With a season under their belt, the 2022 NBA draft class looks strong, with several players having impressive rookie campaigns last year.
No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero lived up to his draft status with the Orlando Magic as he won Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams outperformed expectations with a No. 2 finish in ROTY voting.
Over a year after the draft, Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor decided to conduct a redo with the class. For the Thunder, this included all four of their draft picks going in the first round in the redraft.
Let’s look at where Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng and Jaylin Williams went in the redraft and compare it to their actual selection.
Chet Holmgren
- Redraft selection: No. 2
- Actual selection: No. 2
“Despite sitting out the season due to a foot injury, Holmgren would likely still be the second player off the board in a redraft. He has perhaps as much potential as any player in the class and should be poised for a strong rookie campaign.
He is already back on the court and recently turned in a strong summer league run, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, two assists and one steal in four games. With Holmgren back, the Thunder are poised to take another step forward next season.”
Jalen Williams
- Redraft selection: No. 3
- Actual selection: No. 12
“Williams, who finished as the Rookie of the Year runner-up, takes a massive leap up from his original draft position after a sensational year. He started a bit slowly but eventually settled and emerged as a key player for the Thunder.
When it was all said and done, Williams recorded averages of 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals on 35.6% shooting from 3-point range. He finished fourth in scoring, fourth in field goals and first in steals among all rookies.
The emergence of Williams further strengthened the Thunder’s young core, which already features Shai Gilegous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Tre Mann and others. Williams has the potential to be one of the top players in this class.”
Ousmane Dieng
- Redraft selection: No. 23
- Actual selection: No. 11
“Dieng spent much of the year in the G League before getting a bigger opportunity with the Thunder after March. The team often likes to have some of its rookies play a few stints in the G League before letting them loose in the NBA and Dieng certainly benefited from his time with the Blue. There is a lot to like about his game and, with some more development, it likely will not be too much longer before he is a regular contributor with the Thunder.”
Jaylin Williams
- Redraft selection: No. 22
- Actual selection: No. 34
“Williams took a massive jump up after a strong year with the Thunder. He was brought on a bit slowly, and spent time in the G League, but emerged as a good contributor off the bench. He can affect games in a variety of ways and is just a spark plug of energy when called upon. Williams was most commonly projected to be a mid-second-rounder last year but absolutely performed as a first-round pick and should have been taken much higher than 34.”
