooting will need to improve as he shot just 30% from three last season in Europe.
Last season in the Adriatic League, Topic averaged 18.6 points per game to go with his 6.9 assists per game and 3.7 rebounds per game. He could fit nicely with the Thunder, who have emerged as a dormant force in the West in recent years. The six-foot-six guard also tore his ACL in May, making his availability cloudy for now.
5. Isaiah Collier
Last time the Jazz drafted a slightly undersized guard it worked out pretty well for them. Unfortunately, he’s in Cleveland now, but Utah might’ve just landed their new Donovan Mitchell in Isaiah Collier out of USC. They were able to swoop in and draft the six-foot-three, 205-pound guard at the 29th overall pick.
Collier was great at bullying his way to the rim in high school and college and while it’s unclear if that will work at the NBA level, Collier will likely still be trying with his quick first step. His abilities as a ball handler and willing passer should make him effective in Utah.
Last season at USC, Collier averaged 16.3 points per game and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 49% from the field and 33.8% from deep. He finished fourth in the PAC 12 in assists per game and ninth in points per game.
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