Top 5 takeaways from NBA Draft, what side OKC Thunder was in terms of trends.
Key stats offer insight into NBA trends:
Abandoning Euros: For as quickly as the league embraced European players they’ve seemingly just as quickly abandoned that trend. Solidifying this shift no Euro players made the top 14 lottery picks, only five in total were drafted (Canada had more) and just two got the nod in the first round.
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Age matters: In recent years the trend was to add younger assets. It’s been commonplace for teams to question prospects who weren’t one and done potentially not being as talented. Whether the success of teams like the Raptors, Spurs, and Warriors who ignore those factors have influenced this trend we’re witnessing more mature players get the nod ahead of one and done.
It didn’t affect the first round as much with 11 freshmen being selected but on a whole, the numbers shifted overall with 16 sophomores, 9 juniors and 12 seniors comprising more than half (37) of the 60 draft picks. The OKC Thunder bucked this trend with the Bazley selection.
Move away from old-school bigs: Few big men got consideration unless they displayed the ability to stretch the court. This trend is going to grow in nature, however, it’s also important to note teams still need to consider how valuable a big with defensive prowess is. This especially true when dealing with the likes of Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns and Nikola Jokic. The Raptors learned this on route to their title as they dealt with shutting down Nicola Vucevic, Embiid and Brook Lopez.
As a side note, Bol Bol plummeted down the draft ladder ultimately getting selected 44th. His injuries, questionable motor and lack of defensive ability likely all factored. Some thought Sam Presti missed the boat on this pick but if you watch the film on Bol it’s easy to comprehend his fall down boards.
Next. NBA Draft Winners and Losers: Where OKC Thunder land. dark
There were ample takeaways but these five represented the main trends of the night and as stated in the opening could well affect how the remainder of the offseason progresses. Over time, we’ll discover how true that is.