Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
After being selected fifth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Isaac Okoro surprised his parents with a new car.
Isaac Okoro was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, but it wasn’t the only surprise of the night for his family.
Soon after the former Auburn star found out where he would be playing, he surprised his parents with a new Range Rover.
Moments after being drafted #5 overall, Isaac Okoro surprised his parents with a Range Rover. FOE. @isaacokoro303 pic.twitter.com/FOReDWtLON
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 19, 2020
The one-and-done Auburn star becomes the eighth player in program history to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
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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.
Former Auburn star Isaac Okoro is slotted to go at the No. 12 spot to the Sacramento Kings in USA TODAY Sports final mock draft.
The day has arrived for the 2020 NBA Draft and former Auburn star Isaac Okoro will finally find out what his near future will hold.
The one-and-done player from the 2019-20 Tigers has been ranked as one of the top 10 prospects in this year’s draft but, in the final mock draft by USA TODAY Sports, Okoro falls out of the top 10 and is slotted to go at No. 12 to the Sacramento Kings.
The wing fell from a top-8 pick but is still a coveted prospect, sporting athleticism and a wingspan that could make him an elite defender. His offense needs work, but he’d have time to develop with a mediocre team.
As a freshman, Okoro finished second on the Tigers in both points (12.9) and rebounds (4.4) while regularly defending the opposing team’s best offensive player.
The NBA Draft starts at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night and airs on ESPN.
Isaac Okoro was a one-and-done star for Auburn last season, finishing second on the Tigers with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Isaac Okoro knows defense, that is for sure, and Jeff Goodman, a basketball analyst for Stadium, knows what he sees in the former Auburn star.
“There may not be a better defender in this year’s NBA Draft,” Goodman said.
Okoro, who finished second on the Tigers last season with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds, was a menace defensively, often guarding the opponent’s best offensive player and being responsible for keeping them in check.
“The 6-foot-6 Georgia native can guard multiple positions and is terrific in the open court,” Goodman continued.
There has never been a question of if Okoro can guard. The only question for him going into the NBA Draft is his mid-range jump shot. Okoro, speaking to the media this week, said it has improved vastly.
“I would say during the college season it was probably like a C+,” Okoro said of his jumper. “But I feel like right now I’ve been working every day just putting up a lot of shots and I feel like right now it’s around a B+ / A.
“Just taking more time with my jump shot, just being more fluid with it. Just learning how to get the ball higher. During the college season I shot a lot of flat balls, so I’m just learning right now to shoot that high and get a higher arc on it.”
The 2020 NBA Draft takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Isaac Okoro is expected to be a top-10 pick in next week’s NBA draft.
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We are just more than a week from the 2020 NBA Draft and Auburn one-and-done star Isaac Okoro will finally figure out where he will be playing professionally.
Over at USA TODAY Sports Hoops Hype, the NBA writers have broken down each prospect by their player comparison to current guys in the NBA. For Okoro, it couldn’t get much better.
The Powder Springs, Ga. native’s comparisons including Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Justise Winslow.
From Hoops Hype:
“Auburn’s Isaac Okoro is a defensive-oriented wing physically built like Jimmy Butler. He is an uber-athlete, known for his intensiveness and his tenacity and his speed. His college coach Bruce Pearl has compared Okoro to Iguodala due to his ability to impact the game. He still needs to round out his game to score beyond five feet of the basket, though, which will be an essential element for him to have success in the league.”
Butler, a 2011 first-round pick out of Marquette, is a five-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA third-team three times and has earned a spot on the NBA All-Defensive Team second team four times.
Okoro is definitely a fierce defender as, as a freshman for Auburn during the 2019-20 season, he was responsible for the opponent’s best offensive player on most nights. He finished second on the Tigers with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds and is expected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft.
Isaac Okoro won’t have to wait much longer to realize his NBA dream.
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We are just weeks away now from the 2020 NBA Draft and former Auburn star Isaac Okoro will finally find out where he will be playing for the next few seasons as a professional.
In The Rookie Wire’s latest mock draft, they have Okoro going to someplace close to the Plains: the Atlanta Hawks with the sixth overall pick.
From the post:
Wing, 6-foot-6, 19 years old
The Atlanta Hawks had one of the worst defenses in the NBA last season and will need help covering up for Trae Young’s defensive shortcomings. The best perimeter defender in this draft class is Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, a potential hometown hero for Atlanta who won a state title in 2019 and helped lead McEachern High to the first undefeated season in Georgia’s 7A classification since 1995.
Okoro then shot 67.8% at the rim as a freshman, and the majority of those attempts were unassisted. He has been more than capable of creating his own offense on post-up attempts, isolation looks, ball handling in transition and putbacks. But the biggest concern with Okoro is that fewer than 20% of his field goals were from beyond five feet of the basket.
As a freshman last season, Okoro finished second on Auburn with 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.
The former Auburn star is projected to go in the top 10 of the 2020 NBA Draft.
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The 2020 NBA Draft should have happened already but due to COVID-19 affecting the schedule of the league’s regular season, with the finals about to begin between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, it was moved to November 18.
It hasn’t made a difference in Isaac Okoro’s draft stock. In the latest NBA draft big board by The Rookie Wire, the former Auburn star and one-and-done is listed as the eighth best player available.
Wing, 6-foot-6, 19 years old
CONSENSUS PROJECTION: Top 10
REPRESENTATION: Young Money APAA
Auburn’s Isaac Okoro is arguably the most athletic player in the 2020 NBA Draft and as a defensive wunderkind, he can guard the perimeter and the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets. He has excelled when driving to the basket as a finisher on offense, but an unproven ability to score otherwise will limit what he can be in the NBA until further developed.
Also listed in the top 100 is Austin Wiley who comes in at No. 98.
