Miles Bridges, SF — Michigan State
There’s a good reason why everyone was so surprised when Miles Bridges decided not to enter the 2017 NBA Draft following his freshman season at Michigan State.
The 6’6″, 220-pounder possessed the ideal frame for today’s NBA wing and appeared to check all the boxes of a lottery prospect. Many thought Bridges would be a top-10 pick if he’d gone pro last year.
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So why, after a sophomore season in which his numbers were good (17.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game) and he led the Spartans to a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament, is Bridges projected to go lower in this year’s draft than last year? On the eve of the draft, Bridges is considered a mid-first round pick.
It may be simply that this year’s draft class is more talented than last year’s, and not that Bridges did anything wrong or regressed as a player. But it’s setting the table for Bridges to possibly wait longer to hear his name called than he should.
The classic example of someone in Bridges’ position is Corliss Williamson. After leading Arkansas to a national title in 1994, “Big Nasty” was viewed as a top-five NBA draft pick, but he decided to return to school for his junior year. Although his stats were almost identical and he led the Razorbacks to another Final Four, Williamson’s stock dropped and he was drafted 13th overall in 1995. While Williamson wasn’t a star on the pro level, he did have a solid career, winning Sixth Man of the Year with the Pistons in 2002 and helping Detroit win a championship in 2004.
Bridges could be this year’s Corliss Williamson. The further he falls in the draft, the greater the odds that he’ll get some team executive in trouble for not choosing him with the top-10 pick his talent warrants.