The BTC family just finished up a draft of every basketball player on the planet 25 years old or younger. The goal was to make the best team possible for the 2024-25 season. This means the 2020 draft class’s rookies (Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball) would have four years of experience, entering their fifth season. Every high school, college, and international player was available.
The draft order was Sean, Darrell, Chuck, Michael. Serpentine style, so last pick selects twice in a row.
The whole draft order by round can be found at the bottom of the page. Note that high school players are linked to scouting reports/mixtapes, and their first year of NBA draft eligibility is in parentheses. In 2022, the NBA can change the age limit to allow high school graduates to enter. Since we don't yet know if that will happen, players from that year have two possible draft years.
Which team wins the 2024-25 NBA Championship? VOTE HERE
Sean Bush
PG: Cade Cunningham (2021 NBA draft class, Highlights)
SG: Luka Doncic
SF: Emoni Bates (2022 draft, Highlights)
PF: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Jalen Duren (2022/23 draft; Highlights)
BNCH: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
BNCH: Jaylen Brown
BNCH: De’Aaron Fox
BNCH: Scottie Barnes (2022 draft, Highlights)
Well let's see here...
I have the best overall player and prospect in the draft in Luka Doncic. Doncic's scoring and playmaking abilities are virtually unmatched now—imagine them in five years!
I have who I'd argue are the two best prospects not yet in the NBA in Cade Cunningham and Emoni Bates. Cunningham, a freshman at Oklahoma State this upcoming season, is in the Ben Simmons/Luka Doncic mold as a playmaker. He's a plus defender and has great size at 6'7" leading him to be the favorite to go #1 overall in the 2021 draft. Bates just finished up arguably the best sophomore high school season ever. The 6'9" 16-year-old can do it all and has earned many comparisons to Kevin Durant for his combination of size, shooting, and playmaking abilities.
I have one of the few elite stretch big-men in the NBA right now in Kristaps Porzingis who should be in the midst of his prime when this season takes place. He gives me versatility as he can play the PF or C spot for me and help space the floor. My other big, 16-year-old Jalen Duren, will provide a strong frame, potentially elite rebounding, and pick-and-roll roll man abilities—skills that aren't among Porzingis's best.
My team has hands-down the best playmaking ability of any of the four. I've covered Cade and Luka but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De'Aaron Fox are two more guys who can defend guards at a high level and also run an offense in their own right. Fox also gives me a guy with elite speed who I think can use that to play off someone like Doncic well.
Jaylen Brown and Scottie Barnes are just two more wings who can add to my team's overall versatility. Jaylen Brown is a Swiss army knife I can use at 3-4 different positions if need be. Barnes, also high-school teammates with Cunningham and Duren, will be a freshman at Florida State next year. He has point-forward skills while also being an excellent athlete, defender, and high motor guy similar to Brown. These two guys can sure up my defense and fit into whatever lineups I need.
So in summation, my team can pass, shoot, score, rebound, and defend at a high level while also being versatile enough to adapt to my opponent's style if need be. How do you stop a team with no holes and the best player in the game? You can't, that's why my team is the easy choice here.
Darrell Harris
PG: Ja Morant
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Deandre Ayton
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
BNCH: LaMelo Ball
BNCH: Jonathan Kuminga (2022/23 draft) Highlights
BNCH: Mo Bamba
BNCH: Tyler Herro
Ja Morant projects to be the future top dog at the point guard position, so it was paramount that I began my team with him. His ability to dominate with penetration beside his court vision will lead this team and allow others to fall in place. The tandem of Karl-Anthony Towns and Deandre Ayton pairs two 1st overall draft picks together for what is surely the most fundamentally sound frontcourt in this league. Along with Brandon Ingram and Donovan Mitchell slicing and dicing defenses at their leisure, I have the utmost confidence in my starting 5. LaMelo Ball spearheads my 2nd unit with a style that blends pace and big-play potential.
Overall, this squad is capable of winning in multiple ways, without ever compromising tenacity and skill. Instead of banking on the untapped potential of future 22-year-olds, I put together the team that makes the most sense and is designed to excel in the postseason. Morant, Mitchell, and Ingram aren’t afraid of anyone at the rim. With the two of the three best low post scorers in this league, if the well runs dry from deep our penetration and interior presence can anchor us. If the game is high-scoring, our guards like Herro and Ball will welcome the opportunity for more shots. Ultimately this is a true team. Yes basketball is becoming position-less, but the traditional roles of this team can’t be understated. If you want to go quickly go alone, but if you want to go far - go together.
