Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

The official OKC Thunder Big board 1.0

By Rylan Stiles

OKC Thunder 2019 Big Board 1.0: James Wiseman #32 drives against Armando Bacot Jr. #5 during the Jordan Brand Classic (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
OKC Thunder 2019 Big Board 1.0: James Wiseman #32 drives against Armando Bacot Jr. #5 during the Jordan Brand Classic (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 19
Next
NBA Draft
Anthony Edwards attends the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade) /

3) Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia

That’s right, a football school landed a top basketball prospect. It helps that Edwards is an Atlanta native, but it was still surprising to see UGA land ESPN’s 4th best prospect over Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

Edwards stands 6’5 and comes in at 205. I have Edwards being a one and done with the confidence level in that prediction being a 10 out of 10. Edwards has the ceiling of top-five prospects, but the floor of a late lottery player. Playing in the SEC Edwards will get tested, especially on a team without a lot of talent surrounding him.

While Edwards is incredibly long and boosts good size and strength his athletism in terms of mobility is in question. Although he was able to out muscle players in high school, and simply be taller than most of them, as he faces talent with the same physical measurements how will his speed compare? His size allows him to finish strong at the rim, but he will also excel in the catch-and-shoot game. With his measurables, he could turn into an elite 3-and-D guy in the association.

Edwards biggest plus might be his basketball IQ. The 18-year-old is wise beyond his years and always makes the right play. Again, the test will come down to the talent around him. Can he continue to make the right play when his subpar teammates are not knocking down shots, etc.?

I would rank the SEC as the third toughest basketball conference, and Edwards will have to fight through a tough schedule this season. Edwards has the chance to match up with Michigan State in the Maui Invitational if both squads win their round one games, and if UGA pulls off the upset of the Spartans, they will move on to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the same tournament. That tournament runs from Nov. 25th-27th.

Edwards will also be met at the rim by James Wiseman on Jan. 4th, The Bulldogs also clash with Kentucky twice (Jan 7th. and 21st) Auburn twice (Jan. 11th, and Feb. 19th) as well as Florida a pair of times (Feb. 5th and Mar. 4th). That is a tough stretch of games to slog through as a team’s top player with little-to-no help. Almost every team listed has at least three or four players you would take over Edwards number two guy.

Home/Thunder Draft