The Detroit Pistons are excited about their lottery pick, 8th overall pick Stanley Johnson and it brought memories of one of the best players they ever drafted.
Grant Hill entered the league in 1995 and was one of a horde of players touted as the "next Michael Jordan" or "Air Apparent." However, most of the other players earning that tag only had their athleticism and slam dunk performances. Hill was the only one who had a real game.
The site Crabdribbles argued that Hill should be considered one of the top 3 small forwards and compared his versatility to LeBron James.
"Hill totaled 29 triple-doubles within his first 3 years of being in the Association and averaged 20-6-6 (points-rebounds-assists) three times, highlighted by his '95-'96 season where he posted a remarkable 20.2 ppg, 9.8 rbg and 6.9 apg. And that wasn't even the season he was top-3 in MVP voting," the article stated.
They conclude: "To put it simply for the youngsters, Hill was LeBron James Lite, with James edging Hill slightly in scoring and certainly as defender."
Why would the Pistons even mention Johnson in the same light? Detroit Bad Boys explored that sentiment.
They do have some similarities: they play the same position, almost the same height although Johnson is heavier. Both played for college powerhouses (Hill at Duke and Johnson at Arizona) although Hill stayed for four years while Johnson is a one-and-done player.
However, DBB points out that while Johnson has tons of upside, the situation in Detroit may not merit the same opportunities that Hill had.
"Johnson is not being looked at to be the leader of this team, that falls to Andre Drummond. After Drummond, it's Reggie Jackson. Then, it might be Johnson. Johnson has a chance to have a wonderful rookie season and is even hearing his name in Rookie of the Year talk. But he won't have the opportunities Hill had (playing time and responsibility)."
Grant Hill was supposed to be the Savior of Detroit and before he got injured and eventually left for Orlando, he actually made them a relevant team. Johnson does not have that burden.