Hey guys. The NSL draft was on November 20, 2020. That was 2 months ago. Now we have seen a lot of what these rookies can do in the NBA. A lot of them have already gotten their ratings updates and tendency tweaks in this last ratings update that was released on February 4, 2020. In this article I will rank the top rookies based on their 2K rating and where they were drafted in the NSL.

 

1.       LaMelo Ball � 81 Overall Rating | Selected 3^rd | Minnesota Timberwolves

2.       Tyrese Haliburton � 80 Overall Rating | Selected 11^th | Phoenix Suns

3.       James Wiseman � 79 Overall Rating | Selected 2^nd | Charlotte Hornets

4.       Anthony Edwards � 77 Overall Rating | Selected 1^st | Oklahoma City Thunder

5.       Precious Achiuwa � 77 Overall Rating | Selected 19 | Milwaukee Bucks

6.       Xavier Tillman � 77 Overall Rating |Selected 29^th |Washington Wizards

7.       Immanuel Quickly � 77 Overall Rating | Selected 34^th | Minnesota Timberwolves

8.       Onyeka Okongwu � 76 Overall Rating | Selected 4^th |Oklahoma City Thunder

9.       Deni Avdija  - 76 Overall Rating | Selected 6^th |Boston Celtics

10.   Tyrese Maxey � 76 Overall Rating | Selected 12^th |Houston Rockets

11.   Devin Vassell � 76 Overall Rating | Selected 13^th |Utah Jazz

12.   Payton Prichard � 76 Overall Rating | Selected 38^th |Oklahoma City Thunder

13.   Obi Toppin � 75 Overall Rating | Selected 7^th |Boston Celtics

14.   Patrick Williams � 75 Overall Rating | Selected 8^th |New Orleans Pelicans

15.   Isaac Okoro � 74 Overall Rating | Selected 9^th |Oklahoma City Thunder

16.   Saddiq Bey � 74 Overall Rating | Selected 15^th |Minnesota Timberwolves

17.   Cole Anthony � 74 Overall Rating | Selected 16^th|Boston Celtics

18.   Isaiah Stewart � 74 Overall Rating | Selected 27^th |Minnesota Timberwolves

19.   Killian Hayes � 73 Overall Rating | Selected 7^th |Milwaukee Bucks

20.   Jalen Smith � 73 Overall Rating | Selected 10^th |Golden State Warriors

21.   Desmond Bane � 73 Overall Rating | Selected 21^st |Washington Wizards

22.   Mason Jones � 73 Overall Rating |Signed UDFA | Houston Rockets

23.   Josh Green � 72 Overall Rating | Selected 18^th |Orlando Magic

24.   Kira Lewis � 72 Overall Rating | Selected 20^th |Los Angeles Lakers

25.   Jalen McDaniels � 72 Overall Rating | Selected 22^nd |Phoenix Suns

26.   RJ Hampton � 72 Overall Rating | Selected 23^rd |Orlando Magic

27.   Theo Maledon � 72 Overall Rating | Selected 25^th |Brooklyn Nets

28.   Reggie Perry � 72 Overall Rating | Signed UDFA |Charlotte Hornets

29.   Aaron Nesmith � 71 Overall Rating | Selected 14^th |Milwaukee Bucks

30.   Aleksej Pokusevski � 71 Overall Rating | Selected 17^th |Philadelphia 76ers

 

 

Future Star

 

 

LaMelo Ball - LaMelo is the closest we seen to a star level prospect. When he steps on the court, everyone just wants to watch. He really knows how to move the ball. He�s throwing passes that no guard should be throwing, but they get through anyways. When he strengthens his core, that will unlock his finishing at the rim. But he�s already a good finisher anyways in 2k. He�s shooting around .350 from 3. That is enough for 79 Three-Point Shot Rating. The defense is weak. But he has 89 Steal and 90 Pass Perception rating. That is really fun to have for a 2k player. Ohh yeah, and he has 61 Offensive Rebound and 79 Defensive Rebound. As a point guard!

 

 

Risers

 

 

Tyrese Haliburton � Haliburton has been the biggest riser so far. He fell down to pick 11. 2K started him with an overall of 74. Within a month, he got bumped from 74 to 77, and then 77 to 80. I thought taking Haliburton was kind of gamble, because if the shot didn�t come, he would have looked like Lonzo did his first year. I think �The Connector Archetype� is what they are calling it. It�s where you can�t shoot, you can�t finish, and you don�t have the burst to run a pick and roll. So they put you at SG and your only role is to make the extra pass. That isn�t the case though. His shot is looking nice. Haliburton has earned himself an 85 3PT Shot rating. The defense looks great too. He still lacks burst and can�t finish through contact as expected. This will cap his ceiling as a really good role player. I think his rating will fluctuate between 78 and 82 going forward. I think Tyrese�s true signature is his ability to pass out of jump shots or layups while in mid-air. In 2K, this comes in the form of the �Bail Out Badge.� Tyrese doesn�t have this yet, but it will come.

