Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Michael Carter-Williams Out to Prove He Could Have Been the No. 1 Pick
Michael Carter-Williams is out to prove he should’ve been the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
“Every game I try to prove that I could’ve been the No. 1 pick,” Carter-Williams told Yahoo! Sports. “I have confidence in myself that I should’ve been.”
The former Syracuse point guard went No. 11 last June, while UNLV freshman forward Anthony Bennett was the surprise No. 1 overall pick.
So far, Carter-Williams is averaging 20 points, 7.8 assists and five rebounds for the Sixers, who are 3-1. He won NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for last week, becoming the first rookie since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 to do so, and has earned props from fellow Syracuse product Carmelo Anthony.
Bennett, meantime, is averaging 0.5 points and 3.3 rebounds for the 2-2 Cavaliers. In his defense, he has been told to focus on his defense, the weaker part of his game, while he plays alongside established players like Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Andrew Bynum.
“He isn’t that bad and MCW isn’t that good,” one NBA executive told SNY.tv.
If the Sixers are tanking the season in order to get Andrew Wiggins or Julius Randle in the Draft — as one NBA executive told SNY.tv was the case — nobody has informed Carter-Williams.
“I’m definitely surprised,” Carter-Williams told Yahoo! “I knew we’d be OK. Not as bad as people were saying, but not like this.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Michael Carter-Williams is out to prove he should’ve been the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
“Every game I try to prove that I could’ve been the No. 1 pick,” Carter-Williams told Yahoo! Sports. “I have confidence in myself that I should’ve been.”
The former Syracuse point guard went No. 11 last June, while UNLV freshman forward Anthony Bennett was the surprise No. 1 overall pick.
So far, Carter-Williams is averaging 20 points, 7.8 assists and five rebounds for the Sixers, who are 3-1. He won NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for last week, becoming the first rookie since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 to do so, and has earned props from fellow Syracuse product Carmelo Anthony.
Bennett, meantime, is averaging 0.5 points and 3.3 rebounds for the 2-2 Cavaliers. In his defense, he has been told to focus on his defense, the weaker part of his game, while he plays alongside established players like Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Andrew Bynum.
“He isn’t that bad and MCW isn’t that good,” one NBA executive told SNY.tv.
If the Sixers are tanking the season in order to get Andrew Wiggins or Julius Randle in the Draft — as one NBA executive told SNY.tv was the case — nobody has informed Carter-Williams.
“I’m definitely surprised,” Carter-Williams told Yahoo! “I knew we’d be OK. Not as bad as people were saying, but not like this.”
