Remember the name Emoni Bates. In 2023, he just might be the most talked about draft prospect making his way into the NBA. The 12 year old kid from Michigan is making waves with his basketball skills, completely dominating his middle school competition.
Bates is already 6'5. He has insanely long arms compared to his frame, which mirrors the build of NBA superstar Kevin Durant. The kid might be rail thin now, but imagine him hitting the weight room more aggressively during his high school years.
Bleacher Report just released a compilation video of Emoni's recent games, and the combination of skills is pretty impressive. For some reason, however, B/R has since taken down that post. Fear not! Bates already has some video highlights on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVQWCDHmDg
He can dribble with both hands, drive, pass and shoot while making everything look easy. And that frame. Yikes. Bates is only in the 7th grade. Assuming he doesn't skip any grades, he won't graduate from high school until 2022. With the NBA's current requirement of at least one year playing college ball or internationally, that means the earliest we could see him in the NBA draft is 2023.
Plenty of these early-bloomer athletic sensations have come before Emoni, and some are never heard from again on the game's biggest stage. Other times, of course, they're discovered early for a reason. Remember when a high school kid graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline of "The Chosen One"? So does LeBron James.
Emoni Bates. Remember the name.
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