OKC Thunder: NBA Draft big board 2.0 – Top 30 prospects

Isaiah Stewart, C, Washington, 6’9, 250 pounds, 18 years old

Unlike Jaden McDaniels, Isaiah Stewart turned in a stellar season at Washington in 2019-20. Stewart’s length and strong base allow him to be an elite defender and rebounder at the next level. Unlike some 6’9 lengthy big men, Stewart still can get vertical and leap to meet his matchup in the air without fouling.

While Stewart will not stretch the floor, or even attempt to, he is so good at scoring down low that he does not need to.

One of the most impressive attributes of Stewart’s game is that he knows who he is. Although the game is shifting the bigs out to the perimeter, he knows he will never be that guy, so he does not force up triples. Instead, he attempted less than one triple per game, focusing on making his inside scoring an elite skill.

Fans will fall in love with his hard nose grit and activeness throughout the contest. Something about his game just screams Nerlens Noel to me.  A rim rolling center that focuses on down low scoring, setting screens, rotating, and swatting shots. Stewart turned away two shots per game a year ago.

If there was, or is going to be, a pre-draft process, Stewart would have a great chance to impress scouts and front offices throughout the combine and private workouts to shoot up the NBA Draft boards. Unfortunately for him, it remains unclear if that will be possible.