Advertisement
basketball Edit

NBA Draft: How the first-rounders were ranked as prospects

Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards (AP Images)

The entire NBA turned its eyes toward the future on Wednesday night, as the 2020 NBA Draft unfolded via video conference. The first pick was, of course, Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, but a number of other stars from American colleges and abroad also realized their dreams during the event. Below, Rivals.com has a look at each first-round pick as a high school recruit and explores the roads they took to the draft.

*****

Florida Man: Rankings changes, Louisville's future, Creighton's prize

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team

*****

Advertisement

1. Anthony Edwards

Team: Minnesota Timberwolves

School: Georgia

Ranking: Five-star. No. 3 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: A converted football player, Edwards is the highest-ranked player to sign with Georgia in the Rivals era. He chose the home state Bulldogs over offers from a long list of bluebloods, including Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. Tom Crean’s reputation for developing pros played a major part in what was seen as an upset recruiting victory on the day of his announcement.

2. James Wiseman

Team: Golden State Warriors

School: Memphis

Ranking: Five-star. No. 1 overall in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Wiseman chose Memphis over fellow finalists Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State and Vanderbilt. An in-city get for the Tigers, the center’s commitment was seen as the culmination of the Penny Hardaway hire and will likely be celebrated as a foundation-building get for this staff for years to come.

3. LaMelo Ball

Team: Charlotte Hornets

School: None

Ranking: Five-star in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Ball never seriously considered college and would have had an eligibility fight on his hands had he done so because of his time spent overseas and in his father’s professional league.

4. Patrick Williams

Team: Chicago Bulls

School: Florida State

Ranking: Five-star. No. 20 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Williams committed to Florida State on the heels of an official visit to Tallahassee. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Texas, NC State and Arizona were also players in his recruitment. Williams was originally a point guard but underwent a massive growth spurt early in his high school career.

5. Isaac Okoro

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers

School: Auburn

Ranking: Five-star. No 31 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Auburn was the second program to offer Okoro and that early show of faith played a role in his recruitment. His long-standing relationship with Bruce Pearl’s staff allowed the Tigers to beat out Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Georgia Tech and Florida to land his letter of intent during the early signing period.

6. Onyeka Okongwu

Team: Atlanta Hawks

School: USC

Ranking: Five-star. No 30 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Okongwu’s recruitment always had a West Coast feel. The California native considered Arizona State and USC before choosing the Trojans. He was part of a deep, seven-member Trojan class constructed entirely of four and five-star prospects.

7. Killian Hayes

Team: Detroit Pistons

School: None

Ranking: None (international)

Recruitment: Hayes was actually born in Lakeland Fla. but grew up in France, There was no college recruitment of which to speak.

8. Obi Toppin

Team: New York Knicks

School: Dayton

Ranking: Unranked in the class of 2017.

Recruitment: Toppin chose Dayton over listed offers from Georgetown, Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Minnesota. The Flyers star had a 7-inch growth spurt as a junior in high school, but received zero division one offers and elected to attend prep school. Only then did major colleges take note.

9. Deni Avadija

Team: Washington Wizards

School: None

Ranking: None (international)

Recruitment: Avadija was drafted out of Israel. There’s no college recruitment of which to speak.

10. Jalen Smith

Team: Phoenix Suns

School: Maryland

Ranking: Five-star. No 24 in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: It was an official visit that tipped Smith’s recruitment over the edge, as he pledged his services to the Terrapins shortly after returning from campus, saying at the time that he wanted to commit before he left but held off. A massive local recruiting victory, Smith with the Maryland Gatorade Player of the year as a junior. He selected the Terps over Oregon and Miami.

11. Devin Vassell

Team: San Antonio Spurs

School: Florida State

Ranking: Three-star in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: A true diamond-in-the-rough story, Vassell didn’t give himself time to rack up many college options. He committed to Florida State roughly a week after being offered, putting an end to his recruitment before it could gain much steam. The three-star guard was a masterful evaluation by the FSU staff.

12. Tyrese Haliburton

Team: Sacramento Kings

School: Iowa State

Ranking: Three-star in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: Iowa State coaches told Haliburton that they saw flashes of Lonzo Ball in his game during the recruiting process. Haliburton’s comfort level with Steve Prohm’s staff led to him choosing the Cyclones over offers from Minnesota, Cincinnati, Nebraska and others.

13. Kira Lewis

Team: New Orleans Pelicans

School: Alabama

Ranking: four-star in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: Lewis had offers from Indiana, Kansas and other major programs but chose Alabama. He was a late reclassification into the 2018 class after playing most of his high school career as a 2019 prospect.

14. Aaron Nesmith

Team: Boston Celtics

School: Vanderbilt

Ranking: Four-star. No. 69 in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: A late bloomer, Nesmith didn’t begin collecting offers until his the summer prior to his senior year. When he exploded onto the scene, however, he did so with authority. Nesmith chose Vanderbilt over programs such as Florida, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and others. He was part of Vandy’s top-ranked class in school history.

15. Cole Anthony

Team: Orlando Magic

School: North Carolina

Ranking: Five-star. No. 4 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Anthony committed to the Tar Heels late in the process but was long expected to land in Chapel Hill. "I love coach (Roy) Williams and I love the whole coaching staff," told Rivals.com following his March 2019 commitment. "They have pretty much told me that they are going to put the ball in my hands." Anthony chose North Carolina over schools such as Duke, Georgetown, UCLA and others.

