A lot was made of the Brooklyn Nets first-round pick that the Cleveland Cavaliers secured when they traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics two summers ago. Many thought it would amount to a top-three pick. Instead, it became the eighth overall pick that turned into Collin Sexton.
With Collin Sexton‘s selection on draft night, the Cleveland Cavaliers were met with a decent amount of negativity. The critics were in full force, first saying Sexton wasn’t going to be the guy to keep LeBron James in town (which is preposterous to place on a rookie). Then the jabs were thrown at his shooting, which is still a work in progress for a kid that spent a lot of time driving to the lane when he played at Alabama. Finally, there were people bashing Cleveland for not taking a trade offer to try and move up in an attempt to snag a guy like Luka Doncic or Mo Bamba.
But quite honestly, the Cavaliers did fine for staying put and making their selection at their original position.
While Sexton is nowhere near a finished product, he’s provided some signs of progress during his rookie campaign. He’s averaging 14.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists through 35 games of action.
His decision-making skills are slowly improving on the floor and that’s been a result of the team moving him into the starting lineup eleven games into this season. Though his shot isn’t among the purest of the league, he’s knocking down 43% of his shots.
Not bad for someone perceived as a poor shooter outside of the key.
The eighth overall pick hasn’t really been kind to the team in that position over the last ten drafts. Unlike the NFL Draft, teams that fall outside of the top five of the NBA Draft are usually looking to land a diamond in the rough more than a surefire stud.
For teams like the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons, it’s bitten them in the behind more than once because of that very reason.
Where does he stack up against other players’ rookie seasons that were taken eighth overall in the past ten years though? The results may surprise you.