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This year's NBA draft had its fair share of surprises, although the top 3 picks went according to the general consensus. The Phoenix Suns drafted Arizona Wildcat DeAndre Ayton with the #1 overall pick, the Kings took Marvin Bagley off the board at #2 and Luka Doncic went at #3. All 3 of them are players with the potential to be transcendent, difference-making stars for their franchises, and there was no way any of them would drop lower than this in the draft.
Also read: The Favorites to win NBA Rookie of The Year 2018-19
As expected, there were some winners in this draft and some losers. There were some steals, and some questionable picks (we're looking at you, New York Knicks) in both the lottery as well as later on in the draft.
All-in-all, though, most teams did a tremendous job scouting and picking up players who were a great fit for their franchise, in addition to having star potential of their own. The following 5 were our biggest winners on this draft, which could turn out to be one of the best in NBA history:
#1 The Phoenix Suns
It is quite difficult to mess up a #1 overall pick, but credit has to be given to the Phoenix Suns for making the right choice and getting a player who looks the part, walks the part and talks the part in DeAndre Ayton. The 7-foot, 243-pound center has a body carved by the basketball gods themselves, and his motor, athleticism and offensive repertoire should allow him to make an instant impact in the NBA.
Pre-draft, Ayton was quoted as saying that he could combine with Devin Booker to be a new iteration of the Kobe-Shaq combo that won 3 straight championships at the start of this century. Without getting ahead of ourselves, we can immediately see why that is actually within the realm of possibility.
If Ayton gets the hang of playing defense in the NBA within the confines of a true system, the sky is the limit for him. As well as the Phoenix Suns, who will look to put their own tanking process on the backburner now onwards.
It does not hurt them that they acquired probably the best 3-and-D prospect on the board in Mikal Bridges with a draft-night trade, and are now primed to put their best foot forward in the 2019 playoff race.
#2 The Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks are not new to integrating European players into the NBA style of play. After all, the resident GOAT of all European ballers is about to enter his 21st season in the league, and he's played all of them in the Mavericks blue.
Luka Doncic is, in the eyes of most basketball fans, the best player in the draft as of now. The Mavericks were never a tanking team by their own free choice, but some rough deals in free agency have left them in that position for a few years now. If Doncic continues his excellent play from the Euroleague (he won the MVP award, after all), expect the Mavs to get out of the funk that they've been in and make their first playoffs in 5 years.
Even if he doesn't post groundbreaking numbers, he has the basketball IQ to be a primary or a secondary ball-handler on a playoff team, and that is what I project the Mavericks with their current roster construction to be. If only they can sign an athletic center in free agency, someone who's not named DeAndre Jordan and can still create a Lob City in Texas with Doncic......
#3 Grayson Allen
Duke product Grayson Allen might be a much-maligned college baller due to his infamous tripping incidents, but there is no denying that he's had one of the best college careers for any player in Duke history. He was projected to go much later in the first round, and some people even had him in the early second round, but I see him fitting the Utah Jazz like a hand in a glove.
Allen has all of his defensive fundamentals sorted, and playing for one of the best defensive teams in the league will only enhance his skillset, both short and long term. On the other hand, the Jazz sorely needed a couple of other outside shooters to take the next step in their trajectory. Allen provides them exactly that, having averaged over 36% in each of his past 3 seasons at Duke.
While he doesn't have real superstar potential based on what he's unlocked in his skillset thus far, Allen will have a long NBA career. Utah Jazz might just have been the perfect landing spot for him.
#4 Collin Sexton
Collin Sexton was widely projected to be out of the top 10 picks in this draft class loaded with big men having superstar potential. But the Cavaliers need somebody to run point in the event that LeBron James decides to go elsewhere this summer, and with Trae Young off the board, they did the needful and got themselves the second-best guard prospect on the board.
Sexton will walk into the NBA as one of the fastest players in the league. He has the heart, the skillset and the hustling mentality to be one of the best two-way players at his position in a few years. The trajectory of his career might well be dependent on LeBron James' free agency decision this summer, for The King is as good a mentor in the history of basketball as a young point guard could ever wish for in his early years in the league.
But Sexton is one of those rare prospects who have few chances of turning out to be a bust, mainly because of his work ethic and his excellent physical measurables. Even in his worst form, Sexton will still be a super-fast guard who can allow his team to score bucketloads of points in transition.
#5 Donte DiVincenzo
The Milwaukee Bucks landed themselves a real winner in this draft. Donte DiVincenzo was the best player on the biggest stage for the Vilanova Wildcats, leading them in the NCAA Tournament Final with a 31-point game. In 3 years of playing college ball, DiVincenzo made steady strides every single season, and finished this one averaging over 40% from 3-point territory.
Donte is a shooting guard who has superb athleticism and displayed significant playmaking ability in his final college season. The NBA Draft Combine held in May helped raise his profile significantly, as he recorded a standing vertical of a whopping 34 inches and tied first in the running vertical leap category at 42 inches. Do not be surprised if he decides to enter the Slam Dunk Challenge in the next few years.
Much of his skill is translatable at the NBA level and playing on a team with legitimate scorers and alongside one of the hardest-working players, league will only benefit him further, smoothing his progress curve in the future. DiVincenzo is a winner, and that matters most in the ultra-competitive NBA world.
