Connect with us

NBA Draft

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander NBA Draft Breakdown

Garrett Furubayashi

Published

on

Age: 19

Position: Guard

College: Kentucky

 

Measurables

Height w/o Shoes: 6’4.5”

Height w/ Shoes: 6’6”

Weight: 180

Wingspan: 6’11.5”

Standing Reach: 8’8”

Max Vertical: 39.5”

 

College Statistics (2017/2018)

MPG: 33.7

PPG: 14.4

RPG: 4.1

ASTPG: 5.1

STLPG: 1.6

FT%: 81.7%

2-PT FG%: 50%

3-PT FG%: 40.4%

 

Comparisons: Patrick McCaw, Michael Carter-Williams

 

3 Things to Know

  1. Lateral quickness and long arms have made him a great defender on and off the ball.
  2. Most of his offense comes from drives. Will need a more consistent jumper.
  3. Only weighs 180 lbs and will need to bulk up in order to keep up with bigger NBA guards.

 

Strengths

  • Uses 6’11.5” wingspan to create deflections and disrupt passing lanes making his presence felt off the ball on defense.
  • Moves his feet really well and displays good lateral quickness when defending on the ball.
  • Excellent facilitator out of the pick and roll, 0.95 PPP and a 52.4%, who’s shown off a nice floater when attacking the paint.
  • Likes to use a lot of change of pace to create space for himself through his tight handles or hesitations
  • Hard worker who went from coming off the bench to starting and leading Kentucky to an SEC Tournament Championship while winning tournament MVP for himself

 

Weaknesses

  • Needs to increase his physicality to help with finishing through contact.
  • At 19 he’s still learning and tends to make some careless decisions while playing the point.
  • Shoots flat footed and has some minor mechanical flaws in his jumper.
  • At 180, he’ll need to add more weight to keep up with bigger wings and guards.

 

Summary

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was somewhat of a surprise player this past season in the college basketball world. Coming from Canada and choosing to play for Coach John Calipari at the University of Kentucky, Gilgeous-Alexander had more tempered and, maybe even, lower expectations than other players in his recruiting class like 5-star prizes Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, and PJ Washington. He was still ranked 35th on ESPN’s top 100 list and a 4-star recruit, yet he started the year out on the bench. Then when the youngest team in the country needed some guidance, Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up and offered some balance leading the Wildcats to an SEC Tournament Championship and a Sweet Sixteen finish. Now Shai is on the verge of becoming a potential lottery pick in next week’s NBA draft and has a number of reasons why scouts are excited. First, he possesses a ton of defensive potential thanks to his good footwork and lateral quickness when defending on the ball. When he’s playing off the ball and in help situations, his long wingspan of 6’11.5” allows him to reach his arms out and create deflections, disrupt passing lanes, and generate steals (1.6 STLPG last season). At the next level, he’ll need to bulk up his frame, as he currently only weighs 180 lbs, in order to have more versatility at guarding bigger 2s and 3s. On the offensive side of the ball, Gilgeous-Alexander is a great facilitator out of the pick and roll who distributes the ball well and can create for himself thanks to his good change of pace. His biggest weapon is a hesitation, which allows him to create space for his jumper or drive to the rim and use a floater that has developed nicely. Mechanically, he stands too flat-footed with his jumper and could benefit from becoming more consistent shooting the ball. He also needs to improve finishing and taking contact at the rim, which will come with time and adding on more muscle. Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander’s play this season forced his way onto NBA scout’s radars, and a potential selection in the first round thanks to his hard work all season. Look for Shai to be selected in the anywhere from the late lottery to the middle of the 1st round in Thursday night’s draft.

Locke’s take
It is not clear what position Gilgeous-Alexander is going to play and I am not sure it matters.  He ran 218 pick and rolls last year at Kentucky.  Only Trae Young (335) ran more in this draft.  He was very effective on those pick and roll shooting an EFG% of 53.4 compared to Young at 50.4%.  He was by far the best shooting off the pick and roll.  He was not a great shooter off the bounce and he took very few catch and shoots, but he seems to understand the pick and roll.  I don’t like the comps of Patrick McCaw and Michael Carter-Williams because of his ability to run a pick and roll.   Overall, on the pick and roll he was .95 pts per pick and roll that was close to best in the draft of point guards.
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

NBA Draft

Utah Jazz fans got distracted, is this they hey day of the NBA, why the Los Angeles Lakers are bad

David Locke

Published

on

Utah Jazz fans have gotten distracted. With the injuries and Covid the focus turned to the young players, the supporting cast and the panic after losses. What really matters is that the Utah Jazz main players have gotten better. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are better players than they were a year ago. Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale are stedding eddies That is what really matters. David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider brings you the daily podcast on the Utah Jazz, Locked On Jazz, Now live each morning on You Tube Is this the hey dey of the NBA. At least 6 players are having elite MVP seasons. It is not clear at all who should win the award. The greatest player in the history of the NBA is still playing and he isn’t one of the 6. Plus, we might have one of the best teams the league has seen while super teams are floating around unable to break through . Lastly, why are the Los Angeles Lakers bad? They still have LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook but why are they bad

. 0:00 Utah Jazz fans got distracted 2:00 How Donovan Mitchell is better

7:00 Rudy Gobert is historically good offensively

13:00 Steady Eddies matter

17:00 Who is the best player in the NBA

21:00 Is LeBron James in the Top 10 of the NBA

27:00 Super teams aren’t working

31:00 Why the Los Angeles Lakers are bad

Locked On Jazz Podcast https://www.lockedonjazz.net/ LockedOnJazz.com https://buff.ly/2FEZTVY Apple https://apple.co/3Dc8QBq Spotify https://spoti.fi/3IfvgVX Stitcher https://bit.ly/3pkGyzB Google https://bit.ly/3I8TwJz Follow David Locke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DLocke09 #NBA #UtahJazz #DonovanMitchell #RudyGobert #NBAPodcast

 

David Locke and Ron Boone bring you POSTCAST after each Jazz game

Continue Reading

NBA Draft

LOCKED ON JAZZ – Ripple effect of Durant injury, Game 5 thoughts and 6 players for the Utah Jazz in the draft

David Locke

Published

on

The NBA will be changed for at least a decade based on what happened last night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. David Locke, takes a look the impact of the Kevin Durant injury and how it will ripple across the NBA landscape and change the way things are done. In addition, Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, looks at the incredible Game 5, Kawhi’s stretch and where the series stands.

Then Locke looks at 6 players that will be in the Jazz range and how they may or may not fit into what the Jazz are doing. Plus, Locke shares 4 trades he is working on in the mock draft

Continue Reading

NBA Draft

LOCKED ON JAZZ – If no Ricky Rubio then what? If Donovan Mitchell then what? Draftee breakdowns on Admiral Schofield and Keldon Johnson

David Locke

Published

on

What happens if the Jazz move past Ricky Rubio what are the other options at point guard? If the Jazz go to Donovan Mitchell at point guard is there a certain style the Jazz need to play or lineups that have worked or not worked over the past season? David Locke, the radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, takes a look at all those numbers and find some interesting things about what works with Donovan Mitchell and the value of Ricky Rubio.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

LATEST

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending