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N.B.A Draft Combine

nba draft

During the past 2 days, Thursday and Friday, the N.B.A hosted its annual pre-draft combine in Chicago. This event showcases 60 of the top prospects and allows front office executives and talent evaluators, the chance to be able to confirm or dispel their preconceived notions of each player. The first day featured workouts such as spot up shooting, transition shooting, contested shooting, 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 back, cone dribble drill, one-on-one play and some post play. Few of the elite prospects usually participate during these workouts due to strategic usage set for players by there agents. Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Thomas Robinson and Andre Drummond are the biggest names that opted to sit out on Thursday. After day 1, the most impressive prospect during these workouts was Damian Lillard, out of Weber State. He really put on display his various abilities including, exceptional shooting ability from anywhere on the floor, decision making, passing, explosiveness, and ball handling, and proved why he is a lottery rated prospect. During day 2 of these pre-draft workouts, all 60 of the prospects participated in the various drill that included, 3/4 court sprints (40 yard dash), shuttle run, vertical leap (standing and 3-step), modified lane agility test (2.5-5-2.5) and bench press. On day 2, the prospect that really helped raised his stock and created a huge buzz was Meyers Leonard, a 7 foot 1 inch center from Illinois. He displayed his tremendous leaping ability, a decent mid-range shooting touch, and solid back to the basket moves. A lot of the scouts that attended the combine felt as though he catapulted himself from a late lottery pick to now a top 10 prospect. As the draft rapidly approaches, my advice is to watch out as Meyers Leonard promptly shoots up the various mock drafts.

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