It was a terrible year for American basketball prospects. The United States produced only two of the top three players chosen in the 2016 NBA Draft, and trained only three of the top three.
Think about this. High school talent analysts promised you the recruiting class of 2015 was among the worst in a generation. Freshman performance in 2015-16 college basketball underscored that this projection seemed accurate. And still each of the top three prospects to be chosen by NBA teams went through AAU, high school and a single year of college basketball in the U.S.
NBA DRAFT: Winners & losers | Grades
However, because the NBA chose a significant number of international players through the course of two draft rounds, we suddenly are being reminded of the supposed crisis in American basketball.