2020 NBA Draft Results: Reactions from Top Picks

The 2020 NBA Draft was all filled with surprises and some unpredictable trades. There were many moments of this, this was never expected to happen. Let’s take a look at the winners and the losers. 

List of NBA Draft Winners:

Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball, the star player who has the potential to set the direction for the team like the Charlotte Hornets to feel for the team at No.3. This is good news for the team. The 6’7″ point guard, Ball would be a true gift for the Hornets. 

Anthony Edwards: The Atlanta 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard was taken by Minnesota Timberwolves with No. pick.  Edwards in the last season had led all Division I freshmen with 19.1 points per game and he was also awarded the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year. 

Deni Avdija and the Washington Wizards: Wizards were winners through the NBA draft 2020 for they had never thought that Deni Avdija, the 6’9″ point forward would fall to them at No. 9. Avdija is known for his ability to fit in with the explosiveness of Bradley Beal and John Wall. 

Sacramento Kings: Tyrese Haliburton fell to Sacramento Kings at No. 12. Haliburton, the polished guard who can back up De'Aaron Fox and also play off the ball next to him. This was a perfect pick for a team that has been trying to leap up into the playoffs. 

Patrick Williams: Even before the draft taking place there were speculations about the Bulls taking up Williams at No.4 and exactly that happened. There was no one who rocketed up the draft like the 6’8″ forward, Patrick Williams. In the upcoming years, we would see if this is a win for the Bulls or not. 

The rest of the Lottery Picks were:

Atlanta Hawks: Onyeka Okongwu, C, USC

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes, PG, France

New York Knicks: Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton

Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija, SF, Israel

Phoenix Suns: Jalen Smith, PF, Maryland

San Antonio Spurs: Devin Vassell, SG, Florida State

Sacramento Kings: Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State

New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr., PG, Alabama

Boston Celtics: Aaron Nesmith, SF, Vanderbilt

Here’s what players said after the Draft:

Edwards

With this draft, Edwards gets into the race with only Markelle Fultz to have been gone No.1 in the lottery era. After he was selected, Edwards in a statement said, "It is an indescribable feeling. My family is emotional. I feel like when I get off of here, I am going to be emotional. I am just blessed beyond measure to be in this situation."

Wiseman

Ball, Wiseman & Edwards at different points have been projected to be the tops picks for the draft. Edward, Wiseman & Ball came out to be the top picks of the 2020 NBA Draft. 

The emotional Wiseman after being selected at the second pick said in a statement, "It's great in terms of my concept because I can be able to learn, be able to grow my game, being able to adapt in that type of environment, which I can. And just going in there and just learning, just helping grow my game. ... I just had to bust out in tears because I've been through a lot of adversity in my life. But I'm ready to go into Golden State with a great mindset, with a different mindset, ready to go in there and just learn as much as possible, grow my game and just adapt and just work my tail off. I have a great relationship with Steph. Obviously, I went to his camp, so he taught me a lot. When I was in high school, he taught me a lot about the game of basketball and gave me a lot of information. I actually took a picture with him, so that's my guy."

Ball

Ball,  the gifted passer is going to be giving some star power to the Hornets. Playing in Australia's National Basketball League for the Illawarra Hawks, he averaged 7.0 assists, 17.0 points, and 7.5 rebounds in 12 games. 

Talking about Ball, Mitch Kupchak, the general manager of Hornets said, "He's a very young, talented player who plays the kind of pace that we like to play. He has a flare to his game that maybe has some entertainment to it, maybe more so than some other players. [But] that's not why we drafted him. We drafted him because of his size and length and the way he can handle the ball and the way he pushes the ball.''