2018 NBA mock draft: The NCAA season is here
In the first NBA mock draft of the year, we’re using current standings to keep things simple.
That of course means that certain teams (looking at you, New York and Oklahoma City) are quit a ways away from where they will likely draft come next June. Oh, well.
As a result, I withheld analysis based on the teams these guys ended up on. It’s not quite a big board, but in the spots where I did put a certain player on a certain team based on fit or draft tendency, you will still simply find my analysis of that player independent of their team match.
Isaac Bonga
G/F, Fraport Skyliners
Whoa. Kudos to The Step Back crew for being on top of the Bonga train ahead of everyone. The point forward just turned 18, despite competing in the FIBA U19s this summer and performing well. The kid barely fills out his jersey, but stands out immediately after a few seconds.
The ball finds energy, as Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni says, and Bonga has plenty of it. He’s devastating with any inch of space between he and the rim, especially in the open court, where he flashes perhaps a little Josh Jackson. But outside of those electrifying moments, his play whispers of potential.
The team is called the Fraport Skyliners, and there are lots of fun things to see: off-the-bounce threes, the broadcasters yelling his fabulous name (“BOOOONGAA!!”), and a breakneck pace. Bonga has the fortune of playing several more years in Europe before even considering a move across the pond, but when he chooses to try the NBA, the team that drafts him will be inheriting a project worth doing the extra homework for.