NBA Draft 2022: 3 biggest overall winners from draft night
Dallas, Houston, San Antonio
All three teams from the state of Texas – Rockets, Spurs, and Mavericks – all had great drafts. The Rockets had the third pick in the draft and everybody, including Houston themselves, thought as late as the afternoon before the draft they were getting Paolo Banchero, but the Magic ended up taking him first overall.
This paved the way for Jabari Smith Jr., the star forward from Auburn, to head to H-Town. They had two other first-round picks and hit the nail on the head with both of them, getting LSU forward Tari Eason with the 17th pick and Kentucky guard TyTy Washington with the 28th pick. Both of these players had the potential to be drafted in the lottery, so the Rockets should be ecstatic to land them.
The Spurs also had a solid draft, going defense first drafting Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan with the ninth pick and then picking a pair of young scorers in Ohio St. guard Malaki Branham with the 20th pick and Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley with the 25th. Most people had Branham in the late lottery, so San Antonio snatching him at 20 is a great pick.
dark. Next. Grades for all 1st round NBA Draft picks
Lastly, the Mavericks may not have had a first-round pick, but they made up for it with their lone second-rounder, selecting G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy 37th overall. In preseason mock drafts, many had Hardy as a Top 10 and even Top 5 pick, but his stock fell to a mid-to-late first-rounder. Hardy led the Ignite in scoring at 17.7 PPG but was inefficient from the field. Still, Hardy has the potential to be a great scorer in the NBA with development.