Which 2020 NBA Rookies have superstar potential?
R.J. Hampton
Tears and hat tosses were a trend on draft night as many prospects were announced live on camera in front of their families. Onyeka Okongwu, namely, was tear-filled as his name was called and he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. The new Hawks star missed all of the preseason and just recently made his debut, but when he makes his spectacular debut, he’s expected to make an immediate impact.
Also, Knicks star Obi Toppin, whom I wrote about in my draft fit article, was in tears as he and his family heard his name announced as they sat on the couch. R.J. Hampton, the prospect from the NBL, was drafted with the No. 24 overall pick by the Bucks, but the Bucks traded their pick before the draft to the Pelicans, so Hampton was mistakenly given a Bucks hat on draft night and had to toss it before finally putting on the right Denver Nuggets hat where he was traded to.
Hampton, like Okongwu, has seen minimal to no playing time, yet he is important and impactful to the future aesthetic of the NBA. R.J. Hampton should be a favorite, as you watch the young prospect enter his first year in the NBA with his own unique hype. R.J. Hampton is deadly. Hampton is a 6’6” point guard with athletic ability and dynamism on offense who will make an impact on a team and in the league. The most unique thing about Hampton is his experience from playing pro in the NBL where he matched up against current greats in Chris Paul and Ja Morant, and that gives him a different level of maturity.
R.J. Hampton’s game can become an easy two-way game that will make life easier for a lot of coaches. His primary strengths are two impactful things that do not come easy for anyone: athleticism and scoring. It’s an athleticism that doesn’t come easy to 6’5″ point guards and his scoring consists of athletic drives to the basket, floaters, and pull-up jumpers. Hampton is also as mentioned a point guard, so his explosiveness and energy at this level is what makes this draft class stand out.
His playmaking and defense is what he needs to work on, and that’s what will expand his game beyond what it is now to make him one of the greats. If he relishes in his habits of now, he will be limited to being only an average offensive player, but if he expands it to either playmaking or defense, or both, he will be a player who takes his game seriously. These are two things Hampton also simply needs to work on, so working on them now and adding them to his game can only help him in the future.
Imagine a 6’5″ point guard who can already get a bucket and drive to the paint, but also running around getting steals and making plays for his teammates? Hampton can show the league how it’s done and really kickstart this new generation of basketball, which he is inevitably a part of at 19 years of age.