NBA Draft Snubs Who Made An Impact

7 Draft Bargains From the 2021-22 NBA Season- NBA Draft Snubs 

The 2021 NBA Draft Snubs was possibly the best one yet. There aren’t many other years that could compete with the amount of depth that was on show that night. 

With only 60 players in each draft and each team only getting two picks, no one who is picked is really snubbed in the NBA draft. But there were probably a few players who feel like they should have been picked earlier. 

Today, we are going to compare the NBA odds for Rookie of the Year against the 2021 Draft order, so see who was the best draft bargain. 

 

Worst Draft Pick – Moses Moody, Golden State Warriors, 1st Round Pick, 14th Pick Overall – NBA Draft Snubs

Moody may have been a 1st round pick this year and he was picked in the 1st half of that round – but he might have put in the worst performance of all 2021 rookies. 

That’s not to say that he has had a bad season, he played every game, averaged 16.8 points per game – but considering he was picked so early in the Draft, we were left a little, well, underwhelmed. 

We have high hopes for him next season though.  

#6 – Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets, 1st Round Pick, 16th Overall Pick 

Sengun was picked by Thunder in the 1st round, 16th pick overall, and then was traded to the Houston Rockets. 

Sengun is one of the few players to join the NBA from outside America, but that number is growing steadily. 

It is not a shock to see Sengun in the Top 10 odds for Rookie of the Year as he was picked in the first round. But aside from the man at the top of this list, he was the last of the Top 10 to get picked. 

#5 – Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic, 1st Round Pick, 8th Pick Overall 

Wanger is another first-round pick that we were shocked didn’t get snapped up in the first 5. With the season he’s had – he has shown the teams that passed him up that they made a mistake. 

Wanger grew up in Germany, plays for his country’s national team, and transferred to the NBA this year. In December he was named NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. 

#4 – Chris Duarte, Indiana Pacers, 1st Round Pick, 13th Pick Overall 

13 is unlucky for some, but being picked 13th in the Draft hasn’t held Chris Duarte down this season. Duarte is a Canadian-Dominican player, who played for both Northwest Florida State College and the University of Oregon during his college career. 

On his debut for the Pacers, Duarte set a franchise rookie record with 27 points and five rebounds in one match. Duarte’s performance wasn’t quite enough to keep the Pacers away from the bottom end of the table – they finished in 13th place… 

#3 –  Nah’Shon Hyland, Denver Nuggets, 1st Round Pick, 26th Pick Overall 

 Nah’Shon Hyland studied and played college basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University – when he was picked this year, he became their first drafted player in 11 years. 

Hyland didn’t come from one of the big basketball colleges, so you would be forgiven for underestimating him. Did he have the best season? Not really, but he played much better than his Draft placement would suggest. 

Hyland averaged 8.8 points per game over 45 games. In his best game of the season, he scored 27 points and got 5 rebounds. 

#2 – Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavalier, 1st Round Pick, 3rd Pick Overall 

We know that Mobley wasn’t a draft snub, but he has shown with his performance this season that he should have been the number one pick. He outperformed the two men above him on the list. 

Mobley had a better year than the rest of us expected him to, and we are excited to see what he can bring to the NBA next season. 

Mobley is by far the bookies’ favorite to be named Rookie of the Year for the 2021-22 season. 

#1 – Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls, 2nd Round Pick, 32nd Overall Pick 

Ayo Dosunmu is currently the only player who was picked in the second round to be in the Top 10 odds for Rookie of the Year. 

We find it a little odd that Dosunmu was left until the second round – he did win a gold medal with the under 18s Team USA. In his final year of College, Dosunmu was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Bob Cousy Award. He was statistically the top point guard in the whole of the NCAA that year. He averaged 20.1 points per game that season. 

Dosunmu may be an outside pick for Rookie of the Year, but he is one to be watched over the next decade. 

Compared to some other American sports, the NBA has a fairly small draft – with only 60 players being picked, and each team only picking 2 players. 

Thanks to this setup, no one is really snubbed, but there are a few players, Ayo Dosunmu included, who were real bargains in the Draft.