A few days before the 2022 Draft ceremony, we invite you to dive back ten years to see what has become of the cracks announced at the time. A good 2012 vintage in which we find names that have made a name for themselves since then, some nice steals, a well-known Frenchie… but also big busts as we like them. Come on, flashback.
Ah, the year 2012… At that time, the astronaut Hakihiko Hoshide took the first selfie during an intervention outside a space station, and we were preparing for the end of the world announced by the Mayans. On the parquet side, LeBron James finally wins his first championship ring with the Heat against Oklahoma City. And like at the end of each season, we are impatiently awaiting the Draft to see who will recover the young cracks about to land in the NBA. 2012 is an interesting vintage that will keep all its promises since some of the big players of recent years come from it: Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, does that speak to you? Yes, these three players were selected in the top 10 of this Draft 2012. Chosen by the New Orleans Hornets as No. 1, the most famous single-brow in the world has assumed this status rather well, with rapid statistical progress and a real impact on a rather limited Bayou team for several years. A team he will leave in 2019 to join LeBron’s Lakers, with whom he will become champion in 2020 after a big season. The two other big names in this top 10, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal, were drafted by teams whose colors they still defend without succeeding in bringing them to the top. But their offensive talent and statistical impact put them quite high in the NBA hierarchy.
Obviously, there is no good vintage of Draft without some big disappointments. And so it was again this year. Come on, let’s loose the blases: selected in number 2 by the Charlotte Bobcats, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the first of this list. Announced as a top prospect, MKG will never confirm the expectations that weighed on him, bringing at best ten points per game with a little defense before disappearing completely from NBA radars from 2020. But Michael is not the the only one to have been overestimated by the GMs, since there are also guys like Dion Waiters (N°4), Thomas Robinson (N°5), Austin Rivers (N°10) or Meyers Leonard (N°11). We will not return to the exploits of Céline and in particular the episode of the plane, but the performances of these four did not live up to their status, far from it. We also know a player who could (should?) have been higher than the guys mentioned just above, and he is French. You guessed it, it’s Evan Fournier, selected in 20th place by the Nuggets. The arrival of one of the best ambassadors of our country in the NBA, and a career in constant ascent for ten years after passages by Orlando, Boston and New York. Today, Vavane is well established as starter and wants to aim higher.
Now let’s move on to steals of this Draft, players snubbed by a lot of franchises and who have made them regret since. We’re gonna start with one of the biggest hits of the decade with Draymond Green. The triple NBA champion and best defender in 2017 was drafted in… 35th position! Yes, you read that right. Mind-blowing info when you see what the guy has done in this League in ten years. The big mouth of the Warriors had to close quite a few among those who put a wind to him in 2012. Another client of this second part of the Draft, Khris Middleton. Giannis’s lieutenant was chosen in 39th position before establishing himself as one of the most solid backs in the Great League. Triple All-Star, NBA champion and gold medalist at the last Olympics (snif), Khris can be proud of his career. Among the other solid players at the end of the Draft, we can also mention Jae Crowder (34th) and Will Barton (40th). Finally, we place one for JaMychal Green and Kent Bazemore, who managed to find a place in the NBA jungle without having been drafted that year.
It’s always nice to relive memories of the past, and the Drafts are no exception. So when we talk about a cuvée as rich as that of 2012, with superstars, big busts and steals that no one saw coming, we appreciate it even more.