Marvin Bagley III Was The Right Choice For The Sacramento Kings
By John Kelly
This article will explore the reasons why Marvin Bagley III was the best pick for the Sacramento Kings.
Early predictions had Luka Doncic as the favorite draft pick for the Sacramento Kings, but Vlade Divac focused in on Marvin Bagley III as he came in for a pre-draft workout. There was no doubt left from that point on. Bagley was selected with the second pick over Doncic with 100% certainty. Let us look at why Doncic could have been an easy choice for Divac.
The biggest hole to fill on the Kings’ roster is the small forward spot. Doncic is a small forward who can play both guard positions as well. Playing professionally in Europe since the age of 16, Doncic has experience against much professional competition. Doncic would have been an immediate impact on opening night for any team who drafted him.
Also, with Divac having ties with Serbian basketball, he should have an inside track on Doncic’s development. Luka is the positionless type of player that Vivek Ranadive prefers for the type of basketball he wants for the Kings. There was also the portion of fans who wanted and thought the Kings should have drafted Doncic too.
Why Marvin Was The Best Choice at #2
Marvin Bagley’s pre-draft workout had to exceed every scouting report projection that Vlade and his staff had on him. Around ten days before the draft, Bagley was the Kings’ pick with no waffling. His rookie campaign has been steady so far. Bagley has improved his rebounding and blocks. His defense will need to improve, however, in order to stay on the court for longer amounts of time. The fault in college was said that Marvin watched too much on defense. This season he is active and looking for ways to impact the game.
How High is Marvin’s Ceiling?
In the short amount of time, Marvin’s play has shown us how quickly he has adjusted to the NBA. Bagley’s future is only going to get better. Right now he is playing his college game just at a faster pace. In college, Bagley was an unstoppable scoring force which heavily impacted Duke’s dominance throughout the college season.
Bagley is also an athletic freak which helps him in both scoring and rebounding the basketball. Marvin should be able to rebound better and block more shots as he learns to position himself better on the floor. The hustle and focus to impact the game on defense are evident in his play. One has a gem when they find a youngster who loves the defensive side of the ball. All of Marvin’s numbers are steadily going up, along with his expectations.
Final Thoughts on Marvin
Marvin Bagley and Luka Doncic might be compared for years. Doncic was easily the most NBA-ready player in the draft, but he may not end up being the best one.
I want to focus on Bagley alone as his game emulates guys like Chris Webber, Michael Beasley, and Amare Stoudemire. These are some players Marvin has been compared to with his body type and skill set.
If you look at his numbers every two weeks, Bagley is getting better in every category. Experts want to talk about how athletic he is, but they should all mention how quick he is in learning the NBA game with his maturity. It is a formula for Marvin to exceed expectations. Bagley is only showing us the basic version of his talents and how great he can be. With Bagley putting in sweat equity over the next two years, it should allow him time to round out his skill level.
Another note to add, and maybe the most significant: The biggest reason Bagley is the best pick for the Kings is that he does not take the ball out of De’Aaron Fox’s hands. Both players have the potential to be star players for the franchise, and both can develop the right way without worrying about interfering with the other’s game.
Marvin can be a great asset for years or can excel into an All-Star. It would be great for the fans and the city itself. It would be worthy of the number two pick time and time again!