Big Board for the 2020 NBA draft (and Probably not Horrible Player Comps, probably)
- Jordan Ennis
- Jun 26, 2020
- 6 min read
With the NBA starting up again soon I wanted to put together my draft big board and try to add in player comps for them. The draft has always been my favorite part of the year, I obsess over incoming rookies and some times I hit majorly. I called Giannis saying he was going to be a Hall of Famer, mix of Magic and Pippen, you can ask all the guys in my freshman dorm that talked about basketball. I. Called. Giannis. However, sometimes I miss beyond majorly... “Jahlil Okafor will make the Hall of Fame! He’s basically going to be prime Tim Duncan on Offense, also KAT is going to be Raef LaFrentz.” Let’s not talk about that take. Without further delay, I present to you Of Sports and More Sports 2020 NBA Draft Big Board.
1- James Wiseman- Poor mans David Robinson. Will either be a multi time all star or just a starting caliber 5 in a league moving away from the big man. The athletic gifts he has make me desperately want him to succeed. I’m also nostalgic for the days of big men the Warriors dynasty slaughtered, maybe the warriors could draft the big man to bring those days back?
2- LaMelo Ball- Taller Jason Williams, including Williams tendency to go for the highlight instead of the better play, and his shot selection. If he locks in he won’t kill you on defense but he’s not going to ever be a good defender. He is probably going to be the best ball handler and passer in this class.
3- Anthony Edwards- Deon Waiters, I mean this both as a dis and a complement. He is even more Deon Waiters than Deon Waiters. I personally don’t like him as a prospect but also see why people are intrigued, if he puts in the consistent effort he could be a star.
4- Killian Hayes- Taller Lefty Rubio. If he puts in the work on his shot Killian could be the star of this draft. I think his play on both sides will lead him to be at least a starter and maybe an all star.
5- Obi Toppin- Carlos Boozier. At the beginning of the year I thought Amar’e with a jumper, but he’s not quite there, he is probably a worse defender than Amar’e (yes you are supposed to shudder at that sentence).
6- Onyeka Okongwu- Tristan Thompson with better rim protection. I keep seeing Bam as a comp. I don’t see that, he was given more freedom than Bam in college and didn’t do enough for me to think “oh yeah he’s going to guard 5 positions and sometimes play point on offense.” I like the Thompson comp better.
7- Deni Avdja- Cedi Osman. Deni just doesn’t make mistakes. His ball handling I think was a little over blown originally, the Luka and Hedo comps were probably a bit much but I think he can fill a role on a team.
8- Tyrese Haliberton- MCW who tries all the time, and has a passable jumper or Lonzo Ball this year. I really like him, he can guard 2.5 positions and is going to give consistent effort. Also I love good passers so I’m all in.
9- Cole Anthony- Dennis Smith Jr, I mean this from when he was in Dallas not this year on the knicks when DSJ decided he had no more will to play basketball at a decent level. Anthony has some flaws but he also has strengths, all his flaws were amplified by this UNC team and honestly none of his strengths were.
10- Tyrese Maxey- Lou Will lite. Look Maxey to me should be top 5 but no one else thinks this so I dropped him a bit. Honestly I don’t even want to put the “lite” after Lou Will but I’m hedging my bets. (Look for this to be as bad as me saying Jahlil Okafor was going to have a much better career than KAT).
11- Isaac Okoro- Justice Winslow. He’s not quite the ball handler or passer Winslow is, but honestly I don’t think Winslow is best as a ball handler anyway. He’s gonna be a solid defender and can hopefully shoot well.
12- Devin Vassell- Kerry Kittles. Honestly don’t like his game, I mean this as an insult... I have him at 12 because so many people have him higher I’m worried to put him lower. If it were up to me alone this guy would be a second rounder.
13- RJ Hampton- OJ Mayo, let’s face it if OJ Mayo didn’t think he was MJ he would have been a fantastic 2nd or 3rd guy on a playoff team. RJ played a role in the NBL this year and I think he will be awesome as a complementary piece in the NBA with time. He can play either guard position so that’s also a plus, I would slot him in as a 6th man super sub on a championship team.
14- Theo Maledon- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, this kid could be really good. He does just a bit of everything with a really long frame.
15- Precious Achiuwa- Antawon Jameson, this is based off of body type more than anything. I like him as a bench guy going forward.
16- Vernon Carey- Vin Baker, in a league that Vin Baker is even less valuable than passed Vin Baker. However if his shot comes along he becomes much more interesting.
17- Aaron Nesmith- Tony Snell, I guess. I don’t like him as much as others do but I also don’t like Tony Snell and never really have.
18- Patrick Williams- Dorian Finny-Smith, I’ve seen Kawhi comparisons for this guy, let me be 100% clear, THAT IS CRAZY TALK. This kid could be a good 3nD wing but not a Hall of Fame guy.
19- Kira Lewis- Darren Collison. Fast, food shooter, passable defender, decent floor general. Not going to blow you away, but also won’t hurt you.
20- Jaden McDaniels- Michael Beasley, he’s either going to be what we wanted Beasley to be or he’s going to be what Beasley was. I’m actually pretty happy with this comp.
21- Nico Mannion- Luke Ridnour, he’s going to be a good back up point with a long career.
22- Jamius Ramsey- Marcus Smart, he’s going to be smart but I don’t think he’s going to be the heart and soul of a team like smart. He also won’t have the leadership of Smart either.
23- Isaiah Stewart- Derrick Favors lite. I like him but I think some people like him way more than I do. He’s strong and going to give real effort.
24- Saddiq Bey- Tim Hardaway Jr. I keep seeing Kris Middleton comps for him, let’s be honest about that, if anyone was going to be Kris Middleton out of this draft class that person would be the top prospect in the class. I like the THJ comp better because I think he’s going to need to be put in a specific role to succeed.
25- Tyrell Terry- Seth Curry, some people have this dude in the top 5. I don’t but I can also see it happening if he puts in the effort to working on his ball handling and continues to improve. I saw some CJ McCallum comps which would be his absolute ceiling, the Seth Curry outcome seems much more realistic.
26- Zeek Nnaji- Willy Cauly-Stein, he’s a rim runner who isn’t gonna be amazing on defense (ironic because WCS was supposed to be amazing on defense and then he decided not to be in the NBA) also like Cauly-Stein he is going to think he is better than he is.
27- Jordan Nwora- Dorell Wright, I grew up in Nigeria, I want Nwora to be a star so badly. He won’t be but I desperately want it.
28- Leandro Bolmaro- Rudy Fernandez, I don’t think he is as athletic as Fernandez was but he’s got the size and the flair. He is probably a better ball handler than Rudy though. I have an irrational love for foreign guards, sometimes I jump up and down and eat cake with my friends because my favorite team drafts Luka Doncic and things are great, sometimes I tell my brother “This Melos Theodosic guy is going to be an all star” while stuffing down bread sticks at Olive Garden. Let’s hope with Balmaro I can have my Cake and eat it too.
29- Makur Maker- Thon with more upside. Just like his Cousin, Thon Maker, Makur is getting KG comps. Just like with Thon those people need to be drug tested.
30- Tre Jones- Jalen Brunson with great defense. A lot of people compare him to his brother which is a fantastic comp but I wanted to be a little different so I went with Brunson.
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