It’s the easiest call of the NBA draft: The San Antonio Spurs won.
That’s not to say other teams didn’t do very well on Thursday, when 58 players were selected as the league’s newest members. But the Spurs being able to take generational French talent Victor Wembanyama puts them at the head of the class.
Some of the teams that also did well: NBA champion Denver, Golden State, Toronto — even with just one pick — and Orlando, which might now be closer to returning to the postseason mix.
A breakdown of which teams had Excellent drafts, those that had Good drafts and others that will have to Wait and See:
EXCELLENT
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Picks: Dereck Lively II (12, via trade); Olivier-Maxence Prosper (24, via trade).
Dallas got the big man it wanted and created opportunity by moving Davis Bertans. Hard to argue that it wasn’t a good night. And now free agency awaits. Prosper is another player with big potential and was extremely hard to guard at Marquette.
DENVER NUGGETS
Picks: Julian Strawther (29), Jalen Pickett (32, will be acquired via trade), Hunter Tyson (37),
Pickett should have gone in the first round. He’s that good, and the NBA champions just got another do-it-all guy who will also serve as insurance should Bruce Brown leave in free agency.
DETROIT PISTONS
Picks: Ausar Thompson (5), Marcus Sasser (25, via trade), James Nnaji (31)
No matter what, the Pistons were going to get better and deeper on Thursday night. Thompson is incredibly athletic (even by NBA standards) and plays defense with a ton of energy.
GOLDEN STATE
WARRIORS
Picks: Brandin Podziemski (19), Trayce Jackson-Davis (57, via trade)
Play to your strength, and the Warriors got another shooter to add to the mix with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Podziemski could add something right away, and came to Golden State on the same day that the Warriors swung a deal for Chris Paul by sending Jordan Poole to Washington.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Picks: Amen Thompson (4), Cam Whitmore (20)
Thompson is a great move and gives Detroit another great option as it builds. If Whitmore is healthy, then Houston got an absolute steal by getting the Villanova forward at No. 20.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Picks: Cason Wallace (10, via trade), Keyontae Johnson (50)
Wallace was great for Kentucky in his lone college season and played perhaps his best game in the Wildcats’ finale in the NCAA tournament. He can score; he didn’t look to score quite often enough at times in college.
