The Boston Celtics just won the NBA Championship after defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1. Game 5 was on Monday, meaning we’ve had almost two weeks to look ahead to Wednesday night’s NBA Draft. The word going around is that this is one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory. I’ve heard some pundits claim that the 2024 draft is the equivalent of a normal draft starting at #8. That means that the player who will be selected #1 overall would typically be taken in the 9 or 10 range in a normal year. It’s difficult to say with certainty how well a draft class will ultimately fare.
The 2013 NBA Draft was considered a remarkably weak class, but Victor Oladipo (pick #2) made two All-Star teams and third-team All-NBA in 2018. Giannis Antetokounmpo went at pick #15 and he’s bagged 2 NBA MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year Award, 8 All-Star appearances, and an NBA title. Rudy Gobert was the 27th pick in the 2013 draft. He’s a three-time NBA All-Star and has won the Defensive Player of the Year Award 4 times. The point is, not every draft is going to be like 2003 where four out of the first 5 picks were Hall of Famers. Sometimes you have to look deeper to find the gems of a draft. The 2024 class seems like one of those years. The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft begins on Wednesday, June 26th at 8 PM ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Let’s get to the picks.
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