MIXED RESULTS
THE NETS have been cut down; the champions crowned. Now it's time for the annual parade of freshmen straight to the NBA draft. This year's class, which includes Deandre Ayton (Arizona) and Marvin Bagley (Duke), is stocked. But how have one-and-doners fared in the NBA historically? In a word, meh.
Since 2006, 100 freshmen have been selected in the first round—significantly more than any other class—but on average, sophomores and juniors have had more success as pros, with higher career win shares (averaging 19.9 for sophomores; 16.4 for juniors) than the one-and-done set (14.8).
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
AVERAGE NBA CAREER WIN SHARES
20
15
10
5
14.8
FRESHMEN
*100 ATHLETES
19.9
SOPHOMORES
*78 ATHLETES
16.4
JUNIORS
*64 ATHLETES
12.7
SENIORS
*61 ATHLETES
12.6
INTERNATIONALS
*57 ATHLETES
NUMBER OF ATHLETES TAKEN IN THE FIRST ROUND:
= 1 athlete
*SINCE 2006