The trio Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, and Jabari Smith have taken the summer league by storm as the hyper around them has been nothing more than what we expected. It is interesting how the top three draft picks in the NBA all roughly play the same position. There is a certain physical build that the executives in the NBA like.
Build similar to that of Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant and even Paul George. Tall lanky players who are versatile and able to do it all on the court. That is exactly what these three players embody. All three players are extremely similar but at the same time very different.
Pablo Banchero Magic
With the first overall draft pick, the Orlando Magic must be very content with their future franchise player Paulo Banchero and his performance in Las Vegas during the summer league. The magic has recently decided to shut down Banchero after two games where he put up a combined 40 points and is averaging 20/6/5.
I believe this is a smart move for the magic as Banchero gave the fans a small taste of what he can do and now they can preserve him and protect him from injury and prepare him for the upcoming season. Some drawbacks of his performance were his inability to create space for his shot and his excessive turnovers. It is no doubt that they will be some mistakes made and it is positive that the magic is allowing him to make these mistakes sooner rather than later.
Chet Holmgren OKC Thunder
Chet Holmgren the Gonzaga star dominated the summer league with a lot of pressure on his shoulders he showed why he deserved to be a top draft pick in this year‘s draft. Chet showed his versatility and his confidence in Las Vegas with his best game being against the Orlando Magic while Pablo Banchero did not play.
Chet shined the brightest on the defensive end as his small frame was a concern to too many fans, he proved he was able to be a top-to-your shot blocker. His size and ability to bring the ball up the court as well as shoot the three and create for his own was very impressive but there are still many aspects of his game that he would need to develop. Once he builds up his strength there’s no doubt in my mind that he will be a person to be reckoned with in the league.
Jabari Smith Houston Rockets
Jabari Smith like his other peers is an exceptional talent and shoulder skills this summer league with the Houston Rockets in the 6’10 frame he can shoot the ball at a high-level and out of the two players drafted above him shows the most potential for ball handling ability. Jabari struggles with comfortability and it showed but he was still able to excel and give the fans what they wanted proving his ability to drive the lane and knock down open threes.
These three players have proven that they are not just hype but can ball and I am excited to see where their career takes them. For the top three teams, they drafted three Potential franchise players and only time will tell how their games will translate to the NBA, but this summer league experience gives us good insight into their games and their developments
