6. Washington Wizards: R.J. Hampton, G, New Zealand Breakers
The other top guard playing overseas this year, R.J. Hampton’s start hasn’t put up as pretty of box score numbers as LaMelo Ball has.
Matter of fact, he turned in some ugly performances by the numbers against NBA clubs in the preseason.
Hampton shot a combined 3-of-19 overall in matchups against the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder. His inexperience showed.
Quite frankly, Hampton looked out-of-place in both games from a skills perspective. He’s been working on improving his outside shot and that showed against pro teams with real defenders who will put a body on you all the way out beyond the arc.
His playmaking also wasn’t up to par, as there were enough examples where he took defenses for granted and mailed in pass attempts that led to easy steals for the opposing team.
However, athletically Hampton belongs in the NBA and from that angle, he looked like he’ll eventually be ready to impact the game at a high level.
Remember Hampton reclassified to even turn pro in the first place. He’s incredibly young and should still be in high school. He has continued to play with confidence in Australia and didn’t seem like the bright lights of the preseason exhibitions were too much for him to handle.
Hampton has done enough to keep himself in the lottery discussion, and should be viewed as a worthwhile project for a team to invest in.