LSU Guard Skylar Mays a Second Round Draft Pick in Latest Sports Illustrated Mock Draft
With Trendon Watford, Javonte Smart and Darius Days all electing to return to Baton Rouge for another season, there are really only two names to keep an eye on in the 2020 NBA Draft for the purple and gold. One is Emmitt Williams, who at 6-foot-7, is an intriguing prospect that will likely have to latch on to a G-League roster or head overseas to prove his worth to NBA clubs.
The other is versatile senior guard Skylar Mays, who has always been a virtual lock to fall in the second round of the draft but continues to improve his stock as the Oct. 16 draft nears. In Sports Illustrated's most recent 2020 NBA Mock Draft, analyst Jeremy Woo has Mays going to the Chicago Bulls with the No. 44 pick.
Going in the mid to early 40's is a major improvement from where he was slotted just a few weeks ago. In the Athletic's most recent mock draft, Mays went No. 36 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers.
"Mays is about as perfect a fit with the 76ers as you could find due to his ability to play both on and off the ball. Mays is 6-foot-4 and can handle some lead guard responsibilities, especially next to someone like Ben Simmons," Sam Vecenie wrote. He can also play off ball due to his ability to shoot it and make quick decisions as a driver off the catch. His defensive versatility is also pretty real on both backcourt positions. Basically, Mays is just a versatile move piece that teams can use in a variety of ways, something that is perfect for this weirdly-shaped 76ers roster. It’s also beneficial that Mays is considered an absolutely elite character kid, having made first team All-Academic nationally in each of the last two years as a kinesiology major. Anywhere from No. 31 to 50 or so is the range for Mays."
Known as one of the draft's premier guards in the pick and roll, Mays will likely need to start his career as a reliable threat off the bench before expanding his role with the team that drafts him. The fact that a draft analyst could see May going as high as pick No. 31 is also an encouraging sign.
At 6-foot-4, there really isn't much not to like about what the Mays brings to an NBA club. As Vecenie mentioned and what LSU faithful know all too well, Mays is a high character player who will fit into probably any locker room and be able to contribute. In a recent interview with MSN, Mays said he's talked to a few former teammates like Tremont Waters and Naz Reid about the draft process.
"They say to be in great shape but also they know the type of person I am so they tell me to be myself," Mays said. "So far, these interviews have been pretty fun for me. I've been centering myself, making sure I do the right things, make sure I need to do whatever I need to do to end up in the right place."
When asked what his long term goals in basketball are, Mays hopes to have a Hall of Fame level career but knows that only comes from hard work and striving to be a little bit better each day.
"I want to have a Hall of Fame career. I definitely have a true love for the game and I'm also willing to put all of the work it takes to be as successful as possible," Mays said. "I know a big part of that is winning. I'm going to stick to what got me to this point and that's having a winning mindset and putting the team first. I've been successful because I've thought that way."
