Meeting the 2020 NBA Draft Class – CrownHoops

Despite the college basketball season being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 NBA draft class has still produced a lot of NBA-ready talent. The top of the draft class has a lot of notable names from both the NCAA and international leagues.

There is also a lot of superstar potential with the top names in the class. We’re going to be looking at their skillsets and comparing an active NBA player with these top names. Let’s get to know the NBA draft class of 2020.

The 2020 NBA Draft Class

Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards is coming off of a stellar freshman campaign at the University of Georgia. He comes into the draft as one of the best two-way players in his class. He showed his versatility, averaging 19.1 points and 1.3 steals a game. A weakness of Edwards’ is his shooting efficiency. He only shot 40.2 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three.

His NBA comparison is Philadelphia 76ers‘ guard Ben Simmons, who makes up for his shooting deficiencies with his athleticism and defense.

James Wiseman

James Wiseman only had a short tenure at Memphis due to NCAA violations that led to his suspension and eventual decision to step away from college in order to prepare for the draft. Despite that short time, he definitely didn’t disappoint on the court. In his three games played, Wiseman averaged 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game. He’s the perfect mold for an inside presence so we won’t see him take a lot of threes.

The player that Wiseman most resembles is DeAndre Jordan when he was on the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s a guy who will be dominant in the paint on both sides of the ball.

LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball was one of the players that took the untraditional route to the draft by playing professionally overseas. By playing in Australia, he has developed into one of the best prospects in this year’s draft. In Australia, he averaged 17.0 points and 1.6 steals a game. His biggest knock is his 3 point shooting, where he only shot 25 percent on the season.

A good comparison for him is his brother Lonzo Ball, a guy who’s a good all-around player and makes up for his poor shooting with his playmaking talent.

Obi Toppin

Obi Toppin had a breakout sophomore season at Dayton University. In the 2019-20 campaign, he won both the Wooden and Naismith awards, as well as the Associated Press Player of the Year award. He averaged 20 points per game on 63 percent shooting from the floor. His main weakness is that he doesn’t have a deep shot in his arsenal, only taking 1.6 attempts a game during his college career.

The NBA player he’s most similar to is Blake Griffin when he was with the Clippers; a presence in the paint and strong bucket-getter.

Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu certainly made a name for himself at the University of Southern California. He used his athleticism, length, and power to get points, but is a strong defensive player as well. There’s no doubt how strong of a defender he is, as he averaged 2.7 blocks per game at USC. A weakness that can definitely be improved is his hastiness on the offensive side, but that can improve with development.

Okongwu’s NBA comparison is Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo, a player who brings a strong power force inside with being a very defensive-minded player.