Legends in the making: Why Fultz, Ball, and Fox all safe bets in the 2017 NBA draft.

The 2017 NBA draft will be one of the most guard wealthy groups to date. Most mock drafts project seven guards will be selected in the top 10, and thirteen guards in the first round. Whether this draft will headline the future of the league like the 1984, 1996, and 2003 NBA drafts is another conversation. But what is almost certain? Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, and DeAron Fox are all safe bets if you have a top 3 draft pick. Why? Because they are all point guards.

Since 1980, 14 out of 17 of the top 3 picks have been selected to an NBA All Star game roster at least once. Additionally 12 out of 17 have made one of the 3 "ALL NBA" teams. The three players that did not compete in an NBA all star game? D'Angelo Russell (too early to tell), Mike Bibby (arguably a near All Star), and Jay Williams (suffered a career ending motorcycle injury).

When revolving the clock backwards you've got Kyrie Irving, John Wall, James Harden, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway, Kenny Anderson, and Isaiah Thomas. It is safe to say they have made their mark on the league.

By the way, between these guys you've got three NBA Championships, two MVP awards, a NBA Finals MVP, three inductions into the Hall of Fame, two Rookie of the Year awards, four scoring titles, five assists titles, two steals titles, and a Sixth man of the year award. That being said, the NBA is unpredictable and the point guard position is way more reliant on skill set than some others. While D-Rose was great the early half of the decade, injuries have plagued the former MVP's stardom.

When looking at Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, and DeAron Fox it is safe to say that these guys will follow suit (statistically speaking). Nobody knows the level in which they will play however, and the league is certainly surprising at times. A perfect example of that is 2 time NBA MVP Steph Curry, who was selected 7th overall behind Tyreke Evans, Johnny Flynn, and Ricky Rubio. In other words, teams like the New York Knicks, who are projected to select Malik Monk, can also take a sigh of relief.

Lonzo has been described as a Steph Curry style player by a lot of people who follow the game. While it may be easy to infer the connection, an alternative comparison would be Jason Kidd. Kidd is an NBA Champion, led the league in assists five times, was a 10 time NBA All Star, and on the NBA defensive team list nine times. While winning a unanimous MVP award twice certainly makes Steph a beauty to watch, Kidd isn't in such bad shoes.

To some, it may seem that Lonzo Ball is the best talent in the draft (partially due to LaVar Ball antics). Markelle Fultz (the projected number one pick overall) is also the "Next Big Thing". Like many other prep school legends from DeMatha Catholic, the DC Metro native is the biggest name coming out of UW probably since Nate Robinson. Fultz, has been discussed by many as an instant star.

His game resembles James Harden, flashy offense and good buckets. I can't speak on whether Fultz will be like the Beard defensively as the NBA game is a whole different monster. But I will say that I can't see Fultz playing the 2, which means the clock could be ticking on new Boston Celtic favorite Isaiah Thomas. Either that or Boston may trade the pick for Gordon Heyward or Paul George which has been discussed.

DeAron Fox. The kid from the Katy/Cypress Houston suburbs will be following the same suit as other Calipari gems - playing one season in college, only to pipeline their way into the NBA lottery. Fox is my personal favorite and as a 76ers fan I would love to see him in that red, white, and blue. Knowing that Simmons will most likely be playing the point forward position (similar to LeBron early on), it is highly unlikely that the Sixers will select Fox at third.

That does not however mean that the 76ers wont draft Fox, nor does it mean he won't be selected in the top 2 if the C's or Lakers go in a different direction. Some claim that Fox will be better than both Fultz AND Ball which is why he could end up in the top 2. I'm projecting Fox will be another John Wall type of prolific scorer. I would love to see a Jason Kidd-esque Lonzo Ball taking on Fox, if he can be the Wall-Star 2.0. Fox will probably land outside the top three, going fourth overall in 2017 unless he suddenly "wows" Magic Johnson or Danny Ainge.

Either way, at this point, barring any major injuries - it is safe to say that Fultz, Ball, and Fox will be stars if selected in the top three.