2019 NBA Mock Draft: March is here

Team defense generates more conversation, but being a team player on offense is extremely important as well. The reason we don’t talk about it as much is because it’s harder to come up with what being a team offensive player means. It’s not simply passing or scoring well, or even being efficient overall and making your team better when you’re on the court. It’s about raising the ceiling for the unit you play with by melding your game to the other four guys’ games.

That sort of adaptivity is key when we discuss “generational” prospects like Williamson. It’s easy to fall into a lapse in actual analysis when the consensus swells around someone like Williamson. We don’t always know what else to say at this point in the year. He played against incredible competition in the ACC and dominated. He will be the No. 1 overall pick with no doubt about it.

What separates Williamson — and what made him so important to Duke this year — is his cleverness and creativity helping his teammates. There’s an incredible amount of skill required to do this, and Williamson’s prolific athleticism gives him an advantage. But his knack for finding openings, manipulating the defense, controlling his level of energy and seeing the floor — all for the sake of helping his team win — is immeasurable.

This is why Duke is the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship this April and why Williamson’s ceiling in the NBA is in the stars.