NBA: Re-ranking the top 10 players from the 2017 draft class

NBA Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images)
NBA Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images)
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Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

2. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

What a season for Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics are currently in second place, and the anticipated leap for Tatum has arrived. Tatum is likely the most offensively talented player to come from the 2017 draft, a wing with scoring and playmaking capabilities and a ceiling as high as they come. Tatum is now averaging over 20 points per game, a huge leap from his 15.7 just a season ago.

Tatum also has playoff acumen, where he generally outperforms his regular-season numbers, and dunking on the King himself in the Eastern Conference Finals was a signature highlight. Expect Tatum to make his way into the top tier of NBA players very soon.

1. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Within weeks into his NBA career, Donovan Mitchell took over the title as best player from the 2017 draft, and he has never relinquished it. For the last two seasons, Mitchell was leading a Jazz team as not only the number one scoring option but realistically the only option. Mitchell has averaged over 20 points per game in every season he’s played.

Mitchell is no stranger to the playoffs either, in his rookie year, he led the Jazz to a 4-2 series win over the Westbrook-PG-Melo “super team” and in both playoff losses to the Rockets, Mitchell had not one, but two quarters in which he outscored the entire Houston team. The knock against Mitchell’s inefficiency is being quieted this year as the additions of Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic have allowed Mitchell to work less and score more, his 3-point percentage is up, his free throw percentage is up, as is his true shooting rate.

Mitchell is the only one on this list with an All-Star resume at this moment, and he is still the best player of the 2017 NBA Draft.