Typically, the NBA draft takes place in June, but as the season was held over due to the coronavirus pandemic, it occurred in November for the first time.

As COVID-19 limited travel, it was hard for scouts, general managers, and front-office executives to get a clear picture of how a player plays the game and potentially fits their organization. However, some of these guys have been scouted well before the coronavirus was a thing.

Here are the winners and losers from this year's draft.

Winners

International basketball

The NBA draft only consists of 60 picks, in which typically, the players drafted are college players.

This draft proved that you don't necessarily have to be a college player to get drafted. Simultaneously, both from the United States, LaMelo Ball, and R.J. Hampton went overseas to Australia to play professionally instead of playing in college for a year. This has been a growing trend among prospects who opt to play professionally before the draft instead of being a one and done player in college.

Killian Hays, who was drafted by the Detroit Pistons seventh, spent most of his life in France and played professionally in Germany before the draft.

Deni Avdija was selected ninth overall by the Washington Wizards, in which he became the highest Israeli ever to be drafted. In the second round, Yam Madar, who also hails from Israel, was taken with pick 47 by the Boston Celtics.

Two other international players were drafted in the first round in Aleksej Pokusevski (17) from Serbia and Leandro Bolmaro (23) from Argentina.

In the second round, three international players were drafted aside from Madar, who was already mentioned.

If this trend continues in future drafts, players may find a better path to get to the NBA is to play professionally overseas instead of going to college before playing in the highest league.

Malachi Flynn

The Toronto Raptors had their first-round pick for the first time in two years, which they used to select a guard in Malachi Flynn. Assuming Fred VanVleet re-signs with the Raptors, Flynn will most likely be used as a bench player in his rookie year to observe VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, and other guards play at the NBA level.

Besides that, Flynn will develop with the best player development team in basketball, which has brought out the best in OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and even undrafted guys like VanVleet and Terrence Davis. The same goes for the Raptors second-round pick in Jalen Smith, who will be developed to the best of his abilities.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets got two players out of the first round in Zeke Nnaji and R.J. Hampton. Nnaji, who they selected with their own pick, is a reliable rim protector who averaged 8.6 rebounds in his freshman year. He can also shoot free throws at a respectable rate, which he did so at a clip of 76 percent in his only year of college.

The Milwaukee Bucks originally drafted Hampton, but the Nuggets traded a future first-round pick to get him.

It's a risky move, but one that was worth taking as Hampton was at some points viewed as a late lottery pick and has professional experience as he played in Australia instead of going to college. This will help Hampton mesh right into NBA action and help the Nuggets chase a title.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons walked away at the end of the night, selecting three players in the first round. They used their own lottery pick on Killian Hays, who's regarded as an excellent passer.

They were able to get a first-round pick while at the same time taking on Trevor Ariza from the Houston Rockets, which they used to select a center in Isaiah Stewart. Three picks later, and they took Saddiq Bey, who's noted for his defense.

They also made a trade that was entirely in their favor as they traded the Los Angeles Lakers' 2021 second-round pick for $4.6 million. With the Lakers coming off a championship and are expected to be contenders again, that pick will be at the end of the draft and could even be the last pick.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks first-round selection of Josh Green with pick 18 was nothing special. In fact, they probably could have traded down to get him while getting future assets in the process. The Mavericks are considered winners of the draft because of a trade they made and who they selected in the second round.

They possessed the Golden State Warriors second-round pick, which ended up being the first selection of the second round.

They used that to select Tyrell Terry, and five picks later, they took Tyler Bey, who's viewed as a great defensive player.

Bey's selection wouldn't have been possible without a trade that saw Seth Curry head to Philadelphia for Josh Richardson. While Richardson had a down year last season, he's just as good, if not better than Curry, and they got a second-round pick (Bey) on top of that.

Losers

Big college programs

Schools like Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, and a handful of others tend to produce the best talent out of college. This year, that wasn't the case.

Not one player selected in the lottery went to a school that's considered a basketball powerhouse. It was the first time since 2010 that not one player from Duke was a lottery pick, which is arguably the best college basketball program in history.

Cole Anthony was the only player selected from North Carolina on which he was selected with pick 15 by the Orlando Magic. Three players from Kentucky were selected, but not until pick 21 in which Tyrese Maxey was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers. The highest a Duke player went was pick 32, in which the Charlotte Hornets selected Vernon Carey Jr.

Lots of prospects

Every draft, there are always players that slide down draft boards, but this year, some really slid down far. Tre Jones and Nico Mannion were viewed as potential players who could be taken at the end of the first round, but neither were taken until well into the second round.

Jones was taken with pick 41 by the San Antonio Spurs, and Mannion was taken with pick 48 by the Warriors.

Another player that fell down the board was Jahmi'us Ramsey who could have been taken near the end of the first round but wasn't taken until pick 43 by the Sacramento Kings.

By not being taken earlier in drafts, they miss out on lots of money and now really have to prove that they belong in the NBA.

The whole draft

In 2019, Zion Williamson was far and away going first overall, and nobody was going to usurp him. 2018, Deandre Ayton was viewed as the best player in the draft and was pegged as the first overall pick in many mock drafts. This year, no one had a clear idea of who the best player was, and teams had concerns about every player.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, who held the first overall pick, didn't have a clear idea of who to take.

While Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and LaMelo Ball were the favorites to go top three, many mock drafts and reports had a different player going first overall. Due to this, the Timberwolves attempted to trade the pick but to no avail as many saw this draft class as too risky.

After those three, there were different tier of prospects, including Avdija, Obi Toppin, Onyeka Okongwu, among others, who were all viewed as similar players with different basketball traits. Due to the similarities among the players, teams had a tough time deciding who to take, and it made it even more difficult because the teams' future is at stake.

While players can develop beyond their potential as they experience playing in the NBA, no one in this draft class is seen as a potential superstar.
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