NBA Draft 2022: 3 biggest overall winners from draft night

With the NBA Draft officially in the rearview mirror, many teams had great drafts and 58 young men had their dreams fulfilled by hearing their names called at the Barclays Center. The NBA is ready to shift gears into the next phase of the offseason with a very interesting free-agent class. Before that, let’s look at three of the top winners at the conclusion of the draft.

Detroit Pistons

After having the top 3 odds in the draft lottery, the Pistons fell down to the fifth pick in the draft. Pretty much every single mock draft had the same four prospects going in the Top 4– Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Jaden Ivey. With the Kings having essentially no contact with Ivey at all, it was looking more and more likely that he would fall to the fifth pick.

Luckily for them, that was the case, as with the fifth pick the Pistons selected Ivey out of Purdue. Many thought they were done after that in the first round, but then the Pistons were a part of a three-team trade with the Hornets and Knicks in which they acquired Kemba Walker and the draft rights to the 13th overall pick Jalen Duren out of Memphis.

Walker is expected to be waived by the organization, but the Pistons ended up with arguably the best guard in the draft in Ivey and the best true center in the draft in Duren. The Pistons also drafted Italian wing Gabriele Procida with the 33rd overall pick, but he will stay overseas as a stashed pick.

Overall, with these two lottery picks joining forces with the young core of Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, and Killian Hayes, the Pistons have a very bright future ahead.