Thunder Select Son of Former Pro in Recent Mock Draft
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are only one game back of the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and are right on the edge of playoff contention. This has been reflected in the team's draft position on Tankathon, an outlet specializing in draft coverage across America's four major professional sports leagues that updates their standings after every NBA contest.
OKC is currently slotted in at the 13th pick in Tankathon's most recent mock draft, one of the two final lottery selections. In this scenario, the Thunder selected Michigan freshman wing, Jett Howard.
Howard is the son of current Michigan head coach and longtime pro, Juwan Howard. While Jett did inherit his father's size, the two have very different playing styles.
Juwan Howard was a reliable big man in his playing days, standing at 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, the former top five pick could've likely carved out a role for himself on Oklahoma City's current roster in his younger days. Jett Howard is 6-foot-8, but operates on the perimeter, as opposed to in the post.
As a freshman at Michigan this season, Howard is shooting over 38% from 3-point range while averaging 14.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The Wolverines star doesn't turn 20 until his rookie season in the NBA, enticing many scouts with his combination of youth, size, genetics and shooting ability.
In high school, Howard was a four-star prospect, ranked 43rd in the nation according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. The college basketball legend's son played in high school at the prestigious IMG Academy.
Juwan Howard was picked fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets after averaging 20.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as a junior at Michigan.
With the 36th pick, Tankathon slotted international wing prospect Nikola Djurisic to Oklahoma City. Djurisic is another 6-foot-8 shooting guard/small forward combo who won't be 19 until next month.
While Djurisic has more question marks than Jett Howard, the intrigue is similar, as they both are young prospects with good size for their position, which is exactly what the Thunder have aimed for in recent drafts.
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