NBA
#30 – Josh Hart – Los Angeles Lakers
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
After acquiring it along with the 42nd pick in exchange for sending the 28th pick to the Utah Jazz, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted former Villanova standout Josh Hart with the 30th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Hart, a senior, was extremely productive at Villanova and projects as a relatively NBA-ready player right away. He should see playing time in a somewhat thin Lakers guard rotation that will also feature second overall pick Lonzo Ball, and his poise will be much-needed with a young group. He’ll also need to provide solid knockdown shooting during the minutes he plays at the shooting guard position. He likely never projects as an elite-level guard in the NBA, but the Lakers aren’t asking that of him after selecting Ball much earlier it the draft. Hart nailed 40 percent of his triples as a senior—a pace he needs to maintain to be a successful NBA player.
Hart doesn’t have as much raw athleticism as some of his peers, though he’s strong and has great balance, even through contact. He’s good at finding the right creases when he doesn’t have the ball, whether it’s snaking in for a rebound or making the right cut for a passer. Whether he has enough raw skill to survive at the next level remains to be seen, but he’s worth a shot here at the back of the first round with much more of a sure thing already locked up in Ball.
