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

No. 2 overall pick, Los Angeles Lakers, 2015

D’Angelo Russell had questions about whether he could really be a scheme-changing point guard in the way that many of the elite point guard prospects that came before him were. He did a little bit of everything well, but he lacked the consistent decision-making and finishing to reliably project him as an offensive fulcrum. He struggled with passing decisions and shot selection at Ohio State, and a thin frame was worrisome. While the latter has improved, the former is why he’s on his fourth team in five years this season despite playing like an All-Star at times.

Despite those potential issues, he was still the best point guard in a fairly good draft, and the expectation was that he was going to settle in as a top-10 level point guard in the league. His passing technique and court vision were fairly good as a college player, and his 3-point shooting promise (41.1 percent) on significant volume (6.6 attempts per game) was very attractive as Stephen Curry was rounding to the peak of his powers. Russell looked every bit like a starter-level point guard with a not unreasonable shot at becoming an All-Star, and that’s pretty much where he’s been as a player so far.