NBA rookies are right in voting Cavs’ Kevin Porter Jr. as tied for steal of draft

The annual NBA rookie survey was released yesterday and it was revealed that Cleveland Cavaliers rookie wing Kevin Porter Jr. was selected by his peers as the steal of the 2019 NBA Draft, while being tied with Denver Nuggets big Bol Bol, and the rookies are spot-on in doing so.

The Cleveland Cavaliers front office is hoping the majority of the rookie draft class is correct in their assessment of Kevin Porter Jr. as the steal of the 2019 NBA Draft.

Click here to read the entirety of the rookie survey, courtesy of NBA.com’s John Schuhmann.

More from King James Gospel

• 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
• 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead

We at KJG have talked extensively about the talent that Porter Jr. possesses and how we are of the belief that he was a steal with the final pick of the first round in June’s NBA draft.

Porter Jr. can now take solace in the fact that his peers believe he was a steal also, as per Schuhmann, the rookies of this class voted Porter Jr. as the steal of the draft, while Bol Bol of the Denver Nuggets was tied for that title, too, with 19.0% of the vote.

Now let’s be clear here, the rookie class is not a bunch of guys who are going to be world-class general managers in the NBA one day, however, they are guys who have played against Porter Jr. in multiple settings.

As the saying goes, “game knows game.”

It has been widely reported that Porter Jr. was considered a top 10 talent in the NBA draft, but he fell due to some maturity question marks. Being voted as the top steal, by his peers, in the NBA draft is just further confirmation that he has the talent.

A recent clip of Porter Jr. dominating Jamal Crawford‘s annual pro-am game is even more proof that he has the talent to be an elite-level NBA guard.

Obviously, with this being a pro-am contest, the competition level, and defensive effort isn’t necessarily up to snuff.

However, you can see the excellent size, incredible athleticism, and what looks to be a refined jump shot that Porter Jr. possesses.

The pro-am wasn’t all stiffs, either. Former Cleveland Cavaliers’ big man Spencer Hawes also participated.

It would have been nice to see Porter Jr. perform in the summer league to see how he fared against teams full of NBA players or fringe NBA players. However, a minor injury kept him out of action.

This leaves the pro-am as the only on video competition we have to judge how Porter Jr. has grown his game since college.

It appears he has refined his jump shot. During pre-draft videos, it looked as if he had a slight side-winding delivery.

In the pro-am clip, his jump shot is smooth and straight forward. He is putting in the work in the offseason to improve his game and prove that he is the steal of the draft.

The validation that Porter Jr. gets from his peers voting him the steal of the draft should be nothing but a confidence booster for him.

The maturity murmurs have been floating around since last winter when he was at the University of Southern California. The improved form on his jump shot, and his willingness to compete, even in a pro-am setting, shows that being the 30th pick in the NBA draft has delivered the intended message that in the NBA, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Porter Jr. is aware of the talent that he has, now he knows he has to put in the work and be a professional to validate his peers’ claims that he was the steal of the NBA draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers front office sure hopes the rookie class is right and trading back into the first round to select Porter Jr. was the correct choice.