All right, look. We need to talk.
We’re all guilty of something specific this year, myself included.
We’ve upset the 2024 NBA Draft class to such an extent that we’re getting dangerously close to crossing the Mendoza Line, if the Mendoza Line here is synonymous with “You’re going to look stupid for being such a negative Nancy” .
There’s no way we won’t get a few All-Stars from this crop. Even the 2000 class produced three, and that’s probably the lowest we’ve ever seen.
So today I’m shaking up that frown.
Yes, I stand by my position that the Class of 2024 pales in comparison to what we’ve seen in recent years.
However, we must also recognize that the NBA has been in hot water for almost a decade straight. The youth movement in the NBA over the last 10 years has been absolutely incredible, with players making an immediate impact, even going so far as to break the old ideology that “all rookies are bad at defense”, which does not This is absolutely no longer the case.
Maybe we’re just so used to the idea that we’ll find franchise players every year, that when we don’t have an obvious star in sight, we poop the whole ordeal and look ahead to the year next time when Cooper Flagg will conquer the world, without giving the prospects of 2024 any chance.
And while I absolutely admit that there are no Flagg-level prospects in this year’s draft, I refuse to close the door on these guys before they even arrive.
Alexandre Sarr is a 3-point shooter, agile and threatening. He made the All-Star and All-Defensive team as is, at the age of 18. It would defy logic if he doesn’t get better as he gets older.
Nikola Topić may have short arms and he may not be as tall as people say (he started this season closer to 6-foot-4 than his listed height of 6-foot-7), but he arguably has the highest player IQ of them all. kept in the project – otherwise the project in its entirety. We’ve too often seen players of his ilk find a way to be major contributors at the NBA level to perpetuate this pattern of skepticism.
Ron Holland is raw, but he still managed to score nearly 20 points per game in the G League after being just 18 years old. His 6-foot-8 frame and ability to find the back of the net generally tends to work in the NBA. level, although it will take a few years for its effectiveness to catch up.
Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are both smaller guards, and while that is an issue, their shooting abilities are not. Even though neither reaches the All-Star level, both project as high-end role players who space the court and act as secondary playmakers. I’d be shocked if these guys didn’t come together to spend 20 years in the league.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
We have become too critical. Too negative. Too severe. We penalize an entire class for lack of a clear number one, because it forces us out of the hive mind.
It’s easy when everyone knows who starts. Then we can always add the follow-up picks later and make our case because we know we’ll get the first one right.
This year we all have to put our heads on the block and, without any sort of safety net, decide who WE think will be first. Alone, outside the sphere of comfortable conformity. Alone.
Suddenly, it became easier to laugh at the class, throw your hands in the air and say “who cares, this class sucks anyway!”
And yes, I’m guilty of that too. Because it’s difficult to find the right levels this year. This may be the most difficult draft to read in over 20 years.
But it’s time to stop pointing fingers at this draft class. If nothing else, 2024 has given us a tremendous gift.
We have no idea how events will unfold, and that’s really exciting. Instead of knowing the Top 5 three months in advance, we arrive empty on draft night. Distraught. Naked. Open to being wrong.
So here is my proposal.
Let’s all do our Big Boards and Mock Drafts as usual, then all laugh at ourselves at how wrong we’ll all be. And then let’s celebrate the high school sophomore who got the top eight picks just after 20 minutes of research on Tankathon.
Let’s put some joy back into the draft. The players who participate deserve nothing less.
Unless otherwise stated, all statistics via NBA.com, PBPStats, Clean the glass Or Basketball reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All chances thanks to FanDuel Sports Betting.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and Follow us on twitter to stay up to date with all the latest NBA Draft news. You’ll also get to meet the team behind the cover.
