in Lists, NBA

7 Players I’m Rooting For From the 2023 NBA Draft

2023 nba draft

The 2023 NBA Draft was last week.

I love seeing these young men enter the NBA with a clean slate and a smile on their face before we all join forces to dissect all of their decisions and shit on them whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I will be mocking literally all of these players at least once in their careers but before I rain on their parades, let me quickly point out the players who stood out to me.

Players I want to see succeed in the NBA and have long, interesting careers.

Here are the 7 players I’m rooting for from the 2023 NBA Draft:

 

1. Victor Wembanyama

Right now, it seems like everyone and their mothers agree Victor Wembanyama is already a Top 5 player in NBA history but we all know how this media game goes and the second he has one bad shooting night in the middle of January against like, the Orlando Magic, those same people are going to rush to dog Vic and call him out for not scoring 50 points every night.

I don’t know if he’ll be the next Tim Duncan.

I don’t know if injuries will rob him of his prime.

But I do know that no matter what happens, guys like Nick Wright and Colin Cowherd will treat Wembanyama like garbage so they can stand out and go viral on Twitter.

I will not be participating in those reindeer games. Yet.

2. Cam Whitmore

Something nasty happened to Cam Whitmore behind the scenes as the young star was projected to go Top 5 on every mock draft but somehow slipped to no. 20.

Some reports say he is a medical red flag.

Some reports say he interviewed poorly and had bad workouts.

But it appears as though the real reason he fell is because his former Villanova head coach just didn’t like him.

Apparently, Kyle Nepture was talking spicy about Cam to teams. Insane to intentionally bury your own player and potentially take money out of his pocket.

It’s possible Cam Whitmore is a bad guy.

But let him reveal that to whatever team takes the risk on him.

It’s not your job as his former coach and mentor to drag him behind the scenes.

He’s 18 years old.

Of course he’s not a perfect finished product.

Isn’t it the job of the college head coach to prepare him?

Kyle Neptune failed, not Cam.

And the Rockets stole what could very well be a perennial All-Star. Houston looks gooooood and they haven’t even spent in free agency yet.

3. Ausar Thompson

It must suuuuuck to be an identical twin and get drafted below your brother who has the same exact physical measurements as you.

Plus, Ausar’s twin, Amen, got drafted to a Houston team that I believe could be in the play-in game next season if they add some smart veterans around all their youth but Ausar is in a tougher situation.

The Detroit Pistons future is dependent on a guy in Cade Cunningham who’s played 76 games in two seasons. He’s missed 54% of the games in his short NBA career so far.

If Cade plays and shows why he was selected no. 1 then you could see Detroit being one of the best teams in transition. Ausar Thompson highlights are going to be electric.

I also have no idea if this is a picture of Ausar or his brother.

4. Gradey Dick

The Dick Man.

Gradey Dick shot 40% from 3 at Kansas and could very well become one of the most important players of his generation from hitting big 3’s in important playoff games like Ray Allen or Kyle Korver.

But what makes Dick special is being born and raised in the middle of nowhere Kansas where all you do all day is chuck up shots at the hoop alone in your driveway between corn harvests.

Or in Dick’s case, you also listen to rap nonstop and transform yourself into the characters you like. Gradey Dick wants to replace Takeoff in Migos soooo badly.

And I can’t not mention his mother, Carmen Jaspers, who was an automatic BUCKET back in the day.

Miss Dick averaged 40 points a game during her senior year at Iowa State University.

One season, she shot 76% from the field.

She was one of the baddest with a basketball in her hands.

And now she passes the baton to Gradey.

It’s like Dell Curry to Steph Curry but Carmen Jaspers is exponentially better than Dell Curry ever was.

Hall of Fame Dick soon cometh.

5. Jordan Hawkins

You openly weep when your name gets called and I’m rooting for you.

If you’re cousins with Angel Reeseā€”the queen of college basketballā€”then once again, I’m rooting for you.

As far as the actual basketball goes, the Pelicans need guards not named CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins brings real perimeter shooting to this organization that’s paying Moriah Mills’s rent.

6. Jacob Toppin

This is my favorite undrafted rookie signing not just because it’s for my beloved Knicks.

This signing is coming off a weekend where Knicks fans leaked audio from a practice in the middle of the Miami Heat series where Tom Thibodeau and Obi Toppin are shouting at each other.

Obi Toppin was in trade rumors leading up to the draft.

He and Thibs are not at all on the same page.

And this team gaslit Obi by drafting his brother.

Now Obi has to fall in line or it could negatively affect his brother’s NBA dreams.

Super nasty work.

Praying the Double Toppy boys go crazy (in a Knicks jersey) next season.

7. Taylor Hendricks

Shout out Taylor Hendricks’s mom, respectfully.

 

 

Let me quickly run through some players I’m not rooting for. This article was too positive. Let me get some hate off real quick:

1. Brandon Miller: Nah but seriously, he helped his friend murder a girl.

I don’t think bringing the gun to the scene is anywhere near as bad as taking that gun and firing it but like, I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen. Yet.

2. Scoot Henderson: I really wish the Trailblazers traded this pick away because Scoot seems a lot like Damian Lillard and I cannot do another decade-plus of a new star losing every game in Portland and then beating his chest about how ‘loyal’ he is a week after his third straight first-round elimination.

3. SG Jaime Jaquez Jr:

Look at this Miami Heat-ass player. Pat Riley can’t keep getting away with this.

4. Brandin Podziemski: I’m already rooting for Gradey Dick. I don’t have the emotional bandwidth for two die-hard Jack Harlow fans.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading. Go ahead andĀ sign up for the D, the daily Deadseriousness newsletter sent directly to your inbox every AM.

Written by thelesterlee

Creator of Deadseriousness. Diehard Knicks, Yankees and Giants fan who wants to create a sports and pop culture space that isn't the same copy and pasted AI content you see everywhere else.

tobias harris assassin

Did You Guys Know Tobias Harris is an “Assassin Scorer”?
stefon diggs

Stefon Diggs is Right