It doesn’t matter if you are the number one overall pick or the 13th, being the first player selected by a team in the NBA Draft carries a load of pressure. Often times that pressure amounts to struggles, failure, and under-achieved expectations for the player, not because of their play style or performance on the court, but because the bar was set too high to begin with.
That bar is expected and often exceeded by the top five picks in a draft, but for a player like Georgios Papagiannis, who was taken 13th in the 2016 NBA Draft, it can be the doom of a career before it even begins.
If you could only take one thing away from this article, let it be this: don’t put the expectations of a lottery pick on the shoulders of Papagiannis. Both he and you will end up extremely disappointed because right now, that’s not who he is and by the end of the season, that won’t be who he’s going to be.
At best, Papagiannis will be a decent rotation big man by the end of the season. There will probably be multiple draft picks taken after him that will blow him out of the water. And that’s okay.
Obviously there is a reason that Vlade Divac decided to take the international center so early in the draft. Unlike many others, I would like to believe that it isn’t because of their international ties or present skill level.
Divac seems assured that Papagiannis is a project worth undertaking. For him, Papagiannis’ growing pains justify the means. It’s about the end game; what kind of player will Papagiannis be in the prime of his career and four years from now?
There are always fan favorites in every draft. We, although not experts, attach ourselves to a certain player or players based off of need of the team and performance in the NCAA National Tournament.
Papagiannis fits neither of those, so naturally the pick has been met with a lot of scrutiny. But that disappointment can’t and shouldn’t be directed at the young man who just fulfilled a lifelong dream of making it to the NBA.
Clearly he is good enough to get here in the eyes of an NBA general manager. That’s enough of an endorsement to give the kid a shot.
“I’m trying to get used to it. Right now it’s all about the team,” Papagiannis told Cowbell Kingdom. “Things are way different here from what I am used to. I have been playing in a different league for years now. Have to get used to the new play style here. I am working every day to get my body right. After that it’s all about what happens on the court.”
Remember, Papagiannis is a project. He probably was taken way too early for his current value. But that’s okay because every project has a payoff, even if it’s not what fans want or expect. Give the guy a chance. Let him learn from Divac and especially DeMarcus Cousins, who according to Papagiannis, has already taken the rookie under his wing (which may be just as beneficial for Cousins).
Papagiannis also mentioned that nothing has been talked about going over to Reno as of yet, which wouldn’t be a bad idea since the Kings are loaded in the front court. It would be a great opportunity for him to gain some confidence and begin to experience the NBA speed on a consistent basis.
It should be fun, and plenty frustrating, to watch this young man transform and develop. It’s clear that he has all the tools around him needed to succeed. Now it’s just time for him to get to work.
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