Most mock drafts predicted Nassir Little to go in the lottery, so when he remained on the board for the Portland Trail Blazers’ pick at No. 25, Neil Olshey simply selected the best player available.
A trying season at UNC progressively hurt Little’s draft stock, which was remarkably high before his brief college stint. He won MVP at both the McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic and finished his high school career as a state champion, but under Roy Williams, Little couldn’t make the starting lineup and only played 18.2 minutes per game.