Memphis Grizzlies: The Overlooked Life of Dillon Brooks

Dillon Brooks has it all: Pedigree, success, and talent. However, he fell all the way to the 2nd round. He could soon show why that was a mistake.

The NBA is full of players who were great in college but overlooked as they entered the league. Draymond Green was the 35th pick in the 2011 draft. Isaiah Thomas was the last pick in that same draft. This year’s Rookie of the Year Malcom Brogdon was the 36th pick in the 2016 draft.

After trading for the 45th pick a few weeks ago, the Memphis Grizzlies selected defending Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon Brooks.

Dillon Brooks accomplished much during his three years at Oregon. He was a second-team All-American as well as the Pac 12 Player of the Year this past season. He also helped lead the Ducks to the Final Four. All in all, Brooks is poised, talented and ready to contribute at the NBA level.

So why did he fall so far in the draft?

Physical Attributes over Skill

When you look at the Isaiah Thomases of the world, one thing becomes quickly clear: NBA scouts prioritize physical traits over actual skill that players have shown. For example, Draymond Green was dominant at Michigan State, as he was the Big 10 Player of the Year his Senior season. He was a force on both ends of the court. However, NBA scouts saw him as a tweener, who wasn’t big enough to play power forward yet not quick enough to be a wing.

Draymond Green is now a two-time NBA champion and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Players who are highly skilled yet don’t have the best physical profiles are pushed aside in favor of guys who have better physical attributes. There’s always someone who’s more explosive and athletic that has more imagined upside, regardless of their skill level.

Wade Baldwin is unfortunately an example of this fact. Wade, a talented athlete with good size and a long wingspan, was picked nineteen spots ahead of Malcolm Brogdon, the ACC Player of the Year who didn’t have as high of a ceiling. Baldwin still has a lot of potential, but Brogdon is still a much better player than him at this point.

I’m not saying that Dillon Brooks will reach the heights that Isaiah Thomas or Draymond Green have. No matter how you look at it, the odds of a second round pick becoming an All-Star is about like a needle in a haystack. Regardless, Brooks is much like the players whom scouts overlooked in recent years. He’s a highly skilled, efficient scorer who was the unquestioned leader of one of the nation’s best teams. He’s a winner, a gamer and a player who seems ready to prove everyone wrong about him.

The Prodigal Wing Player?

No matter what player he turns out to be, Dillon Brooks appears to be NBA-ready even now before training camp. Against the Jazz in Summer League, he posted 24 points on 9-11 shooting. Outside of Wayne Selden, Brooks has looked like one of the most poised and complete players on the team. He’s also shown his ability to be a two-way player, as he has done a good job of playing man defense and disrupting passing lanes.

Dillon Brooks could be the player that the Grizzlies don’t deserve but the one they need right now. The Grizzlies have a long history of making poor decisions in the draft and sometimes even becoming a laughingstock (the ghost of Thabeet will never leave). Perhaps Brooks will finally be the player that the Grizzlies saw something in that no one else did.

Next: Who's going to start at PF?

Dillon Brooks may not be the most physically gifted player on the court. However, basketball games aren’t won by how high you can jump or how fast you can run. In the words of the immortal Bill Russell, they are won by “getting buckets” – something at which Dillon Brooks is exceptional.