As strong as Murray was only the No. 7 pick in 2016. Who are the first 6 players? How are they developing in the NBA

There are some players in NBA history who have completely different strengths in the regular season and playoffs. For example, Butler and others, the more they can perform better the more they go to the playoffs. Speaking of this kind of "big contest player", we have to mention the Nuggets' active star Jamal Murray. His career has proved how strong he is in high-end games and hard-solving ability. It is worth mentioning that he and Mitchell are currently the only two players who can score 50+ in a round of series.

Looking back on Murray's career, his performance in the 2023 playoffs was incredible. That year, his average data was 20+4+6.2 and his shooting percentage was 45.4%. Then in the playoffs, his average data immediately soared to 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and a shooting percentage of 47.3%. Even when the game reached a critical moment, Murray brought no worse threat to his opponent than Jokic. The Lakers undoubtedly have the most say in this regard. In the head-on match in 2023, Murray scored a 30+ average of data. Later, with his help, the Nuggets also won the first championship in team history as they wished.

It's just a player like Murray. When he participated in the 2016 NBA Draft, he only took the No. 7 pick in the first round. Then we will take a look at the 6 players who were selected in front of Murray. Let's take a look at how they have developed after entering the league!

6.Hilder averaged 15 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his career. As an older rookie, Hilder was already 24 years old when he participated in the draft, so what the Pelicans valued is his immediate combat power. In his rookie season, Hilder averaged 8.6 points per game, and averaged 1.6 three-pointers with a shooting percentage of 36.9%, but at the same time he also exposed obvious defensive shortcomings. Later, Hilde joined the Kings, where he scored good data. He had averaged 20.7 points per game at his peak, but during this period, the team was basically the last in the league every year. After

, the 76ers arrived. Hilder finally touched the playoff floor, but at this time, he was already 31 years old and was once DNPed in the playoffs. Last year, Hilde joined the Warriors. In the system that suits him best, he finally made some of his worth back. This year's playoffs, he averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 three-pointers per game. However, due to unstable shooting and poor defense, Hilde is still not a high-quality role player.

5.Dunn

Average of 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 steals in his career

Once the draft template was Wade's Dunn, but now he is obviously overrated. The only similar thing to him and Wade is that the two of them have bad three-point shootings. In this era, no shooting is still fatal to the defender. In addition, Dunn does not have any skills on the offensive end, his ball holding has no highlights, and his size and athletic ability also make him unable to use empty cuts and fast breaks to reduce his negative impact on the offensive end.

Dunn quickly revealed himself in this situation. After that, he went to multiple teams, and now he can only get a contract slightly higher than his basic salary in the Clippers. The reason why Dunn can still find a job in the NBA is mainly because of his defense. His 2.07-meter wingspan is still relatively advantageous. In addition, he is highly aggressive on the defensive end, so he is suitable for the role of leader and defender. He also has some contributions to the Clippers being able to play such a good defense last season, but he still has only side effects on the offensive end, so this also leads to a double-edged sword as soon as he goes on the court.

4.Bender

Average of 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his career. As the most soccer player in this top five picks, after Bender was selected by the Suns, he was eliminated after playing in the NBA for four seasons. During his NBA career, Bender played his best in a year and averaged only 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and his shooting percentage was as low as 38.6%, so it is reasonable that he was eliminated early.

3. Jaylen Brown averaged 19 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1 steal in his career. Although Brown did not play much playing time and ball rights at the beginning of being selected by the Celtics, he still developed a very good habit in that winning atmosphere. Therefore, when the team wanted to straighten him, he quickly adapted to a brand new role. In the 2019-2020 season, Brown became the team's true absolute core, so his data increased to 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has always played the same role since then.

Brown successfully led the Celtics to the championship in 2024. He averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game in the playoffs, and he also won the MVP and FMVP awards in the Eastern Conference Finals. Therefore, although Brown's data in the playoffs is not as outstanding as Murray, his personal honor is much better than the latter, and he has also been selected for the All-Star and Best Team many times. Therefore, if he reorders the 2016 draft, the probability of him becoming the No. 1 pick is obviously the greatest.

2. Ingram

averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his career. Although he was also selected by the giants, Ingram seemed much more unlucky than Brown.. On the one hand, it was because the Lakers were playing badly at the time, and he didn't meet a good coach. After that, especially when the Lakers chose Walton to coach, it was even more defeated. The latter focused on egalitarianism. Ingram's talent was the best, but he did not receive the attention of the team. Therefore, his progress in the Lakers in those years was not very fast, but even in the last year here, he still averaged 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Because of this, the Pelicans also named the Lakers to put Ingram into the bargaining chips in the deal about Davis. In his first year of joining the Pelicans, Ingram's data immediately increased to 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1 steal per game. He was selected as the All-Star and won the fastest-progress player, and it was also a slap in the face of Walton. However, Ingram's progress later became less obvious, which was related to his mentality and also to the team's plans. In the eyes of the team, they undoubtedly value Tsai more. Now that Ingram has been traded to the Raptors, the team has spent a lot of money this summer, and what they are doing is obviously better results, so Ingram has to work hard to lead the team back to the playoffs next season.

1. Ben Simmons averaged 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals in his career. Before the draft began, Simmons locked in the No. 1 position early, and his template was also known as Magic Johnson or LeBron James. However, after Simmons really stepped onto the NBA, people found that it is highly likely that he will find it difficult to compete with these two super giants, because in this era, it is really difficult for the ball holder to play without a shot, not to mention that Simmons is a type that is not accurate in even free throws.

Simmons was not thoroughly studied by other teams at the beginning, so he could still perform well, and his defense was still very good, so he was selected into the All-Star and Best Team. However, since 2021, Simmons has completely failed, and his decline is quite fast. Simmons, who is still only 28 years old, has been reduced to a basic salary last season and has not found a new job until now during the offseason.