Chuck Campbell
PG: Lonzo Ball
SG: Devin Booker
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Adrian Griffin Jr. (2022 draft) Highlights
C: Bam Adebayo
BNCH: Jamal Murray
BNCH: John Collins
BNCH: BJ Boston (2021 draft) Highlights
BNCH: Chet Holmgren (2022 draft) Highlights
I knew going into the draft that in order to win I would have to put together a versatile team that can compete now, as well as win championships into the future. I value players that can play/guard multiple positions. I wanted to have enough facilitators to keep the ball moving and play up tempo, and enough shooters for that strategy to be successful.
Looking at the board, I saw small forward as the position with the least amount of depth, so no-brainer I took Jayson Tatum. Pairing him with Devin Booker gives me two of the best individual scorers in the world right now, let alone a few years from now. Bam Adebayo anchors my defense and is a savant out of the high post, which Booker specifically likes to operate off of.
AJ Griffin (high school ‘21, Duke commit) looks like Blake Griffin 2.0, and has many scouts (including myself) salivating over his potential on both ends of the floor. The same can be said for Chet Holmgren, the uncommitted #1 ranked player in the 2021 high school class. Holmgren is a 7 foot monster with quick feet and a textbook shooting stroke all the way out to the three point line. He swats anything in his zip code, cleans more glass than Windex, and plays with a chip on his shoulder. BJ Boston (‘20) was my final non NBA pick; he is about to start his Freshman season at Kentucky. Boston is an absolute bucket, who can get his own shot whenever he wants. Easily the most gifted 3-level scorer in his class, if he can tighten his handle up just a little bit he will be an elite offensive weapon in the NBA.
Rounding out my bench are John Collins and Jamal Murray, which is where I really love the versatility of my line up. Having all star level back ups at the 1-2 and 4-5, this is a team with no flaws. Interestingly, I saved my starting point guard for my last pick, and chose Lonzo Ball. With the way I had constructed my team, I knew I wanted a point guard that could play fast, get the ball to my primary scorers, and lock up on the other team’s best guard. Check, check, and check. Ball will fill the same role on my championship teams that Rajon Rondo brought to the Celtics. This is a run and gun team with Lonzo playing the way he was born to play: fast. That, and the versatility of my bench give me the advantage in a game against any of my co-host’s teams, because I can roll out different starting line-ups for each matchup and they’ll all be just as lethal. I know we’re drafting for the 2024-25 championship, but this team plans to pick up a few more Larrys before then.
@BluRayHush
PG: Trae Young
SG: Ben Simmons
SF: Jonathan Isaac
PF: Zion Williamson
C: Nikola Jokic
6th Man: Onyeka Okongwu
BNCH: Victor Wembanyama (2022/23 draft) Highlights
BNCH: D’Angelo Russell
BNCH: Michael Porter, Jr.
I picked the Zion/Jokic frontcourt with my first two picks, and then complemented it with the Trae/Simmons backcourt. Okongwu is a Bam Adebayo-type, so his capabilities help prop up both Jokic and Zion, meaning he can play just as well with either. I went versatility and skill at all costs. Size and length naturally accompany and perpetuate this. Defense and shooting rounded out the roster around my four stars. In five years, I expect the game to be more positionless than we’ve ever seen. The three-pointer won’t ever become the only shot that matters, but spacing and versatility will reign supreme. Still, Michael Porter, Jr. and Jon Isaac are the epitome of offense vs defense, so whenever we need spacing and scoring instead, Porter switches into the starting rotation seamlessly.
Victor Wembanyama might be the best prospect in basketball right now based on ceiling. The 7'2" 16 year old has a 7'8" wingspan. Recently, he was working out with and drilling jumpers over fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert. My guys are switchable; all of the starting five is maximally comfortable with the ball in their hands. The movement and passing will be unstoppable and more important than three-point shooting. Gravity isn't the only way to stretch out or exhaust a defense. They play the Spurs brand aka The Beautiful Game.
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