Where Will Ousmane and Hugo Land in the NBA Draft?

One of the world’s leading NBA draft pundits believes the adversity that Ousmane Dieng and Hugo Besson were exposed to in the Sky Sport Breakers’ ill-fated NBL22 campaign will serve them well in the world’s toughest basketball league.

ESPN’s Mike Schmitz, who travels the globe assessing the premier stars of tomorrow, says the French stars have been on his radar for some time and have improved significantly during their time at the Breakers.

“Ousmane has been on my radar for four years; Hugo has been on my radar since the beginning of last season,” he said.

“I think it’s really important to put yourself in adverse situations; that’s where growth happens. If you stay in your home country your whole life, the NBA will be a shock for you.

“You have to fight the adversity, and you might not go as high in the draft; you might not be the sixth pick like we thought, but you might end up in a better situation where you’re more prepared.”

Currently, Dieng is projected to fall anywhere between 8 and 17, while Besson is a projected second-round pick.

The most popular prediction for Dieng is that he will go to Oklahoma City, which has the 12th pick.

If he was to slip to 13, he could be picked up by the Charlotte Hornets, which picked up the original Next Star LaMelo Ball at number 3 in the 2020 draft.

“I think LaMelo’s one of the biggest winners of the entire next stars program,” said Schmitz.

“Teams really weren’t sure about him at all, even though he was his big talent. I don’t think we even had him in our first round, you know, going into kind of his growth.  So LaMelo has been a big success after playing in Australia. There’s no question.”

If Dieng and Besson pick up contracts, the Breakers will become the first international club to send two players to the NBA in the same draft.

In addition, former Breaker RJ Hampton is established in the NBA, having played more than 100 games.

“The Breakers have done a really good job of proving that they can bring in a guy like Ousmane, who’s highly rated, they can bring in a guy like RJ Hampton, who’s highly rated, and then they can also bring in a player that maybe scouts don’t know as well in Hugo Besson,” said Schmitz.

“The Breakers have done a good job of developing these players, and we’ve seen them improve.”

Now it remains to be seen whether NBA teams have seen those improvements and will offer them contracts.

The 2022 NBA Draft is live on Sky Sport 60 from 11.30 am Friday.