Alright, let’s get into how I tackled this 2020 NBA Draft redo project. Been itching to do a redo for a while, figured 4 years out was the sweet spot. Enough time to see who actually panned out, you know?
First things first, gotta refresh my memory. Pulled up the original draft order – Anthony Edwards number one, Wiseman second, Lamelo third… yeah, okay. Remembered all the buzz back then. Then I grabbed a giant pad of paper, like the old-school kind, cause I think better scribbling notes by hand first.
Okay, so I needed player data. Real stats, not just hype. Went hunting for basic stuff: points, rebounds, assists per game, shooting percentages. But knew I had to dig deeper too. Advanced stats like Player Efficiency Rating popped up. Also, how many games did they actually play? Injuries wreck careers. Found a decent site, spent a whole afternoon just grabbing numbers and filling my notepad with scribbles. My desk looked like a tornado hit it.
Next step: actual production vs. expectations. Who actually got better? Who kinda stayed the same? Who, honestly, kinda sucked? Like Wiseman? Man, talk about falling short. Then you got guys lower down the draft who exploded – looking at you, Tyrese Haliburton. Drafted 12th? Criminal. Had to keep flipping back and forth between the original list and my new performance notes, crossing names out, circling others. Made some rough rankings based purely on gut feeling at this point.
Position stuff came next. Realized it wasn’t just about raw stats. Edwards puts up big numbers, but is he leading anywhere meaningful yet? How does he stack against other top picks who maybe have different roles? Teams need different things – a scoring machine vs. a floor general. Started shuffling guys around based on what teams actually needed back then versus what they ended up being worth. Led to some tough calls. Like, where do you put Desmond Bane? Dude’s been solid gold.
Time for the painful part: slotting them in. Started picking apart the top ten. LaMelo? Brilliant when healthy, but can he stay on the court? Edwards feels like a rock-solid number one now. Haliburton had to jump way up. Patrick Williams? Drafted fourth originally, gotta slide him waaaay down. Felt mean moving guys down, but the numbers don’t lie. Kept asking myself: “If this draft happened today, knowing what we know, who do you take?”
Finally, smashed that final list together. After messing around for a couple hours shifting names up and down, I landed on my new top picks. Honestly, surprised myself with Tyrese Maxey sneaking into that top five – guy is just balling out. Seeing Haliburton as my new number two felt weird for a second, but he absolutely deserves it.
Here’s the real kicker:
- Edwards still looks solid at number one.
- Haliburton rockets from 12 to 2.
- LaMelo holds steady at 3 despite the injuries.
- Bane, drafted 30th originally? Slotted him top ten! Dude just works.
- Wiseman… well, let’s just say he fell off the page.
Shaking my head looking back at 2020. Scouts missed hard on some real talent in the middle of that draft. Crazy how wrong we can be before they even play an NBA minute. Fun project though. Makes you appreciate the guys who work their tails off to become stars.
