Detroit Pistons: Is Isaiah Stewart the best big from the 2020 NBA draft?
Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart and the bigs of the 2020 NBA Draft
Pokusevski/Okongwu
These two guys aren’t similar players, but I decided to pair them up in this segment to cover why Isaiah is the superior talent right now. Okungwu is playing on a playoff caliber team, with an All-Star guard to help his growth. Aleksej like Stewart was on a team looking to develop young talent, while building winning habits along the way.
That’s exactly what Stew has done, especially on the defensive end. Beef Stew has emerged as one of the best switching bigs in the association. He finished his second season ranking amongst the league leaders in big switches defensively. His ability to suffocate guards on the perimeter with his size sets him apart from other big men. He shows an uncanny ability moving his feet and staying down before challenging the shot release on smaller guards.
light. Related Story. 2020 NBA re-Draft: How many Pistons make the top-10?
Shooting efficiency/Experience
The shooting potential separates these young players from Stewart today. He’s proven to be a more versatile big than both Aleksej Pokusevksi and Onyeka Okongwu. His 33 percent from three is better than them both players, Okongwu hasn’t converted a three in his career and Poku shoots a dismal 28 percent from deep. Poku shoots a nice volume, he just struggles to get playing time to build chemistry and confidence. Onyeka doesn’t show any ability to space the floor in his early stages of his career, attempting only three from long range in two seasons.
Isaiah Stewart has better numbers, started more games, and plays better defense than both players. Poku has bounced back and forth from the G-League to Oklahoma City Thunder unable to sustain minutes during a rebuild. Okongwu on the other hand hasn’t earned the trust of his organization, only playing 1,593 minutes compared to Stewart’s 3,271 played. Stewart has played almost as many minutes as Okongwu and Poku combined.
There’s still opportunity for any one of these players to be the best long term, but in a redraft after year two Stewart is the pick. He has more NBA seasoning and experience than his counterparts and it’s not close. Defensively he’s what you want in a modern day big, and has a better percentage from deep. He’s the more NBA ready big when compared to the other two, making him the best big in the 2020 NBA draft.