Ron Holland II being the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is a major accompaniment. Unfortunately for the Detroit Pistons rookie, it will always be seen with the caveat that he was picked so high in a weak draft class.

This year's draft class being sandwiched in between two really promising draft classes does it no favors. Being after Victor Wembanyama and right in front of Cooper Flagg exacerbates the uncertainty with a lot of the top prospects. Although the talent in this class isn’t super shallow, the guys at the top are widely regarded as markedly worse than most other cops of prospects.

Holland is frustrated that his draft class is seen in such a bad light, according to ESPN. The Pistons forward may have a tough time developing his game on a team with so much overlap but part of his motivation is proving that his class is a good one.

“It definitely makes me mad that people would say that,” the Pistons rookie said, via ESPN. “But we go out here and play the game of basketball and just show everybody, show the whole world why we really want [to be] the best competitive class.”

The fact that such a wide range of draftees have a reasonable chance to be the best player in the class makes it more interesting to follow along. Holland could be that player but so could a lot of others. While no one is projected to be as good as Wembanyama or Flagg (or some of the other players behind them in their respective classes), seeing who could be the best will be interesting to watch for.

Ron Holland II, 2024 NBA Draft class eager to shed label of weak class

Perception of the draft class isn’t being helped by Alex Sarr's horrible shooting in the Summer League, even if it will lead to too much scrutiny on both him and the class than is deserved. Eventually, the Washington Wizards big man will get going. It's safe to say he won’t shoot 0-15 again.

Zaccharie Risacher is one of the more underwhelming top overall picks in the history of the NBA draft. Part of that is because the Atlanta Hawks rookie is an overseas prospect but it’s also because his game just doesn’t seem to be of the caliber of a No. 1 selection.

If Risacher and Sarr don’t become big-time guys, it will be tough for people to change their minds. It may come down to the depth of how many good players there are. Fortunately, the 2024 class has plenty of candidates.

One of the saving graces of the class is Reed Sheppard, the Houston Rockets rookie who has been balling out in Summer League. Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan, the two-time national champions from UConn, both have shown a lot of promise and have the pedigree that will make them standout rookies. Zach Edey's massive frame seems to be translating to the professional game pretty well.

Holland's athletic gifts and defensive versatility make him a very interesting prospect to follow, as is his former G League Ignite teammate, Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls. Some of the older players like Edey, Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter, Los Angeles Lakers forward Dalton Knecht and Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva should all be solid players from the jump.

It will take a lot to change the minds of fans that the 2024 class is a bad one in comparison to others. But Ron Holland II — and surely many more — is setting out to fight for that shift in the narrative.