The NBA isn’t currently in action, and fans have no idea when it might return. But whenever it does, the league is in good hands for the future with a list of shining young stars.
A large debate for years in the NBA is, “Who would you want to build your teams around?” ESPN thought exactly this, so they decided to poll some scouts, coaches, and executives to find out what they thought. The questions were about four of the top young players in the NBA: Luca Doncic, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and Trae Young.
The Results
ESPN polled 20 people to see how many first, second, third, and fourth place votes they would receive. For these experts, it must’ve been a relatively easy decision. It wasn’t close.
Luca Doncic led the field by far with 17 of the 20 first-place votes. Doncic has become an exciting player that came from overseas. He was the reigning Rookie of the Year, and he was in the conversation of the MVP. He has taken the league by storm and has had plenty of early success. Many experts predict this to continue.
“Luka has size and elite playmaking and shooting right this second,” a Western Conference executive said. “He impacts winning. I believe his game is not only sustainable but has the ability to continue to get better.”
Zion Williamson received the second-most votes to build a franchise around. He is a phenom, going number one in the draft and showed his dominance at Duke. He did receive one first-place vote but had a leading 11 second-place votes.
One of the only reasons that this polling isn’t closer is because of the health concerns with Zion. He plays with such force while being one of the largest players in the NBA.
He once ripped through a shoe at Duke and missed much of the 2019-20 season with an injury. If it was certain that Zion would be healthy, the NBA executives and scouts admit that he would probably become first.
One scout said, “Those other guys are going to be great for 10-plus years. There’s just too much (injury) risk (with Williamson). Now, if I want to just be great now? Take him. He’s just unique and great for today’s NBA.”
Next Two
Third in votes was Ja Morant. He was overlooked in high school and played basketball at Murray State. As a Racer, he quickly became known as one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. He received two first-place votes, six second, nine third, and three fourth.
One of the exciting aspects of Morant is his capability. Many believe he isn’t close to being as good as he will be. An Eastern Conference executive said, “Ja can get better in terms of his shooting, his team will get better around him, and he makes players better around him. I think he can affect the game at both ends.”
Coming in at fourth was shooting sensation Trae Young. He had four votes for third place and 16 votes for fourth. Young didn’t receive any first- or second-place votes.
His offensive ability is off the charts. If anything, Stephen Curry has shown how valuable that can be. But those polled did show concern for the lack of ability he has on the defensive side of the ball.
“Trae clearly is fourth because of the defense,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “I just don’t think you can win big when his defense is that bad.”
