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

No. 2 overall pick, Charlotte Bobcats, 2012

The case for Kidd-Gilchrist ahead of some of the much more polished options we’ve discussed so far:

• While Kidd-Gilchrist was never going to shoot, and entertaining the idea has always been silly, he looked like a plug-and-play slasher type who could overcome that deficit to still provide value. His ability to move the ball in the half-court as a passer, relocate into open space and dictate play in transition all looked about as good as you could ask for from a wing player at the college level, and he was useful at drawing fouls on the rare self-creation opportunities he was afforded.
• There was reason to believe he could become more of an on-ball scoring threat than he ended up being because while his handle wasn’t great in college, he had the footwork, strength and burst to become a strong driver if the handle progressed. He was a better finisher than college Oladipo and probably a better handler in college.
• Defensively, he was considered to be just as strong as his teammate Anthony Davis, and future Defensive Player of the Year consideration was on the table. His frame, agility and strength allowed him to defend across the spectrum of positions in college, and he had great instincts as a team defender as well. No draft has had two more clear defensive forces in it than 2012’s top-two picks.

MKG was an atypical top-five pick, but the idea of him becoming something on offense wasn’t as farfetched as it feels like in hindsight. He was much more put together on offense than someone like Isaac Okoro this year, and again he falls under our central theme here — just because he didn’t become a useful offensive player doesn’t mean he couldn’t have in a different set of circumstances.