It’s not very often that a second round pick steals the show, let alone doing it on a 56 win playoff team, but Norman Powell has done just that in Toronto. From dominating summer league, to earning a three year contract, to steady growth in the D-League, and an emergency starter in place of the injured DeMarre Carroll and the disappointing James Johnson.
He has captured everyone’s imagination, and may be the only player on the Raptors that can unite all of the team’s fans. It feels like he is unanimously loved, holds the single game rookie scoring record this season at 30 points, and has shocked everyone with the production from the 46th overall selection.
It’s not a very illustrious list, but Norman Powell may already be the most impactful second round pick the Raptors have ever made.
But Norm was never supposed to be the impact rookie for Toronto. As previously mentioned, he was a long shot to even earn a contract. It was the player selected 26 spots higher that was supposed to be the Raptors premiere rookie, but instead Delon Wright has gone largely forgotten.
When Masai Ujiri selected Delon Wright with the 20th pick last June, the thinking was that he would take over as the team’s back-up point guard, the spot vacated by the traded Greivis Vasquez. Instead, Cory Joseph became surprisingly available in free agency, and the Ujiri jumped at the opportunity to sign him to a four year contract (year four is a player option).
Delon Wright went from being a presumed necessity, to an unknown luxury. And yet, as the season has gone on we’ve been able to see glimpses of what Wright can do.
His herky-jerky dribble-drive, his ability to read the play, and his sheer size (6’5”) make him a handful for opposing point guards. Through 15 games with the Raptors 905 of the D-League, Wright averaged 35.7 minutes, 17.7 points, 6.5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. He was a threat across the stats sheet, and just needed to wait for his opportunity to show what he can bring in the NBA.
And it’s come through the need to rest both Kyle Lowry and Joseph as the playoffs approach. Wright has now played 27 games in the NBA (although most of them small minutes), and has played at least 20 minutes in the team’s last four games of the regular season.
He has been effective to date, but it is tough to draw too much due to the small sample size of his minutes. Norman Powell has played more than three times the NBA minutes than Delon and we still can’t don’t know with any certainty what type of career he will have.
…that doesn’t mean we can’t look at per 36 minutes numbers and dream big though, right? Check out Delon’s extrapolated numbers:
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 229 | 5.7 | 12.6 | .450 | 2.0 | .385 | .463 | 5.5 | .743 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 16.2 |
| 27 | 229 | 5.7 | 12.6 | .450 | 2.0 | .385 | .463 | 5.5 | .743 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 16.2 |
As for as it is to look, that’s probably not going to happen for Delon, but he has shown enough to believe that he has the makings of a capable career. It’s not much of a stretch to see him as a long-time back-up in the NBA.
When was the last time the Raptors were legitimately three deep at point guard?
I’m cheering for Delon. Whether he forces his way into a role with Toronto, or becomes a solid trade chip for Ujiri to play with, I sincerely hope he continues to develop and can meet his ceiling. By all accounts he is a solid person, and Toronto can’t help but benefit from any progress he makes on his game.
As fun as Norm’s emergence has been, he’s far from the only talented rookie on the Raptor’s roster this year.
