EMONI BATES HAS NEXT

“I got next” is a common phrase used across almost every basketball court in America. This call is commonly used to notify or to reserve a spot for the next game. But Emoni Bates is not simply asking to play next in a game. He is showing everyone across America, that he has next to be one of the best basketball players in the world.

Emoni Bates has ruled high school basketball for the past three years. In the 2019-20 season as a sophomore, Bates was named the Gatorade National Boys basketball player of the year. That year he averaged 33.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. The seventeen-year-old recently was among the five finalists for the Naismith high school Player of the Year award. The six-foot-eight-two hundred pound forward has dominated the competition. Bates has been touted as arguably the best prospect since LeBron James.

Recently, Emoni Bates has reclassified to the class of 2021. The five-star recruit narrowed his top four to; the NBA G League, Memphis, Michigan State, and Oregon. Being that Emoni Bates is still seventeen, (he will not turn 19 until January 2023), Bates will not be eligible for the NBA draft next year. Bates would need to spend at least two seasons playing before entering the draft in 2023. 247 Sport basketball reporters predict that he will join another re-classy, Jalen Duren at Memphis. Other reporters believe he might be going straight to the NBA G League.

In basketball, analysis always use past or even present players as comparisons. The huge comparison around Emoni Bates has been Kevin Durant.

Comparisons and like characteristics between the two are that both are tall thin-skinny small-frame, elite three-level scorers. One thing that is different about Bates is that he is such an athletic powerful finisher at the rim. He is also a great rebounder who uses his size. Bates is so versatile on the court, and hopefully, he finds his elite potential on the defensive side.

I believe that Bates could rule the NBA one day. His comparisons and like characteristics are just too caning for me to ignore. He is an elite prospect that would be a blessing for any team. I think he will live up to the hype in the best situation. The sky is the limit for Mr.Emoni Bates. He has next.