2020 NBA Draft: Stiffs Big Board 2.0

With one week before Halloween, it’s as difficult as ever to figure out which prospects are for real and which ones are not.

The NBA postponed the draft one month from their originally proposed date of October 16, out to November 18, meaning Nuggets fans will need to wait one more week to find out what their team will do. It’s a really weird feeling to be this far into the year and not have the draft completed, as the season would usually be about to start and the league doesn’t even have an official start date for the next season.

A normal season would have a combine for the prospects to voluntarily attend, with individual team workouts and interviews that teams could conduct to help paint a full picture of all the players seeking to be selected.

I’d encourage you to read about the NBA Virtual Combine, as reported on by Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. The combine is typically an opportunity for prospects to show the skills they’re hoping to translate into the NBA. That may mean for some players who were a No. 1 option on offense, displaying skills as more of a specialist on defense or shooting. For other players, it’s a chance to show off their paper measurements, such as wingspan and vertical jump. Most importantly, NBA teams get a chance to interview the prospects in person, to learn more about their personality and character. Smart teams don’t just draft off a spreadsheet of numbers, they consider who the person is and how they’ll fit with their team culture.

I’m planning on releasing one more big board, top-50 ranking before the draft. We’ll have a lot more draft profiles coming out over the next few weeks, and a mock draft or two.

As a reminder, the Denver Nuggets have the rights to the Houston Rockets first round pick via the four-team trade with Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez this spring, and own the No. 22 pick overall. They do not own a second-round pick.

To view the first edition of the 2020 Stiffs Big Board, click here.