HOW TOP DRAFT PICKS ARE DOING AT THE NBA SEASON HALFWAY MARK

The 2020 NBA Draft class has been quite a surprise to all, as the 2020-21 season reaches the halfway mark.

First of all, the rookies selected in the draft on Nov. 18 had zero-to-no time to even play games with the other professionals in the league, apart from practicing with their teammates and preparing for the season that began on Dec. 22. Never in history has a group of young NBA prospects had to stop playing for months while dealing with a pandemic and lockdowns across the globe.

There has also never been a time where the new players have had to wait until November to be drafted into the league, as it normally always takes place in June, right after most of them leave college. The dream all these players had of walking across the television stage and shaking the NBA commissioner’s hand was not possible, due to the circumstances.

However, the Class of 2020 did not back down from the challenges set before it. These players were eager to prove to the world why they were in the position they had earned.

The top 5 picks, in order, consisted of Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball, Patrick Williams, and Isaac Okoro.

Plenty of eyes were on Ball, who is now playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Many doubted him as he took a quite untraditional route to the NBA. He left high school at age 16 to play professionally in Lithuania. He then played for a team in his father’s newly formed league. Finally, he came back to the United States to finish his high school career at Spire Academy, then ended his last year with a professional team called the Illawarra Hawks, in Australia.

After all of this, Ball entered his name into the draft. Many observers were skeptical, as his style of play was quite different from the rest. However, he is currently ranked as No. 1 on the projected Rookie of the Year ladder and just set the record of becoming the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double, with the stats of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a game Jan. 9 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Next chosen was Wiseman, who plays for the Golden State Warriors and is currently No. 2 on the ROY rankings. Despite only playing three games in college due to eligibility issues, he means something important to the Warriors already: He averages 10 points per game, along with 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

One other rookie worth mentioning is Edwards, now playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who attended the University of Georgia and is averaging 13 points per game, 2.9 rebounds and 2 assists. He has brought a spark to the Timberwolves this season with the energy he brings onto the floor, night in and night out. He has some improving to do with his shooting but also has the most potential among these NBA rookies to produce for the years to come.

Although the year 2020 was not quite what anyone had planned, all these rookies fought their way through it and stuck to their plan of playing in the NBA – and the rewards of that are still in their reach as they become stars on the court.