In a rare opportunity projected top-five NBA Draft prospect RJ Hampton plays NBA talent in a match vs. the OKC Thunder and gets scouted simultaneously.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has OKC Thunder fans excited about the future and rookie Darius Bazley has tongues wagging over his potential. However, it was another youngster many came to watch at Chesapeake Energy Arena as the Thunder played host to the New Zealand Breakers on October 10.
Top 2020 draft prospect RJ Hampton was on site for a rare opportunity to view him in person. That’s because the Texas native elected to forego the typical route to attend a college where fans, scouts and front office personnel could watch him grow through a year of NCAA basketball.
Instead, the point guard chose to play overseas in the NBL for the New Zealand Breakers. Money is part of the equation as Hampton will be playing on a professional team and subsequently earn a paycheque. Yet, there are other factors like learning the ropes of playing in the pros and what that means on a day to day basis.
Hampton will face grown men not peers of his own age. He’ll also be able to do something both Terrance Ferguson and Darius Bazley did before him which is focus solely on basketball without the pressures of school work as well.
Bazley went a unique route on his path to the NBA by interning at New Balance where he learned about business and exercised his brain. The Thunder rookie balanced his work at the sneaker company with workouts and has stated he felt the continuity of a schedule allowed him to focus on growing his game privately while also learning applicable professional habits.
Ferguson like Hampton also chose the NBL and has extolled on the benefits of playing professionally and how that helped fast track his transition once back in the U.S. and eventually playing for the Thunder who drafted him with their 21st pick in the 2017 class.
With the Breakers in America, Hampton is getting lots of attention because outside of youtube videos NBA teams won’t have the same access to the 18-year old they do for his draft class.
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During the telecast last night the Thunder TV crew Michael Cage and Chris Fisher noted there were at least 60 NBA front office representatives on site. The game the Breakers played in Memphis drew closer to 100 NBA front office types however that situation was slightly different.
First of all, it afforded the GMs, scouts, and others in attendance to witness how Hampton would stack up versus the second overall draft pick from his past summer — Ja Morant. Plus the vicinity of the Grizzlies venue allowed for the executives to take in the first pro day event at the University of Memphis with new Head Coach, Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway. The former stand out NBA guard has a stacked team with projected top draft pick James Wiseman so the NBA brain trust could kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
Although Hampton didn’t exactly blow away his competition Thursday there were more than enough glimpses of his ability and the 18-year old has yet to play a regular NBL game so there will be a full year of professional play and growth ahead.
Ironically, Hampton who is expected to be drafted in the top five of his class could very well end up playing for one of the two teams his Breakers squad played this week given the perceived landing spot of those teams this season. It was a very unique situation for the Grizzlies and Thunder to be in given they may have one of those top draft selections this coming summer.
For now, the young point guard gained experience facing two of the rising point guard talents in Morant and Gilgeous-Alexander as well as the crafty vet Chris Paul. That alone will give Hammond a marker of sorts to work toward this year with the Breakers.
As for the OKC Thunder it’s hard to imagine with all that top level brass in town Sam Presti wasn’t taking advantage of one on one meetings to discuss some trade opportunities of a few veteran talents the club will be seeking to move this season.