Dear NBA, Get Ready For An Infusion Of Elite Talent

It is said that every decade brings forth its own generational draft.

For example, the talent crop of the 1980s was replenished by the class of 1984 — the birthplace of first ballot Hall-of-Famers like the greatest player of all-time in Michael Jordan, the all-time leader in assists and steals in John Stockton, the all-time leader in blocks in Hakeem Olajuwon, and the Round Mound of Rebound in Charles Barkley.

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The class also produced a legion of high-level role players/border-line All-Stars, such as Kevin Willis, Otis Thorpe, Alvin Robertson, Jerome Kersey, Michael Cage and Sam Perkins.

Likewise, the 1990s brought us the 1996 NBA Draft, another draft class that spawned forth an army of future Hall of Fame talents, including Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson and Ray Allen. The depth of quality players engendered in ’96 was absolutely ridiculous.

Specifically, the class also served as the point of genesis for the likes of Marcus Camby, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Peja Stojakovic, Jermaine O’Neal, Zydrunas Illgauskas and “Big” Ben Wallace (who went undrafted) — all of whom were All-Star caliber players at one time or another.

And last but not least, the remnants of 2003 NBA Draft still act as the dominant pillar of the league in 2015. In particular, the crème de la crème of the said class, namely, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony are still viewed as surefire top-five players at their respective positions and will most likely be, for all intents and purposes, Hall-of-Famers upon their impending retirements.

Similar to the generational drafts of yesteryears, the class also yielded a battalion of high-level secondary and tertiary players like David West, Boris Diaw, Mo Williams, Kyle Korver, Leandro Barbosa, Chris Kaman, and Josh Howard — not to mention James Jones, the only player not named LeBron to appear in five straight NBA Finals in the modern (post-merger) era.

However, as the incumbent decade reaches its halfway mark, it is hard to pinpoint the pendulum-swinging, paradigm shifting draft of the 2010s.

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The 2014 class was long hyped as the generational talent restock of said decade; however, save for Andrew Wiggins, the rest of its elite prospects has either suffered a career-derailing injury/injuries (most notably, Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, Dante Exum and Julius Randle) or were marred by a series of unforeseen maladies during their lone, rookie seasons (Marcus Smart and Aaron Gordon).

But, while the basketball gods can be cruel and taketh away, they can just as easily turn our collective fortunes around and bless us with a bevy of once-in-a-lifetime talent that we — the NBA universe — can get nonsensically giddy about.

Enter the 2017 NBA Draft.

Although the event still sits over two calendar years away, most scouting services have already identified the graduating high school class of 2016 as one of the best and deepest groups they have ever scouted.

The unadulterated potential of the likely horde of one-and-done prospects is simply mouth-watering. In conjunction, the different variety of players and the eye-popping number of five-star neophytes that headlines this class is truly what makes the incumbent cluster of high school seniors special.

If you need a modern day inside-outside, bouncy big? I present you with Harry Giles. What about a hyper-athletic swingman with unlimited potential? Well, there’s Josh Jackson. A polished point forward capable of picking teams apart from the pinch post? Jayson Tatum fits that description.

An explosive, pass-first pick-and-roll negotiating lead guard? Both Dennis Smith Jr. and De’Aaron Fox have the tools to one-day become a top-5 floor general. Is it an electric, high-flying combo guard you want? In that case, Malik Monk should satisfy your demands.

In essence, the 2017 draft could be a warehouse selection of elite prospects — whatever need your team yearns, the class has an apropos fit. But, what exactly separates the above-mentioned prospects? What distinguishes them from the rest of pack? Why are they viewed as highly-valued commodities? Well, here’s a quick introduction of each of the major players who’ll be exhaustively featured over the next two years.

Next: Harry Giles