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That’s A Rap: Giving Siakam his flowers

Kyle Kuzma, Robert Williams, Mfiondu Kabengele, Udoka Azubuike, Cameron Thomas.

They are the players selected 27th in each of the five drafts that followed Pascal Siakam’s year, when he was drafted 27th by the Toronto Raptors in 2016. Are any of them facing the immense amount of scrutiny that Siakam faces every day? Are any of them remotely close to being tasked with carrying the scoring burden of a #1 option? I get that Pascal’s meteoric rise from draft unknown to All-NBA Forward has changed the lens with which the late first-rounder is judged, but how quickly fans forget to adjust the expectations accordingly.