Bam Adebayo: OKC Thunder NBA Draft prospect series
Kentucky freshman center Bam Adebayo is next up in TI’s NBA Draft Prospect Preview.
The 2017 NBA Draft is full of point guards and big men of which Bam Adebayo is part of the latter. As such, it’s highly unlikely Sam Presti will look to utilize his 21st pick to select the prospect. it’s also unlikely Adebayo will fall all the way to 21, though possible.
Specifics:
Height: 6′ 10″
Weight: 250 lbs
Wingspan: 7′ 2.75″
Position: center
Age: 19 years, 9 months
Statline: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.5 blocks
College: Kentucky (freshman)
Home Town: Gatesville, North Carolina
Current rankings:
Please note, these rankings are taken as current as this writing, and are subject to change.
DraftExpress: 24th
NBA DraftNet: 18th
Scott Howard-Cooper nba.com: ranks 5th on Howard-Cooper’s center list
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor: 36th
CBS Sports: 28th
Basketball Insiders: 37th
Hoops Hype: 20th
Jeremy Woo SI.com, The Crossover: 29th
Skills:
Like many of the top ranked center prospects Adebayo offers some tantalizing assets such as his 7’21/4″ wingspan and a 9′ standing reach. Notably, while watching a replay of the NBA Draft Combine today Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers said he values those two statistics more than any other stat. And, why shouldn’t he and other GM’s with the league trending toward small ball and position-less players. Adding a talent who can offer length and is physically capable of guarding out to the perimeter is desirable.
Another huge asset he brings to the court is his NBA ready body. At 250 pounds he’ll be able to guard his position from day one without being pushed all over the court, unlike some of his prospective center counterparts.
With Kentucky he demonstrated agility, mobility, speed, a high motor and the ability to defend in transition. All assets NBA clubs will be seeking out.
Weaknesses:
As much as Adebayo brings copious physical assets and work ethic to the court the opposite side of this is his lack of offensive versatility. In particular he relied almost exclusively on put back dunks or lobs at the rim. Unable to create his shot and without a go to move let alone a a few developed fundamental skills it means his drafting team will need to get their development team to put in copious hours with the big man.
Kevin O’Connor’s comparison to Bismack Biyombo is spot on as his film will have you doing double takes just to confirm it’s not double B. Like Biyombo he’ll be a major defensive asset, but unless he develops the offensive package to compliment his D he’ll be stuck in a specialist role or relegated to a bench role.
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Honors and awards:
SEC, All-Rookie Team, 2017
SEC All-Conference 2nd Team, 2017
North Carolina High School Player of the Year, 2016
McDonald’s All-American Participant, 2016
North Carolina Mr. Basketball, 2016
Pro Comparison:
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer provided a ceiling comparison for each of his prospects. O’Connor’s list pegs Collins ceiling as Bismack Biyombo or Montrezl Harrell
The fit:
To reiterate, Sam Presti won’t be looking to draft a center unless he has plans on moving the myriad of bigs already on the roster.