The 2023 NBA Draft has a chance to go down as one of the best of its era.
Victor Wembanyama obviously highlights the class — the Spurs made the easiest pick since LeBron James went first overall in 2003. The French prodigy somehow lived up to the massive hype. He looks like he will be a generational player.
We still don’t quite know how the rest of this class will shake out. What is certain is that if this draft were conducted a year later, there would be a ton of movement. This turned out to be a deep draft full of surprises, talent and second-round steals.
To see how much this draft would have changed had it been conducted present-day, I put on my GM hat and redrafted the lottery. Here’s how the order would look today.
NBA REDRAFTS: 2001 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021
Wemby turned in a rookie season for the ages. He led the league with 3.6 blocks per game, immediately becoming one of the top defenders in the league. Opponents were terrified of shooting it anywhere near the rim when he was on the floor.
His 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game weren’t too shabby either. He morphed into one of the best passers and pull-up shooters among the true 7-footers, and he did it all in under 30 minutes per game.
The only question left for Wemby is how he will stack up among the all-time greats. If he stays healthy, he’ll start racking up All-NBA selections within the next few years.
MORE: How good will Victor Wembanyama be at his peak?
Miller’s selection at 2 was met with controversy and some ridicule on draft night. The consensus leaned heavily towards taking Scoot Henderson with that pick.
In hindsight, the Hornets absolutely nailed this. Miller started slow but turned it on in the second half of the season, finishing with averages of 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Miller was picked No. 2 because of his two-way potential. He showed that in his rookie year, seemingly being the only player in Charlotte that cared deeply about defense. He had some crazy athletic highlights throughout the year and was a reliable shooter, nailing 37.3 percent of his attempts from 3.
Amen was a project when the Rockets drafted him, and he remains so after a year. (A ghastly 13.8 percent from 3 isn’t going to cut it.) But he did everything else at an extremely high level, even playing a small ball 5 role successfully during parts of his rookie year
Amen was fantastic in the open floor, using those same athletic gifts that he showed in Overtime Elite. That’s where his passing has shined as well.
Where Amen is really special is as a defender. He was tenacious as a rookie, disrupting plays all over the court. He’s going to be elite both on and off the ball.
Ausar showed all of the same traits as his twin brother. He couldn’t shoot worth a lick (18.6 percent from 3) but still made a huge impact because of his ridiculous athleticism. He played like a 90s center despite being a 6-6 wing, grabbing offensive rebounds at a prodigious rate and blocking shots all over the place.
Both Thompson twins still need to improve, but they showed in their rookie year why their potential had them going so high originally.
Henderson didn’t have a great rookie year. He averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game, but he also turned it over 3.4 times per game and shot a ghastly 38.5 percent from the field.
Henderson’s surefire NBA skill was supposed to be his drives to the rim. When he got there, it reminded you of why he was thought to be the second-best player in this class a year ago. When he tried to finish, though, his lack of touch was evident — his 46 percent at the rim ranked in the seventh percentile among guards, per Cleaning the Glass.
Henderson did play a little better towards the second half of the season. He was also stuck on a terrible team. He still has a chance to be a great player.
