Entering the NBA with the top three picks in that year's draft is a dream for every NBA player. This means that their strength is widely recognized, they are geniuses among geniuses, and it also means that they will get more opportunities to perform than other rookies in their rookie seasons and the team's greater cultivation efforts.
It is reasonable to say that these teams that select the rookies of the "Triple League" will give these rookies plenty of playing time and trial and error opportunities, and even some privileges to ensure that they can grow rapidly.
But not without exception, the author looked up the draft for nearly three decades and found that there are more than a dozen "three dingjia" rookies who basically play as substitutes in their debut season.
Among these people, some of them are simply not strong enough, unable to be the main force, and even abandoned by the team early, such as Tabit, Bennett, Derek Williams and others; some players grow up smoothly and later become excellent main players, but in the end they still lack the qualifications to become All-Star players, such as Mike Dunllivi, Ben Gordon, Otto Porter, Kanter and so on.
And there are the players I want to talk about today, the experience of the bench can't take away their sharpness, they still became All-Star players, proving that they deserve a top three pick.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > Byron Davis</h1>
Rookie season average: 5.9 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals
In the 1999 Draft, Byron Davis was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the third overall pick. But at that time, the Hornets were very strong, they had a winning percentage of more than 50% for seven consecutive seasons, but the shrinkage season that had just passed ended in the ninth place in the East. So the Hornets' main task that season is to return to the playoffs, leaving little room for rookie Davis to play.
Throughout the season, Davis played 82 games on the bench, averaging 18.6 minutes per game, and the numbers are naturally not too good, and the player who started davis on davis' head is called David Wesley, yes, the short bald shooter of the Rockets' Yao mai era.
However, Davis became an absolute point guard in his second season, starting all 82 games and squeezing Wesley into the position of point guard, and Wesley set a career high in scoring that season, averaging 17.2 points per game. Davis, on the other hand, exploded in his third season, averaging 18.1 points and 8.5 assists per game and being named an Eastern Conference All-Star, and he has since made a name for himself with his beard.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > LaMarcus Aldridge</h1>
Rookie season average: 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks
In 2006, Aldridge, who landed in Portland as a leaderboard show, did not enjoy the treatment of a leaderboard show, and throughout the season, he played 63 games, including 41 games as a substitute, averaging only 22.1 minutes per game, while Ade has only substituted 44 games so far in his career.
At the time of the Blazers' big forward position, with Zack Randolph at the peak, Aldridge needed to top the center position he was not used to in the limited playing time.
However, Aldridge gradually settled in the starting position later in the season, and the Blazers made a choice in the offseason, trading Randolph to the Knicks to help Ade. Ade also lived up to expectations, with a spurt in stats in the second season, averaging 17.8 points per game, but Ade's first All-Star trip did not come until the sixth year of his career, and he has been selected as an All-Star six times since then.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="45" > James Harden</h1>
Rookie season average: 9.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game
Harden's experience, I think everyone knows better. When Harden entered the league in 2009, durant in the third grade was already one of the league's best scorers, and the second-year Westbrook showed considerable talent and dominance in his rookie season, and for compatibility and consideration for the development of players, head coach Brooks decided to put Harden on the bench and let Severosa, the "Swiss Army Knife" traded from the Bulls last season, take the second starting position.
Harden gladly accepted the decision, but that doesn't mean he was just thinking about making a backup contribution. In the second season, Harden surpassed Sefrosha in playing time, and in the third season, he completely transformed into the team's number three person. After the story, the finals were lost in Miami, and the Rockets took the opportunity to dig the wall... Harden also started with the Rockets and was named an All-Star for 9 consecutive seasons.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="46" > Jaylen Brown</h1>
Rookie season average: 6.6 points, 2.2 boards, 0.8 assists
Angie's selection of Jaylen Brown was a surprising thing at the time, because before the draft, Brown was never in the top three picks. What Brown, who was blue-collar in college, did in the first season was to gain experience and slowly polish his skills. Averaging 17.2 minutes per game and playing 58 games as a substitute, the data will naturally not be good to see where to go.
At that time, Ingram on the Lakers' side was also struggling, because of the two rookies, the Lakers and Green Army fans rarely felt sorry for each other. Brown's diligence and ability to learn are obvious to all, the team selected a sufficiently amazing Tatum in the next year, which may also motivate Brown to continue to improve, the last two seasons Brown's offensive stability has been greatly improved, the use of various skills is more skilled, and being selected as an All-Star is a matter of course.