As one of the best point guards in the 2018 NBA Draft class Landry Shamet hopes to prove skeptics wrong about being labeled injury prone.
Hoping to prove skeptics wrong, Landry Shamet enters the 2018 NBA draft with as much to prove as anyone. Call it bad luck, or call it injury prone, but Shamet suffered two foot injuries during his college career.
The first, a stress fracture in his left foot, came at the beginning of his freshman season at Wichita State. He went on to miss the rest of the season becoming a medical redshirt.
After coming back and winning MVC Freshman of the year, he once again found himself with a foot injury. It was another stress fracture accept this time it was his right foot. Nevertheless, Shamet made it back in time for his sophomore season taking home First-team All-AAC honors.
Ordinarily, injuries of that magnitude might be discouraging, but it’s only made him work that much harder perfecting his craft. Although originally recruited as a shooting guard, Shamet primarily plays the point blending together a myriad of skills.
Player specifics:
- Height: 6’5.25″
- Weight: 188.6 lbs
- Wingspan: 6’6.75″
- Position: Point Guard/Shooting Guard
- Age: 21.3
- College: Wichita State
- Home town: Kansas City, MO
Statline:
| Season | G | GS | MP | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 3 | 1 | 17.7 | 5.3 | .438 | 2.0 | .667 | 3.3 | .300 | 4.0 | .750 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 8.7 |
| 2016-17 | 36 | 35 | 26.7 | 7.9 | .472 | 3.4 | .516 | 4.6 | .439 | 2.4 | .802 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.4 |
| 2017-18 | 32 | 32 | 31.7 | 9.8 | .489 | 3.9 | .560 | 5.9 | .442 | 3.2 | .825 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 14.9 |
| Career | 71 | 68 | 28.6 | 8.7 | .480 | 3.6 | .542 | 5.1 | .437 | 2.8 | .811 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 12.9 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 6/15/2018.
Skills:
Landry Shamet is a knockdown 3-point shooter with a silky-smooth stroke hitting 44.2 percent on 5.9 attempts per game. Despite the small frame at just under 190 pounds he is a very gifted finisher. He is long with almost a 6’7” wingspan and tall standing just over 6’5”.
Unlike some of the other point guards in this class, he moves as well off the ball as he does with it. Furthermore, he works well in the pick and roll, using screens to create space for a shot, find the open man, or get to the hole.
Unlike some of the early scouting reports suggested, he tested surprisingly well athletically. He finished with a 39.5-inch max vertical and ran the three-quarters sprint in 3.11 seconds. Those numbers put him right behind guys like Lonnie Walker and Hamidou Diallo, two of the best athletes in this year’s class. Moreover, he has a good handle and is an excellent finisher making great use of the glass.
Playing next to more talented players, Shamet’s high IQ and excellent passing ability should shine at the next level. If he can stay healthy and put on some muscle, he has all the tools to become an NBA star.
Weaknesses:
The biggest issue here is Shamet’s injury history. Having stress fractures in both feet is a hard thing to get past. Although it’s not quite as serious as if he were a big break, it’s still scary. Especially having seen countless careers end over less.
The fact he weighed in at 188.6lbs and is nearly 6’5” means he’s going to have to bulk up. Furthermore, that means more weight on those feet, a terrifying thought a for a front office looking for you to lead their team. And despite having made it through last season healthy, the pro game is a different animal.
Finally, the only other real concern about his game is his defense. Unlike so many others at his position, size and length aren’t the issues. And while simply getting in the weight room will make a huge difference, what he really needs is improved footwork. He too often opens his hips allowing guys to blow by him something that NBA coaching will help improve.
Also, he needs to work on fitting through screens and staying with his man. Too often you see him lose his man, or get caught going under a screen. And although we see this often with point guards in the NBA, he has the size and length to be an outlier.
Awards and honors:
- 2017-18 Wooden Award – Preseason
- 2017-18 Wooden Award – Midseason
- First-team All-MVC (2017)
- MVC Freshman of the Year (2017)First-team All-AAC (2018)
Pro comparison:
The Ringers Kevin O’Connor compares Shamet to Kevin Martin, Denzel Valentine and Seth Curry.
Although I could see it as a worst case scenario, I like to be little more optimistic about these comparisons. Moreover, as long as he stays healthy, I can’t imagine him being that bad. And although Kevin Martin was pretty solid in his prime he was nothing more than a volume shooter. The only place I can see that comparison is on the defensive side of the ball.
Assuming health, I would place Landry Shamet somewhere between Evan Fournier and George Hill with and Thunder fans will like this, a little bit of James Harden. Shamet has all the tools to be an elite point guard in this league on the offensive end. And the length and athleticism to become a good defender.
He is a knockdown 3-point shooter, really good passer, very talented finisher and moves great without the ball. In reality very few make it, but I have a gut feeling this guy will.
Current ranking:
ESPN/DraftExpress: 49th
The Ringer: 48th
Draft Net: 27th
CBS Sports: 39th
Sports Illustrated: 50th
Bleacher Report: 46th
Basketball Insider: 43rd
Sporting News: 34th
Fit with OKC Thunder:
Although Landry Shamet is slatted to go anywhere between 27th-50th in the upcoming NBA draft, there’s a good chance he falls due to his injury history. And if he does OKC fans should be absolutely giddy to get a player so good so late.
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Despite suffering two foot injuries in college, Shamet made it all the way through last season healthy. He is the guy OKC fans have been dying to see next to Russ since well, Harden. Sorry, I know that one still stings, but if Shamet can stay healthy, the sky is the limit.
Now I’m not going to go and say Landry Shamet is the next James Harden, but he fills a void. A painful one that has been attempted to be filled by ball-dominant guards like Reggie Jackson, or guys who simply can’t shoot. And while he isn’t flawless he sure beats Randy Foye.
Shamet has the size at nearly 6’5″ and the length at almost 6’7″ to play both guard spots. And while he’ll need to bulk up a little to defend at an NBA level, the defense wasn’t the problem in this year’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.
Shamet is an absolute sniper from 3-point range with a tight handle and the ability to finish in traffic. And while his natural position is the point, he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. He moves wonderfully without the ball, cutting and coming off screens often finding himself with a wide open three.
Of course, a small chunk of his minutes would be relegated to backup point guard duties, but he is also uniquely qualified to play next to Westbrook. So keep your fingers crossed Thunder fans, Presti may once again pull off a draft day miracle.