Re-Drafting the 2014 NBA Draft

93. <p><strong>Original pick: Joel Embiid</strong></p> <p>We are (finally) off the script when it comes to the original draft order, and moving away from Philly’s actual direction was an easy choice. However, landing on Nikola Jokic would be a clear upgrade, and there isn’t a a ton of (responsible) debate about that.</p> <p>Jokic did not debut until the 2015-2016 season, but he was able to crack the top three in Rookie of the Year voting, and that is a major accomplishment in the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns. Casual fans haven’t had the opportunity to catch on to Jokic’s game, given that he plays for an underwhelming Nuggets team in an off-the-radar market, but the 21-year-old big man has everything you’d want in a franchise center.</p> <p>In his rookie season, Jokic posted a 21.5 PER with a 58.2% true shooting, and he did so while averaging 16.5 points and 11.6 rebounds per 36 minutes. In the interest of full disclosure, it remains to be seen as to whether Jokic can maintain that level over a bigger workload, but he is already an above-average defensive player with encouraging efficiency on the offensive end.</p> <p>It isn’t clear that Jokic belongs <em>this</em> high, but he has shown more in one NBA season than the great majority of prospects in the 2014 class have displayed over two campaigns.</p>. C/PF. Serbia. Nikola Jokic. 3. player