Giannis Antetokounmpo has the power to shift the NBA’s entire landscape. He’s a superstar on and off the court.
But just six years ago, Antetokounmpo was a relative unknown playing in Greece. In fact, when the Bucks took him No. 15 in the 2013 draft, that seemed a little high for a perceived project.
No. 15 was at least within the expected range by that point, though. NBA teams made up for lost time by scouting Antetokounmpo thoroughly before the draft.
Well, most NBA teams.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN:
Giorgos Panou of Octagon:
New York had the No. 24 pick in that draft – definitely within the range Antetokounmpo could have gone. Though he went higher, the Knicks could have possibly traded up if they had a better grasp of Antetokounmpo’s ability.
Instead, the Knicks – then run by Glen Grunwald – drafted Tim Hardaway Jr.
Multiple teams – including the Mavericks and Hawks – bemoan their “near-misses” on Antetokounmpo. But the Knicks can’t claim they came close. Not after sending nobody to Greece to evaluate him.
And we all saw how that turned out for New York.