16. Isaiah Stewart

Team: Detroit Pistons

School: Washington

Ranking: Five-star. No. 2 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Washington landed Stewart despite blueblood interest, beating out schools such a Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke for his letter of intent. His commitment to the Huskies was seen as a massive upset. “Coming up to see me since the 9th grade and him coming to my high school games, we have gotten really close and he is a guy that I can trust and he has given me his word,” Stewart said of UW head coach Mike Hopkins at the time of his commitment.

17. Aleksej Pokuševski

Team: Oklahoma City

School: None

Ranking: None (international)

Recruitment: Pokuševski is a Serbian import that made his name playing all over Europe and never considered American college basketball.

18. Josh Green

Team: Dallas Mavericks

School: Arizona

Ranking: Five-star. No. 13 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Green moved from Australia to Arizona as a high school student and started picking up major offers. He finished his prep career at Florida’s IMG Academy and chose the Wildcats over Kansas, North Carolina, UNLV and others. Green played Aussie rules football as a youth in Australia.

19. Saddiq Bey

Team: Detroit Pistons

School: Villanova

Ranking: Four-star. No. 120 in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: There were plenty of programs involved in the race to land Bey, who was committed to NC State for a time, but it ultimately came down to a battle between Vanderbilt and Villanova. Jay Wright and company closed quickly following the four-star’s decommitment from the Wolfpack.

20. Precious Achiuwa

Team: Miami Heat

School: Memphis

Ranking: Five-star. No 17 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Precious Achiuwa committed to Memphis as part of a loaded class that also included No. 2 pick James Wiseman. Kansas seemed like the most serious threat to steal the five-star down the stretch, but hat never manifested. Achiuwa signed with the Tigers during the late period. UConn, Georgia and North Carolina were also involved to some extent.

21. Tyrese Maxey

Team: Philadelphia 76ers

School: Kentucky

Ranking: Five-star. No. 10 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Maxey committed to Kentucky early in the cycle and signed with the Wildcats during the early period. He chose UK over hometown school SMU, which was a fellow finalist. At the time, he cited the opportunity to play for John Calipari as the reason he chose the out-of-state option. Maxey’s father was in a support staff role at SMU at the time, so the Mustangs were serious players until the end.

22. Zeke Nnaji

Team: Denver Nuggets

School: Arizona

Ranking: Five-star. No. 6 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Nnaji’s recruitment was a blue blood affair. He selected Arizona over schools such as UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky. He was one of four highly-touted recruits in a loaded Wildcat class that included No. 18 pick Josh Green.

23. Leandro Bolmaro

Team: Minnesota Timberwolves

School: None

Ranking: None (international)

Recruitment: Bolmaro became a star in pro leagues in Argentina and Spain. He did not undergo the American college recruitment process.

24. R.J. Hampton

Team: Denver Nuggets

School: None (International)

Ranking: Five-star. No. 6 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: Originally from Texas, Hampton reclassified from 2020 to 2019 and was considering Kansas, Memphis, Kentucky and Texas Tech before electing to forgo college and play professionally in New Zealand.

25. Immanuel Quickley

Team: New York Knicks

School: Kentucky

Ranking: Five-star. No. 22 in the class of 2018.

Recruitment: Quickly chose Kentucky over Kansas and Miami and announced his decision via Facebook … for some reason. At the time, Quickley referenced Kentucky’s loaded class as the reason he picked the Wildcats. He joined a 2018 UK class that included current Miami heat guard Tyler Herro.

26. Payton Prichard

Team: Boston Celtics

School: Oregon

Ranking: Four-star. No. 49 in the class of 2016.

Recruitment: Prichard grew up roughly 90 minutes from Oregon's campus and selected the program based in part on its proximity to home. He was committed to Oklahoma for a short time before backing off that pledge and heading to Eugene.

27. Udoka Azubuike

Team: Utah Jazz

School: Kansas

Ranking: Four-star. No. 21 in the class of 2016.

Recruitment: The Nigerian-born Azubuike landed in Jacksonville when he moved to America to pursue basketball in 2012. He chose Kansas over fellow finalists Florida State and North Carolina.

28. Jaden McDaniels

Team: Minnesota Timberwolves

School: Washington

Ranking: Five-star. No. 7 in the class of 2019.

Recruitment: A Washington native, McDaniels elected to stay in state. Kentucky, UCLA, San Diego State and Texas were also in the mix down the stretch. At the time of his commitment, the touted prospect credited his relationships with Huskies assistant Will Conroy and head coach Mike Hopkins for making him feel comfortable from an early juncture.

29. Malachi Flynn

Team: Toronto Raptors

School: San Diego State

Ranking: Three-star in the class of 2016,

Recruitment: Flynn was committed to Pacific for bit before ultimately landing at Washington State. He transferred to San Diego State after two years in Pullman, where he averaged nearly 16 points per game as a sophomore. Flynn looked hard at Creighton and Texas A&M at the time of his transfer.

30. Desmond Bane

Team: Memphis Grizzlies

School: TCU

Ranking: Unranked in the class of 2016.

Recruitment: We never got an evaluation on Bane, who didn't receive much college interest until his senior season. He committed to TCU in May of his senior year without much fanfare.

Advertisement