The No. 2 Draft pick is a highly valued asset for obvious reasons, but the recent history of the selection has been very hit-or-miss. As a result, fans started discussing how a roster with the last 12 No. 2 overall picks would fare in the NBA. Let’s break this team into starters and bench players, so it would be easy for readers to project if this team can become a championship contender or not.
Starting Lineup: Ja Morant, Victor Oladipo, Brandon Ingram, Jabari Parker, Chet Holmgren
Bench: D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Green, Brandon Miller, James Wiseman, Marvin Bagley III, Lonzo Ball, Michael Carter-Williams
Fans broke down how this team could perform if they were in the NBA. The lack of quality at the power forward and center positions is the main undoing of this roster, as fans don’t project them to perform too well.
“4/5 looks extremely light but this looks like a pretty nice team if everyone is in their prime and fully healthy. People forget how good Oladipo was in Indiana I thought he could be a consistent All-Star player. Plenty of scoring to go around and solid perimeter defense just looking a little light on size.”
“They’ll get absolutely bodied in the paint. Don’t have great outside shooting. The defense would be thin. Definitely not.”
“No, this team isn’t good enough in general and it doesn’t have enough star power tbh. To win the chip you really need someone who you can make an argument is a top 5 player. Maybe Ja gets there someday, but I think it’s unlikely.”
“Does prime include the aging of players who are yet to hit their prime? If so, yes, easily. If not, I think the 4/5 depth looks a little shallow. Rookie Chet can’t carry that area of the game alone.”
“If you gave them a fully healthy Lonzo and a fully healthy Oladipo, they would be pretty good. They wouldn’t have enough at the 4/5 spot to get past the 2nd round.”
“6 seed at best. If not for Ja, this is barely a play-in team.”
“Half this team hasn’t hit their prime yet so how can we say for sure? If they improve a bit, I can see it. Though they lack interior presence.”
“Pretty good team overall. Probably WCF or 2nd round. Lack the size to win it all IMO.”
“43 wins and a play-in exit.”
“God damn those are some bad picks.”
All positions in the starting five outside power forwards should be locked. Jabari Parker isn’t even in the NBA anymore but he’s the only inside presence who could complement Chet Holmgren. Bagley III and Wiseman haven’t fared that well either, so picking any of these three bigs to start as the four or the five alongside Chet would work.
The bench scoring on this team will be fierce, with flamethrowers like Russell, Green, and Brandon Miller. The offense really isn’t the concern, but the lack of defense would stop me from picking them for any real postseason success.
Would This Team Of No. 2 Picks Win A Championship?
As indicated by my closing thoughts in the first section, I agree with most of the fans that this team would either be a first-round exit or a play-in team. Projecting them to win between 40 to 45 games based on the offensive talents on that roster seems fair.
Ja Morant‘s superstar talent should be good enough to drag this team to wins, especially with the spacing on the roster. They could be a fast-paced and high-powered offense under a healthy Ja, who averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.1 assists this season in just nine games.
Victor Oladipo in his prime was one of the best two-way players in the NBA and needs to start alongside Morant to add defensive stability to this lineup. Brandon Ingram would likely be the No. 2 option behind Morant, averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists last season.
The big-man play is atrocious and the 2024 Playoffs have proven you need more power in your frontline to win games in the NBA. Chet as the sole center just lost in the Playoffs 4-2 after being bullied by the Mavericks’ big men, so hoping to have success with a rotation of Bagley and Wiseman as backup bigs alongside Parker and Chet is just not feasible.
The bench has some great pieces, with D’Lo and Jalen Green guaranteed to score at a high clip given their microwave offensive abilities. Brandon Miller might suffer from inconsistency, but he could be a great offensive tool as well. Lonzo Ball would be a very useful on-ball defender, assuming he’s healthy as well.
They could be the best offense in the NBA and sneak into the Playoffs, but their lack of defensive ability or versatility will lead to disaster in a seven-game series.
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