Taking a closer look at OKC Thunder draft pick Darius Bazley
By Rylan Stiles
The OKC Thunder selected Darius Bazley in the NBA Draft on Thursday night. It’s time to get to know the newest member of the OKC Thunder.
The OKC Thunder decided to take a chance on Thursday Night, and go an unconventional route in drafting a New Balance Intern with a top 30 pick in the NBA Draft, the 23rd pick to be exact.
Darius Bazley is one of the most interesting prospects in the NBA Draft, simply because the unknown by nature is interesting.
Bazley was one of the most exciting young prospects in the High School basketball circuit. Yet, he did not elect to play college basketball despite the number of blue blood schools who longed for his (free) services. In a stacked 2018 recruiting class at his position, Bazley stood up as the fifth-ranked small forward in his class, 11th nationally.
Bazley found himself behind RJ Barrett, Nassir Little, Zion Williamson, and Keldon Johnson at the small forward position according to Rivals.com for the 2018 class.
Bazley committed to Syracuse University, before being persuaded to go to New Balance as an “intern” to learn about the business side of sports, and train on his own. He also elected to not participate in the NBA G-League out of high school.
One thing is for sure, Darius Bazley’s mindset and swagger will fit right in with the OKC Thunder.
For a five star recruit who was selected to play in the McDonald’s All American Game elect to forgo college, and also not sign overseas but instead bet on himself and learn the business side of the game while training alone, is something special.
Darius Bazley is apart of the Klutch Sports family, so you would think at least LeBron James sees his skill set. You might remember LeBron James grabbing headlines with a slight back and forth he had with the Syracuse coach following Bazley’s decision.
https://twitter.com/MickstapeShow/status/1055237022888218626
Here is a photo of Bazley hanging with elite basketball company.
Bazley has a new balance deal that could spite up to 14 million dollars and has already netted himself a million while other prospects were playing in college for free (allegedly). For New Balance, this could be an awesome prospect to build around. His intern marketable story, his emotion, and electric plays are perfect to build a signature show or apparel around.