Ayo Dosunmu was the best steal of the 2021 NBA Draft

Ayo Dosunmu was the best steal of the 2021 NBA Draft: Draft Position

In the interest of fairness, Ayo Dosunmu is not the only rookie making an impact this season. Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the front runner for Rookie of The Year. Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, and Jonathan Kuminga have all been impressive as well.

However, there is a major difference between those players and Dosunmu. They were all top ten picks. Dosunmu was selected 38th overall.

Toni Kukoc and Marc Gasol were both second-round draft picks who went on to have very productive NBA careers. However, they were European prospects who never played college basketball in America. They were also selected during an era where seeing international players perform was much more difficult than it is today.

Dosunmu, on the other hand, enjoyed three successful seasons at the University of Illinois. He won the Bob Cousy Award in 2021 for being the nation’s best backcourt player. With accolades like that, it would seem almost impossible for him to slip into the second round.

Unfortunately for Dosunmu, general managers feel pressure to draft on potential instead of ability. The popular train of thought is that a 19-year-old who joins an NBA team will ultimately develop into a better player than a guy who can already drink legally when he gets to the pros.

In no other profession in the world is a 21-year-old considered an old prospect, but those are the times we are living in. Donsunmu has proven that thinking wrong this season.

Not only is he contributing right away, but he’s also showing flashes of brilliance that indicate he has a high ceiling and will someday be an even more complete basketball player than he already is. The Chicago Bulls are lucky to have him.