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A new favorite has emerged to be the top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft

Memphis' James Wiseman during National Anthem

It seems like eons ago that Memphis big man James Wiseman saw his college career come to an end after just three games following a rift with the NCAA.

The highly-coveted recruit dominated the only three games he played as a freshman for the Tigers, leading to speculation that the 7-foot-1 center would be the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

With the draft itself likely to be delayed until later in the summer, previous suggestions were that former Georgia guard Anthony Edwards would be the top pick.

That’s no longer the case. Jeff Goodman of Stadium polled 35 executives about who they thought should be the top pick in the draft. A resounding 57% of said executives indicated that it should be Wiseman.

“I love his size, length and ability to run the floor,” one NBA general manager said. “The knock on him is that he’s soft, but the bottom line is he has all the measurables, and he can really impact the game on the defensive end.”

Other executives indicated that they would not even want to have the first pick this year. The 2020 NBA Draft is seen as the weakest since eventual bust Anthony Bennett was the first pick in the annual event back in 2013.

Of those polled, Edwards came in second at 29%. LaMelo Ball and Dayton’s Obi Toppin were the only other prospects to receive votes. At the very least, it looks like the draft is set with four top prospects. What order that might be is anyone’s best guess.

Despite the current NBA season being suspended due to the worldwide pandemic, the expectation is that the 2020 draft will take place at some point later in the summer. The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves (all at 14%) have the best odds of landing the top pick.

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