As always, draft day brought some surprises. This time, most of them were at the back end of the draft as they went undrafted. Who are they?
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The following players have a puncher’s chance of establishing an NBA career after going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft. Most of them fit the profile of shooting swingmen, while a couple of them are also point guards. There are a couple of frontcourt players as well here.
Top 5 undrafted players of the 2020 NBA draft class
#1 Devon Dotson
Viewed by many as a mid-second round pick, the fact that the Kansas point guard went undrafted turned out to be a blessing for the Chicago Bulls. They have bolstered their backcourt depth by signing the 21-year-old. Dotson profiles as a reasonable two-way prospect, but the main reason teams passed him on was his lack of shooting prowess.
#2 Killian Tillie
The Gonzaga stretch forward went undrafted despite being projected as a mid-to-late second round pick. A Frenchman, Tillie shone in the senior year of his college career, starting every game and shooting the 3 at a 40% clip, albeit for a small sample size. Undrafted this year, Tillie was picked up by the Grizzlies on a two-way contract.
The Memphis Grizzlies will sign stretch big Killian Tillie to a two-way contract. Tillie went undrafted out of Gonzaga. https://t.co/QWLkjJt7gN
— SLAM Newswire (@SLAMnewswire) November 19, 2020
#3 Nate Hinton
A shooting guard for the Houston Cougars through 2 years of college basketball, the 21-year-old has the ability to shoot the lights out. He shot 38.7% from the 3-point line last year. Although his free throw shooting figure of 75% is a bit suspect, Hinton has shown a lot of scope for improvement. Signing with the Mavericks in an end-of-the-bench role will do him a world of good under coach Rick Carlisle.
#4 Naji Marshall
The New Orleans Pelicans have taken a punt at the swingman to improve their wing depth. Marshall improved through each of his 3 seasons at Xavier as a slasher. The reason he went undrafted was his suspect shooting, which the Pelicans can work with him on. There aren’t many mentors better than JJ Redick for this particular skill.
Also Read: ‘Shaquille O’Neal has a family’: Dwight Howard responds to Lakers big man’s criticism
#5 Markus Howard
Through 4 seasons at Marquette, Markus matured into one of the best volume shooters in NCAA history. He raised his scoring average to a whopping 27.6 points per game last year while shooting an amazing 41.2% from the 3-point line. Howard profiles as a shooter whose game can translate to the NBA level, but his problems as a defender led to him going undrafted.
