Since the NBA changed its lottery order, these are the guys I'd feel most likely to lead their current (drafted-by) team to a championship as the best player (in rough order from most to least likely) as well as the (pre-lottery) finish of the team that picked them (1 = worst record). (I'm giving a lot of benefit of the doubt to guys on the bottom half of the list.):
- Ja Morant - 8
- Zion Williamson - 7
- Evan Mobley - 5
- Anthony Edwards - 3
- Scottie Barnes -7
- Cade Cunningham - 2
- Paolo Banchero - 2
- RJ Barrett - 1
- Darius Garland - 2
- Jalen Green - 1
- Josh Giddy - 4
- Chet Holmgren - 2
- Keegan Murray - 7
Tell me again why a seventh-worst finish this year is the kiss of death which will consign us to years of mediocrity that we cannot pull ourselves out of. The randomness of the current draft odds mean that there's a lot that teams simply can't control.