 

Tyrese Maxey � Maxey is a riser because of his draft position in the NBA. He fell all the way down to pick 21. He started off the year with a 72 rating. Half his team caught covid, he got opportunity, and within 2 months, he got bumped up to a 76 rating. The reason he fell in the draft was because he couldn�t shot and he was undersized. And actually, that is still a problem. But he has been getting by with his defense and finishing at the rim. His signature are his floaters. He has the strength and burst to run pick and rolls, but not necessarily the passing instincts yet. I think he�ll top out at 76 rating this year just because I think his shooting caps him. But given another good offseason, Maxey can raise his shooting to .350 and boost his ratings into the 80s. I�m personally hoping for star status. Whether it be some variation of De�Aaron Fox or Donovan Mitchell.

 

 

Fallers

 

Killian Hayes � Killian is the biggest faller. He�s still stuck at 73 overall. He was selected 7^th by the Milwaukee Bucks. I personally would have selected Killian as high as pick 2. But man, he has been underwhelming to watch. Then he gets injured after 7 games. I still believe in Hayes, but his progression is going to take longer than I expected. He�ll be back in 8 weeks. And before his rating can move anywhere, he�s going to have to show that he can at least score. Whether it is by finishing at the rim or hitting some threes.

 

Sleepers

 

These are 2^nd round guys who have returned tremendous value:

 

 

Payton Pritchard � No scouts had him in top 60. Celtics fans were not happy with this pick. Nobody wanted to pick him in the NSL until he fell 12 slots into the 2^nd round. Wizkid got him with the 38^th pick and he turns out to be a 77 rated player. He was one of the top scorers in NCAA, but the scouts didn�t like him because he was older, he�s not athletic, and he doesn�t make advanced reads. But he�s still an amazing shooter though. And he has incredible ball control. I noticed guys like these fall in drafts just because they can�t make elite reads.

 

Xavier Tillman �I found his journey very odd, because he missed training camp, preseason, and the first week of the regular season due to patellar tendinitis. And he�s on a team with a lot of bigs competing for minutes. But he�s managed to find opportunity. He has 5 good games coming off the bench for the Memphis Grizlies doing very Kyle O�Quinn things, and gets bumped from a 70 rated player to a 77 rated player. He was drafted at pick 35 in the NBA. Joshua did a little reaching and grabbed him at pick 29 in the NSL. He is still a steal though because currently he is the 6^th best rookie so far in the season. Like Kyle O�Quinn, he�s an undersized center who can really defend and rebound.

 

Immanuel Quickley � This was a surprising one. I don�t think anyone saw this one coming. None of the scouts liked him. They made fun of New York for taking him in the 1^st round. I even thought it was a joke they took him. Nobody in NSL wanted to draft him. He fell down to the 2^nd round, and landed in Minnesota at pick 34 where he is looking like a steal. Like Tyrese Maxey, the floater game is his signature. He�s an amazing on ball defender, but not a very good team defender. His shooting is complemented by good form, a quick release, and amazing footwork. The playmaking is still a work in progress. He doesn�t have the handle or vision to consistently run offenses, but he can still serve as a secondary ball handler.

 

Players to Watch

 

 

Deni Avdija � The Wizards were not very good last year, but they were very fun to watch. This year, they are both very bad and boring to watch. As a result, none of the Wizard players are getting much ratings movement. Deni needs more exposure. I don�t think Deni has played bad either. In fact, I think he�s taken the role held by Otto Porter and Trevor Ariza in the past, and made it his own. He�s playing great defense and hitting his shots. He�s a 76 rated player now, and I think it will continue to move up as people see what kind of defender he can be. I don�t think he�ll become a ball handling point forward like people were trying to make him out to be. I think he caps out around 80 overall within a year or 2.

 

Onyeka Okongwu � Okongwu was drafted 4^th in the NSL, but really hasn�t done anything because he fractured his left toe prior to the draft. He finally made his debut last month, but is stuck behind Clint Capela, John Collins, and Bruno Fernando. He is a bit behind on his progression, but he�s still a player I want to bet on. 2K did him a solid by not moving his rating while he was injured. He�s already amazing at grabbing offensive boards. He�s a great interior defender and shot blocker. He�s also a great perimeter defender for a guy his size. His ratings might take a hit because he�s taking a long time, but in the long run, I think the ratings are where they need to be. I think he can be an 82 rated Tristan Thompson type of player but with slightly less rebounds and a lot more defense.

 

Aleksej Pokusevski � He hasn�t made big waves in the NBA yet. And he might not for awhile. Pokusevski is a very long hold. The Oklahoma City Thunder know this and are taking their time with him. His skillset is somewhat similar to what Porzingis can do on the perimeter. He can dribble drive to the basket, or he can shoot threes with his super high release since he�s 7 foot tall. He won�t be able to do anything Porzingis does in the paint though. So we can rule out the idea of Poku playing center. He�s drawn comparisons to Dragan Bender, which is a pretty good comparison. The issue with Bender was that he was a very passive player, and so far that is not the case with Poku. Still, we need to see how he ends up doing against the more athletic NBA defenses.  I believe when all is said and done, he can develop into some form of Jokic or Porzingis, but at a John Collins level. It might take 3 years.

 

Closing Thoughts

 

Outside of Lamelo, I don�t see any other signs of a future star yet. Then again, it�s only week 5. We still have a long journey ahead. But still it�s great to talk about it. I know for a lot of you guys, it�s great seeing your investments grow.