top of page
By Cardell Dudley

Remember Them Days - North Carolina's Ty Lawson Falls To 18th In The 09 Draft


Five point guards were taken ahead of the ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson, FIVE. The current MVP and NBA Champion Steph Curry selection is obviously validated, however the picks of Ricky Rubio (5th),Johnny Flynn (6th), Brandon Jennings (10th) and Jrue Holiday (17th) can all be questioned. Even though he was the most efficient point guard in the country averaging 16.6 points (53% FG/ 47% 3FG), 6.6 assist and 2.1 steals with a career low of 1.9 turnovers per game, questions surrounding his size (5'11) and durability (nagging ankle injuries) caused some teams to proceed with caution. Fast forward to today and that caution has turned out to be a terrible mistake. Minnesota took Rubio,Flynn AND Lawson in the draft before dealing Lawson to the Nuggets. Rubio although a quality playmaker has been plagued by injury and inconsistent shooting and defense, Flynn has been out of the league for years. Brandon Jennings has shown signs of being an All Star caliber point guard, although injuries have plague him and Holiday while becoming an All Star during the 2013 season as a Sixer, is now a solid combo guard for the Pelicans. Lawson, even with the Nuggets being decimated by injury and a mid season coaching change, still posted season averages of 15.2 points and 9.6 assist (career high) per game. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say so its easy to say no way Lawson should have fell to 18th back in 09 now, although, after an amazing career at UNC where he accomplished everything that was asked of him, shouldn't NBA personel have had the foresight to draft Lawson much earlier? Results as of today prove the answer to that is a strong YES!!!

5 views0 comments
bottom of page