The Step Back Composite NBA Draft Big Board: The best 30 draft prospects of the 2010s

No. 1 overall pick, Washington Wizards, 2010

The first draft pick of the decade was the best point guard prospect of the decade by a significant margin. There have been a lot of good guards on this list, some that have even reached the same tier of play as peak John Wall. But none was as polished or as complete as the player who essentially started the hysteria around the John Calipari Kentucky program. Wall was a brilliant offensive talent, with possibly the best passing touch of any prospect of the decade, the best finishing profile of any of the guards, and near-elite court vision and decision-making in the pick-and-roll. He wasn’t a polished shooter at the time, but his mechanics were strong and he had established a pretty good mid-range pull-up game, which projected to eventually getting there. No one had better command of the game than Wall as a freshman point guard in this decade.

Add in that he was the best defensive prospect of the point guards as well. While it’s not paramount that lead guards be good defenders — plenty aren’t and add significant value to their teams just due to the duties involved — it certainly helps if you have a good defensive point guard, and doubly so if he’s an elite offensive talent to boot. Wall’s point of attack defense is the added value that is the cherry on the sundae of the best draft profile at the league’s most important position.