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.
#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.
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#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.
