Why the Philadelphia 76ers should draft Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson, Villanova star point guard and AP Player of the Year, projects as a late first-round pick. The Philadelphia 76ers should draft him.
In the past month, the Philadelphia 76ers went from having T.J. McConnell and Jerryd Bayless as their first guards off the bench to Markelle Fultz and Marco Belinelli as their second unit guards. The Sixers’ current nine-game winning streak owes a lot to the reserve guards, and it further proves how important it is to have dynamic guard play off the bench.
Assuming Markelle Fultz gets his development back on track, he will start next year, which means that the Sixers will need a backup point guard. Fan-favorite T.J. McConnell is a good option off the bench, but he is not a championship sixth man. Bryan Colangelo must use Philly’s own draft pick on Villanova star Jalen Brunson, as he has the potential to become a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
McConnell passes better than Brunson, but that is just about the only thing he does better than the Illinois native. The ex-Arizona playmaker averages 6.3 assists per 36 minutes while the Wildcats’ guard averages 5.9 per 40 minutes. Other than that, Brunson blows McConnell out of the water in almost every other statistical category.
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Philly’s 26-year-old reserve shoots at an even 50 percent from the field on 5.6 field goal attempts per game, but the 21-year-old edges him, shooting 52.7 percent on 12.9 shots per game. Although McConnell shoots more efficiently from deep, Brunson takes many more outside attempts. The former shoots 42.4 percent from three-point range on 0.9 shots per game, whereas the latter shoots 41.3 percent on 5.3 attempts per game.
In terms of box plus/minus, T.J. McConnell posts an offensive rating of -1.9, meaning he produces 1.9 fewer points than the average NBA player. Brunson, on the other hand, has posted a 9.0 offensive box plus/minus, which ties him for the second-best in the nation, ahead of future NBA superstars such as Mikal Bridges, Marvin Bagley III, Deandre Ayton, and basically every other college player.
Obviously, NCAA basketball is less challenging than the NBA, but scouts can only see Brunson’s monstrous production as a good sign ahead of June’s NBA draft.
The New Jersey-born guard also posted the 12th-highest offensive rating in all of college basketball this season, and that statistic stands out even more when considering the fact that Villanova had the 10th-strongest schedule in the NCAA. No player other than his teammate, Mikal Bridges, had a better offensive rating while playing a schedule as strong as Nova’s.
Brunson’s great performances in this month’s NCAA Basketball Tournament have only raised his draft stock, but many recent NBA Mock drafts do not have teams picking him in the first round. NBADraft.net has him going 28th overall to the Golden State Warriors, with the Sixers grabbing Duke’s Trevon Duval at 23.
That all could change once sites release post-March Madness mocks, but based on recent draft patterns, it is unlikely that the 21-year-old will rise much farther. Duval is younger and may have a higher ceiling than Brunson, but the AP Player of the Year will help the Philadelphia 76ers win games as soon as he enters the league.
The Sixers will contend for a spot in the NBA Finals next year, so they should not draft a work-in-progress with a late first-round pick. Jalen Brunson is the best option for his scoring ability, toughness, leadership, and winning mentality, and the 76ers need to draft him to help fortify their bench ahead of next year’s playoff run.