Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton fires back at criticism of draft class

Coming into the 2020-21 season, some experts believed the incoming draft class was weaker than previous years given its lack of overall star power and talent.

Fast forward to the final month of the season, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

While the current rookie class features a couple of high-profile names, there have been some tremendous performances by non-household names. The group has seemingly exceeded expectations and offered yet another reason projections can often be wrong regarding drafts.

One rookie, Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton, called those experts out.

When looking at the players selected in the first round, most have contributed meaningful minutes this season and played large roles on their respective teams, as pointed out by Rob Perez of Fan Duel.

Haliburton agreed with that and offered his own take:

Of course, Haliburton, the 12th overall pick, emerged this season as one of the top rookies.

While he likely isn’t in contention to win Rookie of the Year, Haliburton ranks third in scoring, first in assists and third in 3-pointers among first-year players. His season may have come to an end this week after suffering a knee injury, but he projects to have a bright future ahead.

In addition to Haliburton, Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane also jumped in on the action.

Despite playing through some extreme challenges this year, the rookie class proved to be anything but weak and should be remembered as one of the better groups in recent memory.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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