Jalen Suggs: The other No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft
By Evan Wheeler
Jalen Suggs could emerge as the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft
The 2020 NBA Draft had a wide-ranging of opinions about who should be the top player selected, there didn’t seem to be a consensus among teams or draft experts. But with the 2021 draft class, the picture is much more clearer for who should go No. 1 overall.
Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham is the definitive lock to be that selection and many view it as something that isn’t disputable. The other two players that have any chance of usurping the freshman sensation are fellow diaper dandy’s, USC big man Evan Mobley and Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs. I’m not here to argue against Cunningham being the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft personally, I believe he’s potentially a transcendent talent and is as great as advertised.
The Step Back’s Jackson Frank did a brilliant breakdown on Cunningham that lays out in great detail Cunningham’s case to be the top pick next year. Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer also did a fantastic piece on Mobley being the biggest prize of the 2021 draft and displaying the Trojans star’s potential to become an Anthony Davis type player at the next level.
When I look at these three prospects though, it’s Suggs who excites and intrigues me the most personally. Atop my draft board, Suggs is right alongside Cunningham as player 1A and 1B of this upcoming class. The highest-rated recruit in Gonzaga basketball history has not disappointed in his freshman season and, in my opinion, should without question be in the discussion for the number one selection in 2021.
He’s helped lead a pretty star-studded Bulldogs team to a 14-0 record and the clear position as the number one ranked team in the country. Suggs has played in 12 of those 14 games averaging 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.4 steals, and 2.9 turnovers per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
The Saint Paul, Minnesota native is on the short-list for the Wooden Award this season as well and is a two-way dynamo combo guard who can be a lead ball handler that plays with his hair on fire. For many years I’ve constantly heard the comparisons of top point guard prospects to Russell Westbrook, but none have really fit the bill in the way Suggs does to the 2017 MVP in my opinion.
The similarity between the two shows in the open floor and how Gonzaga’s freshman star can pressure defenses in a matter of seconds.
Transition versatility-defense and playmaking in the open floor
Like Westbrook, Suggs has that uncanny ability as an elite fastbreak initiator to take a defensive rebound and just go right at a defense scrambling back in transition given his explosive speed. He thrives playing fast and good things only seem to happen when he’s directing things on the open floor.
Suggs won’t just look to score though himself, he’s a fantastic passer and playmaker that forces the defense to pick their poison. They can crash hard on him to try to stop the break, denying an easy shot opportunity at the rim from Suggs himself and he’ll create an opportunity for someone else or they try to cover everyone else while getting back and Suggs takes advantage of the scramble, usually with a likely one on one situation and gets that easy shot at the rim. The more frantic and quick the pace gets, the more Suggs seems to be at home as an agent of chaos.
He also is great at making an opposing team pay for their mistakes, by utilizing defense to create offensive opportunities for easy transition points. Suggs is a well-rounded defender with good awareness and instincts, really shining as a help defender. He’s fantastic at reading passing lanes and is just a thief on the defensive end of the floor, evident by his average of 2.42 steals per game. The added value of Suggs though again as a defender is his ability to create those turnovers but then also make teams pay dearly for them. His defense leads to offense and that’s something only really great defenders and more importantly, players do constantly.
