Which 2020 NBA Rookies have superstar potential?
It took me roughly 60 days to figure out that the 2020 NBA Draft Class were full of superstars, or potential superstars. That’s less than the time it took the 2020 Draft Class to prepare for the most important moment of their lives, which was literally not enough time for all of the expectations coming into this season for them.
At the beginning of the draft when analysts and experts start scouting the college talent and creating mock drafts for the NBA, which is usually around 1 month before the NBA draft, and that was October this year due to the COVID pandemic, this little known secret isn’t always known. But I knew with this draft, looking at the draftees on paper, that this was a different draft class.
Notable draft classes aren’t new to the NBA. The 1984, 1985, 1996, and 2003 NBA drafts all come to mind when having a conversation about drafts. And the expectations of them every year carry a heavy load and for some, a heavy burden. The 1999 and 2008 drafts come to mind here. The typical “Star or Bust” hangs over every draft, but in this draft, it seems that “Star” is the light at the end of the tunnel for most, if not all of them.
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The 2020 NBA draft class has plenty of star power
LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Obi Toppin, Tyrese Haliburton, Killian Hayes, RJ Hampton, and others alike were in this class, those who possess a rare gift and come from rare backgrounds. The talent speaks for itself and the rarity in that is obvious also.
What pleasantly surprised me is that all of these young stars have what it takes to headline the next round of superstars beyond LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George and also to what extent. I found that out when I watched the first few weeks of the new NBA season.
The new season hasn’t been all flowers for the rookies. For example, Killian Hayes was having a rough shooting start, and Detroit Pistons fans took notice. Hayes is out now with a hip injury that will take eight weeks to heal. Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick, has been underwhelming, to say the least, and so has his team with the worst record in the league.
But there have been upsides. The ever-hyped LaMelo Ball is leading the rookies in basically all categories this season and Tyrese Haliburton is picking them back up also. Also, there are the other stars in-between, which give you the prototype of a superstar in the league and help define what that means in today’s changing NBA.
Here is a breakdown of this new draft class full of potential superstars, and their strengths and weaknesses on their way to superstardom, which has been on full-frontal so far in the season.