The Philadelphia 76ers originally selected Jahlil Okafor – widely believed to have been the second-best player in this draft class at the time – with the third overall pick.
Okafor has not completely flopped out of the NBA, but he certainly has not been a good player. Averaging 18 points during his rookie season, Okafor would quickly drop off, now averaging only five points per game on the second-worst team in the NBA – the Detroit Pistons.
NBA Draft: Re-picking the 2015 class
There’s a lot that makes you question why he failed, but a large part of it came down to the NBA changing – and Okafor was not a modern big – and his defense did not make up for it, either.
Instead, they select Terry Rozier, who has really exploded onto the scene for the Charlotte Hornets as of late. Rozier, who averaged over 20 points per game this past season, has become one of the NBA’s best shooters, scoring at clip of 39.6-percent over the course of the past two seasons.
Rozier was originally selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics and was not really widely known until the 2018 playoffs, where he averaged 17 points per game. Still, he was buried behind Kyrie Irving in the depth chart – so he really shined in Charlotte when finally getting a chance to start in extended minutes.
Rozier signed a 3-year, $55 million contract with the Hornets in 2019, and it has seemingly paid off. It looks as though the Hornets have a long-term backcourt mate with LaMelo Ball so long as he chooses to re-sign following the 2021-22 season.