The first round of the 2016 NBA draft begins Thursday, and unless you're a Philadelphia 76ers fan, you're probably impatiently waiting to see who your team is going to select.
But what if you didn’t have to wait? What if fans could make the teams' decisions?
In the last week, our friends at Twitter have been compiling the information to answer that very question.
The graphic, made exclusive to USA TODAY Sports, ranks draft-eligible players who were most frequently mentioned in Tweets discussing a team’s selection. Data was pulled from June 14 through June 20.
Teams then "drafted" the player who appeared most frequently in draft-related Tweets about them. Just like the regular NBA draft, however, if a player had already been claimed by one team based on Twitter conversation, the first player who was still available was selected.
A few things worth noting:
- The first two picks are identical to our own mock draft.
- Celtics fans really want another guard for some reason, and apparently Buddy Hield making 85-of-100 attempts in a workout wasn't enough.
- Jrue Holiday had a big year for the Pelicans, but adding a shooter like Hield can really solidify the New Orleans backcourt.
- Nuggets fans want to win the award for coolest name in the draft by selecting Furkan Korkmaz.
