2020 NBA Mock Draft: Philadelphia 76ers Snag R.J. Hampton

Next month, the 2020 NBA Draft could go down (scheduled for Oct. 16). And fortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers will have a first-round pick. As the Oklahoma City Thunder did well enough to fall out of the top-20 selection range in the first round, the Sixers lucked up and will select at No. 21 overall whenever the draft actually takes place.

Last year, the Sixers put a focus on snagging a player with a lot of experience at the college level. With that strategy, they ended up with a 22-year-old prospect in Matisse Thybulle. This time around, Philly won't focus on how many years a player competed at the collegiate level. Instead, they will go for the best player available, who fills their needs.

In this case, the Sixers are more than likely going to look for a guard. For the 2019-2020 NBA season, the 76ers prioritized defense and size over anything. Unfortunately, building a team using that strategy didn't do them any favors.

So this year, the Sixers will look for guards who can shoot to surround Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons with down the line. In the latest mock draft by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, the 76ers snag the 19-year-old New Zealand Breakers guard R.J. Hampton with the Thunder's 21st pick.

The Case for Hampton

"The 76ers need guards, and this would represent one with a relatively high upside falling to them. This pick could be all over the map, though, and it wouldn't stun me if they tried to consolidate some of their picks to try to move up. Nos. 34 an 36 are valuable picks for some team."

Hampton, a five-star guard out of Little Elm, Texas, skipped the NCAA route and signed a multi-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers in May of 2019. With the Breakers, Hampton started in 12 out of 15 games, averaging just over 20 minutes-per-game.

In those 15 games, Hampton averaged 8.8 points while shooting roughly 41 percent from the field. From deep, he knocked down about 29 percent of his shots. While the 19-year-old guard would be a work in progress, at least he would come onto Philly's roster as a true point guard.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_