Tweets Don't Lie: 5 Guards Once Considered Better Prospects Than Steph Curry In The 2009 NBA Draft
The 2009 NBA draft brought Steph Curry and a new age of basketball to the Warriors
but one basketball analyst didn't forecast a very bright future for the Davidson point guard.
ESPN's Sportcenter tweeted a quote from Doug Gottlieb, at the time with ESPN, in 2009 saying:
Stephen Curry declared for NBA Draft. Doug Gottlieb "He doesnt have the upside of Rubio. Jennings, Flynn, Mills, Teague all more athletic."
Gottlieb placed Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Jonny Flynn, Jeff Teague and Patty Mills ahead of Curry for "up side" and athleticism. Of that group, only Teague has been an All Star in his first 5 years and Jonny Flynn isn't even currently playing in the NBA. The rest have been had some impact in the league but none have been mentioned as a front runner for the league's Most Valuable Player award like Curry has. The rest of the 2009 draft class has produced some big names in the NBA with All Stars like Blake Griffin (#1), James Harden (#3), DeMar DeRozan (#9), and Jrue Holiday (#17) with Griffin, Harden and Curry as the biggest names.
Curry went #7 overall in the draft and has averages of 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and PIE* 17.8% for his career.
*PIE or Player Impact Estimate is an estimate of a player's contributions and impact on a game. It shows the percentage of game events did the player achieve.
Lets see how Gottlieb's prediction stacks up by the numbers.
Ricky Rubio chosen 5th overall by Minnesota Timberwolves and has career stats that come close to matching Curry with averages 10.3 points (-13.5), 5.7 rebounds (+1.4), 8.8 assists (+1.8), PIE 12.4% (-5.4%).
Jonny Flynn chosen 6th overall by Minnesota Timberwolves. Flynn played on three different NBA teams and is currently playing in Italy after stints in the Canadian Basketball League and in Australia. His career NBA stats breakdown as 9.2 points (-14.6), 1.9 rebounds (-2.4), 3.9 assists (-3.8), and PIE N/A.
Brandon Jennings chosen 10th overall by Milwaukee Bucks (now with Detroit Pistons) career stats are 15.4 points (-8.4), 2.5 rebounds (-1.8), 6.6 assists (-1.1), and PIE 12.7% (-5.1%).
Jeff Teague chosen 19th overall by Atlanta Hawks career stats look like 15.9 points (-7.9), 2.5 rebounds (-1.8), 7 assists (-.7), and PIE 13.3% (-4.5%).
Patty Mills chosen 55th overall by Portland Trail Blazers currently playing on Spurs behind future Hall Of Famer Tony Parker. Mills career numbers are 6.9 points (-16.9), 1.5 rebounds (-2.8), 1.7 assists (-6), and PIE 8.2% (-9.6%).
Now let's take a look at just this past NBA season comparisons (without Flynn as he is playing elsewhere).
Curry vs Rubio 2014/15 NBA Season
4.3 REB 5.7
7.7 AST 8.8
2 STL 1.7
0.2 BLK 0
23.8 PTS 10.3
Curry vs Jennings 2014/15 NBA Season
4.3 REB 2.5
7.7 AST 6.6
2 STL 1.1
0.2 BLK 0.1
23.8 PTS 15.4
Curry vs Mills 2014/15 NBA Season
4.3 REB 1.5
7.7 AST 1.7
2 STL 0.5
0.2 BLK 0
23.8 PTS 6.9
Curry vs Teague 2014/15 NBA Season
4.3 REB 2.5
7.7 AST 7
2 STL 1.7
0.2 BLK 0.4
23.8 PTS 15.9
Doug Gottlieb may have been wrong with his original assessment but he is smart enough to praise talent today. Gottlieb also states on his Twitter page, "Don't take life or my tweets too seriously."
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