As the college basketball season draws to a close, many will now look ahead to the NBA Draft, where the best of the best college players will get selected. Every year, there are top prospects like Zion Williamson, sure bets to go first overall, and you can count on a few Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina players at the top of the draft. However, every year, there are multiple prospects that seemingly fall under the radar. Guys like Tony Parker and Jimmy Butler, who were taken in the late first round, Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green, who fell to the second round, or even someone like Ben Wallace, who wasn't even drafted at all. Teams are always searching to find the next draft day steal, and it can be a challenging exercise. You need to find a player that has been looked over by other teams for some reason, be it playing at a smaller school or oversees, not looking like an NBA player physically, or having one skill that is well below par but can still impact the game in other ways. And this NBA Draft, there will be guys taken later on who blossom into superstars, just as there will be higher picks who end up being busts. However, this year, there has been one player who I haven't seen mentioned anywhere that I think can be a huge draft day steal. I think it comes from not getting enough recognition due to rarely being on TV, but I think there is a lot to like here. I'm talking about Big Bird.
For starters, he really lives up to his name. Standing at 8'2", he would instantly be the tallest player in the NBA. Despite his large size, Big Bird is pretty nimble, being able to ice skate, roller skate, and ride a unicycle. That gives him a significant mobility advantage over a good amount of bigs, and his combination of size and agility make him an instant plus defender. Plus, he's young for his class, despite seemingly being around forever like Perry Ellis, he's just 6 years old. This gives him a lot of time to grow and continue develop his skills, so he is a very projectable prospect that can get a lot better, especially in an NBA weight training program.
He isn't without his weaknesses, however. As I mentioned, he is only 6, and his understanding of complex offensive schemes isn't there yet, as evidenced by thinking the alphabet was one word. He is also incredibly raw, and he has a really weak lower body, which can be a real problem when defending post players. He also doesn't have a developed offensive game, although he is seemingly working very hard on his offensive game, and his sheer size allows him to finish over a lot of players.
All in all, Big Bird is an intriguing prospect. He will be an impact defender from the day he steps into the NBA given his size and especially his athleticism for an 8'2" frame. He isn't exactly De'Aaron Fox out there, but he can certainly keep up with most bigs in the league. While his offensive game isn't there yet, his youth and projectionability on that side of the ball give a lot of optimism for him to eventually be a good player on both sides of the ball. If he can reach his sky high potentially, literally given his avian descent, then we are looking at a potential NBA superstar and one of the all-time greats, and yet I haven't seen his name on one draft board. If I were in charge of a team, I would look to get him in the second round and hope his offensive game develops, and accept that if he doesn't, you've still got the best rim protector in the league. Definitely worth the gamble in my mind.
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