OKC Thunder Draft: 3 guards team should have high on their big board
By Mark Nilon
OKC Thunder draft target No. 3) Cade Cunningham
Is he a point guard? A forward?
Frankly, it doesn’t really matter — call him a center, the man’s still going to be the No. 1 overall pick in this upcoming draft, and it’s clear why.
Built like a modern-day NBA power forward at 6-8, 220 pounds but in possession of a skill set reminiscent of a wing or even a guard, Cunningham is the hybrid talent that all teams seemingly covet which, obviously, includes the OKC Thunder, as their desire to run a positionless scheme has been well documented all season long.
With comparisons ranging from Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, Cunningham will assuredly be a force to reckoned with seemingly from day one of his NBA tenure.
Through 27 games played, the Oklahoma State standout posted stellar per-game averages of 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and just shy of a block per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.
Behind his excellence, the Cowboys managed to finish the year off with a 21-9 record and were ranked No. 8 heading into the NCAA Tournament.
A scorer at all three levels, an elite distributor (led his team with an assist percentage of 20.4), and in possession of an off the charts basketball IQ, one cannot argue against Cade Cunningham being the number one player in this coming draft and, in turn, should be the number one player on every lottery team’s big board.