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NBA Draft: Why LaMelo Ball is the definitive No. 1 prospect in the 2020 class

By Evan Wheeler

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks in action during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks in action during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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LaMelo Ball
RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /

Conclusion

Ultimately again the draft is a guessing game that we’re all playing, whether you are an executive, scout, writer, or fan. It’s a rabbit hole of opinions, some more educated than others, but there really is no right answer to the question of who should be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, at least as of this moment.

But that player clearly should be LaMelo Ball to me for the reasons and information I’ve provided throughout this piece. I don’t think he’s LeBron or Luka or Magic, there probably isn’t that kind of transcendent talent in this year’s class. However, I think he’s a combination of Jason Williams, Bob Cousy, Steve Nash, and Penny Hardaway with small hints of players like Steph Curry and Luka Doncic.

Many believe he doesn’t have the personality, attitude, or maturity to become a franchise player, validating this by the recent rumors of his collapses in pre-draft interviews. But I think a lot of people are unfairly judging LaMelo based on their feelings of his dad’s antics, the way his brother’s career has played out so far, or on YouTube highlights they saw of him when he was 14 years old playing for Chino Hills.

I think that’s a small-minded view of the kid and what was really telling to me, was what his teammates said about him. Former NBA veteran and Illawarra teammate Aaron Brooks said of Ball when speaking with TMZ back in April:

"“What surprised me is he was just like a real cool kid. He was just one of the guys, when I said we need to go get some extra work in, he wanted to go get some extra work in. When we had extra running to do, he did extra running. For him to be the way he was, was surprising to me and he’s just a good kid man.”"

I think much of the rumblings about Ball being some sort of potential destructive diva-esque locker room force have much more to do with the people around him or the people reporting these rumors than LaMelo himself. In a year and a draft filled with uncertainty, I understand the skepticism around Ball and why teams would want to go for a more “safer route”. I just think it’s so more obvious than it’s being made out to be, that he should and deserves to be the No. 1 pick.

To me, it’s a no-brainer and five years from now I think a lot of people will be kicking themselves for ever doubting Ball’s upside. With a class that has been talked about ad nauseam of not having a truly elite prospect, LaMelo sticks out like a sore thumb as the one player who could prove that narrative totally wrong.

Next. NBA: Ranking the top 25 free agents of the 2020 offseason. dark

LaMelo Ball is the definitive best player of the 2020 NBA Draft class in my opinion, not because of who his dad or brother is, his family’s reality show, or his social media following, but because he has the real talent to change an NBA franchise.