Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson’s pre-draft evaluation were just incredible. These guys were so good entering the NBA that scouts had to look for off-court factors to evaluate them and give them some weaknesses. Kobe and AI were part of the same draft and it looks like scouts had some trouble evaluating them.
The 2020 NBA is around the corner and we can’t help but remember some of the greatest players we saw on draft night, looking excited to hear their names next to an NBA team. Things have changed a lot from the 90s to these days, except for the quality of players. Pre-draft evaluations are well-detailed now, showing you how a player can perform on the court, comparing them to other big names and more.
However, 20 years ago you could watch that and more. Kobe, for instance, was a natural scorer and had a great work ethic entering the league. Those are two great strengths, but when it came to weaknesses, not liking his teammates was one, as well as passing, which would go hunting Kobe during his entire NBA career. The shooting guard earned a reputation of being a shoot-first player instead of setting his teammates up to score.
As for Iverson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, he had an excellent speed and was a very capable scorer. Nevertheless, if you took a look at his weaknesses, hating practice was his biggest one. The combo guard also wasn’t very fond of practice and that created problems for him. Still, he had a memorable NBA career and even though he never won a ring, AI is one of the most talented players the league has seen.
These two weren’t the only ones with these curious evaluations. Legendary point guard Steve Nash also a victim, with scouts highlighting his great passing skills and the fact that he had never been injured. When we talked about his weaknesses, though, the defense was something Nash had to work on and improve. However, the second thing was harder, as they wrote ‘white dude’ as a weakness. I’m not pretty sure how that works but Nash didn’t have any problems playing in the league regardless of his skin color.
These three players had terrific NBA careers. Although Kobe was the most successful of the three, each one left a mark on the game even before they made it to the league. These pre-draft evaluations were just great and, truth to be told, pretty accurate.
