When analyzing the most likely selections for draft picks (3-10) I thought I would change the normal selection paradigm. Instead of looking for characteristics like who might be the best fit, the best player, the one who has the most potential, etc., I wondered who has the physique and aggressiveness of someone who would most likely be the first to start on an NBA Championship Finals team someday.
I asked myself, who are the prototypical players from past Championship teams that played key roles in their team’s success? The type of players that instantly came to mind matched the physique of Jaylen Brown. So, I did a little Google searching for such key players in the NBA Finals from 2008 until the present.
FYI: Jaylen Brown is listed as 6’7” 222. Potentially, he may grow a little taller and/or gain weight in the future.
Below is a list of some of these physical matches.
Andre Iguodala 6’6” 207
Draymond Green 6’7” 230
Lebron James 6’8” 250
Richard Jefferson 6’7” 233
Shane Battier 6’8” 220
Udonis Haslem 6’8” 235
Khawi Leonard 6’7” 235
Kevin Durant 6’9” 230
Shawn Marian 6’7” 228
Paul Pierce 6’7” 235
Rasheed Wallace 6’10” 235
Ron Artest 6’7” 260
Lamar Odom 6’10” 230
James Posey 6’8” 217
Lebron, Pierce and Durant are/were superstars. It’s doubtful Jaylen will ever reach their potential. Still, the physical match ups are not way out of synch. Rasheed Wallace and Lamar Odom are both 6’10”, but both played the key roles needed to build a Championship. So, I left them on the list for example purposes only.
I could have listed guards, centers etc. But, I was looking for glue players with similar physiques.
It seems that every team in the Finals over the past 7-8 years had at least one glue player who matches Jaylen physically and some athletically.
The players that seem to match up most would include; Jefferson, Green, Haslem, Leonard, Posey, Marion and Iguodala. Perhaps, you could add Artest to the list. Although, he’s a lot heavier than I realized.
This may be an unrealistic way of looking at a player. However, if you look at the Celtics, one of these key glue players has to be Jae Crowder. Ironically, his physique is similar to Jaylen’s. More and more NBA players are 6’6” – 6’8”. The typical 7 foot center for a Championship team is becoming a lot less common.
So, should the Celtics consider taking Jaylen Brown based on such analysis? Most likely not, but 3-4 years from now don’t be surprised if he is that glue player that ends up starting on a Championship team.
Topic: For picks 3-10 will Jaylen Brown be the first player starting in an NBA Finals? (Read 1944 times)