It’s a bit crazy to think that it’s been almost 6 years since the 2016 NBA Draft. It doesn’t seem all that long back, that Ben Simmons was being hyped up as the next LeBron James while Brandon Ingram was being looked at as someone who might one day become an offensive force in the league.
While the two at the top have certainly made an impression in the NBA, so have some of the less-heralded names from back then. In fact, 7 players from that draft class have gone on to earn All-Star nods in the NBA and FanDuel decided to have a re-draft to see who would go where based on what we know now.
https://twitter.com/FanDuel/status/1537974628395540485
Pascal Siakam going number 1 sure is an interesting selection but Ben Simmons at 8 is a bit ridiculous. Simmons has had his issues and while he still can’t shoot, that is way too low for a 3-time All-Star and a runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. Twitter had a lot to say about this re-draft as you might imagine.
“No this is stupid. Ben Simmons is still clearly the best player from that draft”
“pascal only has a ring bc of kawhi jaylen clears and its not really close”
“Ben Simmons actually won Rookie of the Year in the Class, and has made an ALL NBA TEAM.. STOP THE CAP”
“Lmao. Siakam already peaked and is all downhill. Carried by Kawhi in the finals. Brown cannot dribble to save his life. Ingram should be 1st.”
“Pascal is the only champion on the list. Brown as the second guy couldn’t get it done, so it’s no argument he’s ahead of him.”
“Nah I’m taking Brown and possibly Ingram over Siakim. Simmons also way too high”
“No Ben Simmons is the best player in this class he will outperform everybody in a matchup today”
“Its crazy how people forgot how good Simmons is, the Hawks series was horrible from him, he was too hesitant with shot selection and even his playmaking was a bit worse but the series was lost because of Rivers not Simmons. Simmons is a top 5 player from this draft”
“This sucks tremendously”
“BI goes 1. Simmons way too low”
“Dejounte feels a slot or 2 low just because age. Everything else looks fairly close. Ingram has a case for being a little higher for sure as well”
“Even tho Siakam looks gross in that jersey thats the right redraft, except Simmons should be 4th”
“Simmons at 8 is pretty wild. He was still an all star his last healthy season and can do everything on the court at an elite level besides shoot.”
“Jaylen should be first, Murray second and Siakam third”
“Just a reminder that Ben Simmons is All-NBA. That’s one of two players on this list.”
“Ingram is 1, siakam or Simmons is 2, Brown us 4, 5 Jamal, 6 Dejounte, 7 Freddy, 8 Domantas. Ben Simmons refuses to play basketball but he’s still better than almost anybody on this list”
“Switch out Simmons and Sabonis and it is a little more accurate. For those saying Ingram over Siakam or Brown clearly don’t care about the defensive side of the ball.”
“Talk about being near sighted and regency bias. Simmons has been unprofessional last season, but he was also all-NBA and was in DPOY race. No way he is #8 below Vanvleet and DeJounte”
“I love FVV, but Dejounte Murray needs to be ahead. Actually, he should be ahead of Sabonis and Jamal as well. Ahead of Jamal because of the injury factor.”
“Bi and Murray are better than Brown I’m sick of this lmao”
Simmons at 8 just screams recency bias. He and Siakam are the only ones here to have been selected to All-NBA teams and there is absolutely no chance he falls out of the top 5 even after his recent issues.
This list does once again highlight how good this draft class has been and an 8th All-Star nod should be coming once Jamal Murray gets healthy. Here’s hoping that the upcoming 2022 class that is headlined by the likes of Paulo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, and Jabari Smith Jr, proves to be as deep as this one.
