Sure, Anthony Edwards was the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Not every draft is equal though, and not every top pick is seen in the same light.
On Friday, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic posted his top-20 NBA Draft prospects since 2015. The list has nothing to do with how they have performed in the NBA, just what he thought of them come draft time. Ant-Man did not make the list, which Vecenie admits is a clear miss as he writes,
“The big miss is obviously Edwards, who went No. 1 in 2020. I was too skeptical of his ability to consistently create rim pressure and paint touches, as he often settled for pull-up jumpers.”
If NBA play was included, Edwards would surley be higher up on that list.
Edwards had question marks on his game entering the 2020 draft
Vecenie is a highly respected journalist who covers the NBA Draft for The Athletic (previously CBS Sports) and hosts the Game Theory Podcast. The draft is certainly an inexact science, though, so he can’t be ridiculed too much for not fully seeing the NBA player Edwards has become.
He did the same rankings last year, with Edwards not quite being one of the 20 guys listed. Ant will have moved further down his list as Vecenie is now including four players from this month’s draft (AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, Caleb Wilson).
Vecenie did not have Edwards as his highest-rated prospect entering the 2020 draft, as he mentions that LaMelo Ball is one of the guys who dropped off to make way for the new crop of soon-to-be rookies. It's laughable now, but concerns about Edwards' commitment to basketball and outside shooting were well-discussed six years ago.
Karl-Anthony Towns, the first pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, comes in at fifth on his list. Of course, he spent nine years with the Wolves and was Ant’s teammate for four of those. He is now one win away from helping the New York Knicks win their first title since 1973.
Since entering the league, Edwards’ 10,854 points are the fifth-most, only behind Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ant has been the best player on a team that has won five playoff series over the last three seasons, after they won just two in their first 34 years of existence. He already is a borderline top-five, which wasn't expected back in 2020.
While Edwards has been a high-volume 3-point shooter, he has attacked the rim enough to prove Vecenie’s fears about him to be wrong. Turning just 25 on August 5, there’s no reason not to believe that Ant-Man will further improve over the next few years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google