The NBA Draft is set for July 29th and as per typical, Intentions are offering up our annual OKC Thunder prospect profiles. Next up on the list is Keon Johnson.
With the top six players already covered, we are now getting into a less certain area of the draft and Johnson is the perfect example to demonstrate how much opinions vary once the draft gets past the sixth pick.
The combo guard-forward has an eight-position variance on boards and much of that may be due to him getting such a late start in the sport. While many in the draft begin playing organized basketball in their formative public school years Johnson didn’t begin until high school.
Players who get a late start can often make quick leaps if the natural talent is evident. Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, and Pascal Siakam all started playing much later than their peers for example.
With that let’s take a dive into Keon Johnson.
OKC Thunder draft prospect profile for Keon Johnson
Specifics:
- Height: 6’3.5″
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Wingspan: 6’8″
- Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward
- Birthdate/Age: March 10, 2002 -19 years
- College: Tennessee, freshman
- Stat line: 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals
- Home Town: Shelbyville, Tennessee
Box Score Statistics:
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 27 | 25.5 | 9.1 | .449 | 7.4 | .492 | 1.8 | .271 | 3.7 | .703 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 11.3 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/12/2021.
Current Ranking:
Johnson ranks as high as sixth on some boards but is more frequently ranked in the ninth or tenth selection of the draft.
- The Ringer: 9th
- NBA DraftNet:11th
- ESPN: 9th
- CBS Sports: 13th
- NBA: 6th
- Bleacher Report: 10th
- FanSided The Step Back: 9th
With that let’s dive a little deeper into Johnson to determine his strengths and weaknesses.
Keon Johnson strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
The Tennessee wing has many unanswered questions based on his newness to the sport but the raw talent is evident. Considering the areas of the game that he excels at there is reason to believe his ceiling could be very high.
Of those gifts, his elite athleticism stands out both in terms of his ability to change pace and utilize speed to punish defenders and similarly how he applies that speed and lateral movement defensively. While he works to add range to his game he is capitalizing on that speed to score easily on drives and under the rim.
Teams will like his overall makeup of athleticism, a strong motor, natural raw talent, and a high I.Q. The latter is most obvious in his ability on the defensive end of the court and how quickly he’s growing despite his limited years in the sport.
Johnson projects to become a player who’ll fill up the stat sheet as he aggressively crashes the glass and with time in the lab could become a decent playmaker.
Weaknesses:
The most glaring weakness of Johnson is his lack of offensive versatility. There is a clear need to revamp his shot to be more fluid and consistent. He shot an anemic 27.1 percent from the perimeter and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe in his single season with the Tennessee Volunteers.
The shooting guard will have to add that offensive versatility quickly if he wants to gain substantial playing time otherwise teams will just defend him to stop his drives.
Johnson’s ballhandling requires upgrades as he has a tendency to turn the ball over averaging 2.6 per game this past season.
Given how quickly he seems to be adapting and the commitment he puts into improving these are things that a great development staff can help him tweak in his rookie season.
The fact he’s already showcasing defensive aptitude bodes well although he also needs growth in this area and needs to add size but has a good frame.
Pro Comparison:
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor was keen on Johnson early and projects him to align with a player like Latrell Sprewell. If you’re old enough to remember him Sprewell was someone who fille up the stat sheet and could be a nightmare for opposing teams when his shot was dropping.
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Other players analysts tap as who Johnson resembles are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Gary Harris which speaks to the defensive upside projected for Johnson.
OKC Thunder fit:
Although I was a huge Sprewell fan, I wouldn’t select Johnson over other prospects like Scottie Barnes or Jonathan Kuminga if they are available with the sixth pick.
Johnson would fit the timeline of the current OKC Thunder but he doesn’t necessarily fit with the starting core and the hope would be the sixth pick would provide a starting-caliber player either now or grow into being that. Nor do I think Johnson is the ideal backcourt partner for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Bottom line – for teams who are rebuilding it’s always wise to select the best talent available and while I like the projected ceiling of Johnson I don’t believe he’ll be the best prospect at sixth.