And now we arrive at the 2020 high school prospect that looks to be the consensus favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. There’s no clear definition of who will be the No. 1 overall pick. Even Zion wasn’t the clear cut top prospect for the 2019 NBA Draft when he first arrived at Duke around 18 months ago.
However, the nation’s top ranked 2020 high school prospect and 6-foot-6 point guard Cade Cunningham somewhat surprisingly signed with head coach Mike Boynton and the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the Early Signing Period last year. Cunningham picked Oklahoma State over the likes of Kentucky, UNC, Florida, etc.
The defensive stopper label that the Montverde Academy product and Dallas-Fort Worth native Cunningham already holds shows that he should naturally transition on both ends of the floor to college and then to the NBA. He’s already going to be one of the best drivers and facilitators in college hoops once he arrives at Oklahoma State next season.
Finishing at the rim naturally and getting to the charity stripe will be no problem for Cunningham at Oklahoma State, and it shouldn’t be in the NBA either. Improving the shooting ability from deep is going to be the next step in the path to college and NBA stardom for Cunningham.
Right now, he looks to compare to some hybrid version of Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers and/or Lonzo Ball of the Pelicans. The Knicks would be very lucky to finally get that top pick in the NBA Draft and be able to like someone with the superstar potential of Cunningham.