The 28th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, a Lucky Charm for Bob Myers

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In 2019, Myers drafted a little-known Jordan Poole with the 28th pick in the first round. The noise around the league, shared by many draft critics, was that Poole would be available in the late 2nd round and likely would go undrafted. If we were to redraft the class of 2019 today, Poole would be an arguably top-five lottery pick. Poole may have already earned his way to the top of this class, demanding a rookie extension equal to Tyler Herro's 130 mils over four years.

Patrick Baldwin Jr., PBJ, was selected with the 28th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. A five star high school recruit with college offers from Marquette, Arizona State, DePaul, Kansas State, Minnesota, and USC, PBJ decided to play for his father, the head coach at Milwaukee. His one year at Milwaukee was a disappointing season. He played just eleven games due to a dislocated ankle. Still suffering from his ankle injury, Baldwin's combine stats were some of the worst posted in combine history.

Baldwin Jr.'s measurables are off the charts; he has an NBA frame (220 lbs) and a massive 7'2" wingspan at 6'10 1/4" in shoes and 6'9 without. He entered college with a reputation as a knockdown shooter who could rack up the points. With a season-high 26-point performance in a win over Robert Morris, Baldwin Jr. shot 65% from the field and went 6-for-6 on 3-point attempts. As SB Nation's Ricky O'Donnell discussed, "is the high school sample size of elite scoring and shooting more indicative of PBJ's true talents or is his 11-game college career in which he struggled against mid-major opposition his actual ceiling?"

In his appearances at the Japan Games, PBJ went 2/4 from the arc, scoring 9 points in game one. "I'm excited about him," Kerr told reporters after Baldwin delivered 12 points, shooting 4-of-5 from deep, in 17 minutes in the preseason win over the Wizards on Sunday. Veteran assistant coach Ron Adams is a huge fan," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said of Baldwin a couple of weeks ago. "Ron probably is telling everybody, he loves him." Stephen Curry, the most influential player of all, has said he likes what he has seen. And on Tuesday, seven-year veteran Kevon Looney singled out Baldwin as someone to watch. Now healthy, no one knows where PBJ's potential ends, but if he can crack Kerr's rotation, the sky is the limit. Once again, Bob Myers has found a gem late in the first round.