The 2021 NBA Draft is behind us and with it a night full of twists, turns and surprises.
While there were no big blockbuster trades at the top of the Draft with teams opting to stay put and make their selections where the lottery had placed them, the night more than lived up to expectations.
The drama started before Adam Silver had even taken to the stage when a monumental trade sent shockwaves around the league as Russell Westbrook was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Then came the NBA draft itself, and while seeing Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley go in the top three offered little surprise, the Toronto Raptors made the night a whole lot more interesting through its decision to take Scottie Barnes over Jalen Suggs.
Guys rose higher than expected, others fell lower than they probably should have done, and there was a flurry of trades as the night went on.
The 2021 NBA Draft had plenty of winners, from teams to individual players, but among the successes were also some noticeable failures.
There are always winners and losers on draft night, but in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, the positives and negatives of each team’s actions were exasperated more than usual.
The true successes and failures of the draft won’t be clear until years into the future. But here are five noticeable winners and losers from immediately after the NBA Draft…