NBA
NBA Draft Prospects: Top 5 Wings
Josh Jackson's stock is rising by the day. Which other shooting guards and small forwards will be selected in the top 10 on Thursday night?

2. Jayson Tatum, Duke Blue Devils

Tatum didn't meet expectations early in the 2016-17 campaign, but as the season matured, so did he. The 19-year-old freshman picked up a lot of steam as his Duke Blue Devils headed into the ACC tournament. There, Tatum made his case as a top-three pick, with averages of 22 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals across four highly-contested games. But most impressive was his efficiency (55.4% shooting) from the floor.

If he hoped to land in the NBA Draft lottery, he needed that postseason statistical boost, because in 18 regular season games, the frosh averaged just 16.1 points on 44.3% shooting in conference play. Tatum ultimately finished the season racking up 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 4.1 win shares, with a player efficiency rating of 22.0 and a true shooting percentage of 56.6%.

Standing 6'8" with a 6'11" wingspan, Tatum made 62% of his shots at the rim, of which 29.3% were assisted. The forward created off the dribble and slipped behind the defense for backdoor cuts, but he ran into trouble the further he strayed from the basket.

When pulling up from two-point range, Tatum shot a respectable 39.4%, but that number declined considerably as he ventured beyond the three-point line, where he made just 34.2% of his attempts. There is a bright side, however: of Tatum's 40 made threes, 87.5% were assisted, which might suggest that Tatum can be an Otto Porter-like spot-up shooter, which seems to have worked out well for the Washington Wizards.

And don't forget, Tatum is just 19-years-old, so there's plenty of time for a team to mold him into an elite offensive weapon. As for which team that will be, the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings are among the top candidates at picks four and five. It will be somewhat of a shock if Tatum slips past them.

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