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Isaac Okoro will be a Cleveland Cavalier
The former Auburn star was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Cavs on Wednesday night in the 2020 NBA Draft, becoming the highest pick from the program since Chris Morris (4th overall) in 1988. Okoro also becomes the eighth first-round pick in Auburn history.
It also marks the first time that Auburn players have been picked in the first round in back-to-back drafts after Chuma Okeke was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Orlando Magic last year.
In his freshman and only year with the Tigers, Okoro finished second on the team with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and was Bruce Pearl’s best defender, someone who could guard four different positions.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium stated last week that “there may not be a better defender in this year’s NBA Draft” of Okoro while Pearl compared his former star to three-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala.
The scouting report from The Rookie Wire:
Isaac Okoro is going to have a lot of fans in front offices because he is likely the best perimeter defender in this draft. Okoro shot 67.8% at the rim as a freshman, and the majority of those attempts were unassisted. He has been capable of creating his own offense on post-up attempts, isolation looks, ball handling in transition and putbacks. The biggest concern with Okoro is that fewer than 20% of his field goals were from beyond five feet of the basket. If he is able to expand his game to score beyond the restricted area, he can be an incredibly useful player in the NBA.