The Sixers were happy to see Jahlil Okafor fall to them at No. 3

In what turned-out to be one of the stranger drafts in recent history, in regards to who was chosen where, and the needs of the teams doing the selecting, only a few organizations profoundly impacted their cause for the upcoming season. The “zags” were coming at a rapid pace in the first round, but after a while, teams were drafting based on who they felt were the most talented players still available, even if it was projecting three years down the line.

So who were the big winners in this years draft?

Philadelphia 76ers

In an epic turn of events, Philly was able to land one of the most dominating forces in this draft, in Jahlil Okafor. At first glance, many might see a log-jam in the front-court now, though, there has been no guarantee that Joel Embiid will even play in the upcoming season, and Okafor was way too high of a talent to pass up on. The Lakers chose to select D’Angelo Russell, and it’s not far-fetched to imagine the Philly brass doing a fist-pump when Adam Silver made the announcement.

Jahlil will most likely have one of the best chances to become the R.O.Y., based on the amount of minutes he is destined to receive. If the 174 double teams are any indication of how profound Okafor’s presence may be, Philly just picked up a stud for many years to come.

There is every reason to believe that Okafor will be the top scorer on the Sixers next season, and it seems as if injury is the only way to stop him. Which ironically, has been the case with each of the big men the Sixers have drafted over the last three years.

As for the other picks, meh… The story begins and ends with the third overall selection, and this story is going to be quite the popular choice in the middle-to-late rounds of fantasy drafts.

Boston Celtics

On the surface, there is absolutely nothing flashy about any of the selections the Celtics made. And frankly, they were not among, what some might say, the most talented options available.

What Boston did do to make this list is a produce quantity and fill needs. Sure, they very well could have traded up to get into a lottery situation, but they ultimately did not have to based on the amount of picks they had on the table (4).

Terry Rozier was the first choice for the Celtics with the 1oth pick in the draft, and they followed up with R.J. Hunter at No. 28. This addressed a glaring need for shooters who can create offense and spread the floor.

Moving forward it remains to be seen what magic Danny Ainge will manifest in free agency, but these picks certainly will have some role moving forward.

Charlotte Hornets

Talk about fortunate, not only did three teams with a huge hole in their front court pass on Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky, Charlotte did not even have to trade up to acquire him with the ninth pick.

The Hornets needed to create space on the floor in the worst way, and the trade involving Nicolas Batum certainly added help, but adding Kaminsky may have closed that need out entirely.

The Naismith Player Of The Year will have an opportunity to start immediately for the Hornets, especially when you consider Noah Vonleh was sent packing in the aforementioned deal. He could be another candidate for the R.O.Y., if he can transition his game to the next level.

Houston Rockets

This is another case of choosing to go with need over ceiling. And not for nothing, because of this, the Rockets may have quietly had one of the best drafts of the night.

The Rockets added a wing scorer in Sam Dekker who can provide shooting from the outside and the ability to help keep the points going in the second-unit.

Speaking of their second-unit, enter in Montrezl Harrell. Not only can the Louisville product score at a decent clip, he can spell the big men of Houston, who seem to love to get into foul trouble or injured.

Denver Nuggets

One word; Mudiay! Talk about a golden chance to fall into a starting role, with no competition, if (when) Ty Lawson is shipped to another team. He could very well be looking at a 30 minutes per game situation, which means you almost have to take a gamble on him later in your fantasy drafts.

Steve Krebs is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Steve, check out his archive and follow him @BKHoops5.