So many NBA drafts have provided the league with an influx of talent. Some of these draft classes went on to produce a mind-boggling 10 All-Stars, like the 1996 draft class headlined by Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Ray Allen. You'll get your 2000 drafts occasionally, which only produced a measly group of three All-Stars that made it one time a piece.
From 2010 to 2019, only two draft classes produced three or fewer All-Stars (2013 only had three, but they have Giannas, and 2019 has Ja Morant and Zion Willamson). Bam Adebayo's 2017 draft class appears more stacked than other classes.
The 2017 draft already has six All-Stars and potentially more on the way. Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell. DeAaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen and Jayson Tatum are the six who've been chosen to showcase their talents in the middle of February so far.
Bam Adebayo would anchor a hypothetical five-man lineup based on one of the best recent NBA draft classes.
One might think the best possible lineup from this draft includes the members who've been selected for All-Sar games, but that's not quite right. Five of these six would be there if we were putting together a lineup with the most talent. But our goal was to put together the best five-man lineup from this draft class, and one guy who isn't an All-Star (yet) would make this team sail smoothly.
Let's cut straight to it: we're running Donovan Mitchell at the one over De'Aaron Fox. Mitchell traditionally plays the off-guard, but he dabbled with more PG play in the 2024 season. Mitchell averaged 29 PPG and 7 APG in 19 games without Darius Garland in the lineup. Mitchell seems most comfortable with the ball in his hands, and we're going to let him run our show. He and Fox are slightly redundant in this lineup because they both operate best with the ball in their hands.
Heat fans look away, but Derrick White will start at shooting guard. He's the lone player in this lineup who hasn't made an All-Star game. I didn't believe he should have made it last year, but Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick banged the gavel for White to make it last year.
White is a flawless role player when he's your fourth or fifth option. He's one of the best perimeter defenders, and that travels everywhere. White is a knockdown catch-and-shoot player and can make decisions off the bounce. When his plate isn't full like Fox's or Mitchell's, White looks like he doesn't make mistakes on the floor. He'd be more content than Fox to accept this off-ball role.
Our small forward is Jayson Tatum, one of Bam Adebayo's close friends. I know it's icky to have two Boston Celtics here, but we are trying to create the best team from this draft, so let's put the Heat-Celtics rivalry aside for a second (that's never going to happen).
Tatum offers versatility and flexibility in this lineup. He's the third-best defender on this team and second most versatile. Our coach would feel pretty comfortable switching Tatum onto any position, knowing Bam is behind him covering blind spots. Tatum isn't a superstar who dribbles the air out of the ball, as many believe. Tatum was third on his team in dribbles per touch. He's a nice, selfless wingman who would carry most of the scoring responsibilities with Donovan Mitchell.
Heat fans always discuss Bam playing with a stretch big to move to the four. What if he played with a stretch big that was taller than him and would guard opposing centers so he could roam the floor? That's the type of presence one-time All-Star Lauri Markkenan provides. Lauri is the best thing going on in Utah right now. Listed at 7-foot on basketball reference, Lauri has the size to bang with bigs while Bam blows everything up like Gervonta Davis. He's a premier shooter for a big; Lauri has banged home over 175 threes in the back-to-back seasons. His fit with Bam would be chef kiss perfect.
Bam would play his game to a tee with this group. His vertical spacing would be present. Donovan Mitchell has grown as a lob passer since his Utah days—he feeds Jarrett Allen better than he fed Rudy Gobert. Bam is better than both bigs, so Mitchell would trust Bam to finish more in theory. Bam, Tatum, and White are plenty of good defenders to overcompensate for the average defense Mitchell and Lauri put on display.
We want Bam to shoot more threes because the Heat's offense desperately needs more shooting and spacing from someplace. There wouldn't be so much emphasis on shooting with the talent around him on this squad. His playmaking chops would stand out. We've seen the magic Bam has with Tyler Herro in the pick-and-roll. Donovan Mitchell as the ball handler with Bam setting screens sounds like The Exorcist for opposing defenses. This class is so deep that everybody couldn't make it.
Great players who missed the cut
Jarrett Allen is a defensive anchor who has been mentioned a few times throughout this piece. He's another vertical threat who swats shots left and right. If he didn't play Bam's position, he'd be here. Kyle Kuzma is an NBA champ who deserves a shout. Once he gets out of Washington, Kuz will be a contributing player on a good team again. John Collins is in Utah, with Lauri Markkenen still putting in work. Lastly, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart plan on helping the Knicks make their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000. They weren't really considered to make this five-man lineup, but like White, they are role players that any team would benefit from having.