Next up for Intentions annual OKC Thunder prospect profile series is Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert.
Until the championship game, the Bulldogs were on pace to deliver an unbeaten season. They fell to the defensively-adept Baylor Bears with Kispert a key focus of their attention. Gonzaga was stacked with talent, however, it was the sharpshooting forward who they frequently relied on upon at clutch time.
With shooting the most coveted asset in the association Kispert is predominantly a fixture in the lottery portion of mock drafts. His skill set is transferable to the pros and will garner him immediate playing time as a rookie.
OKC Thunder draft prospect profile for Corey Kispert:
Specifics:
- Height: 6’6″
- Weight: 220 pounds
- Wingspan: 6’8
- Position: Forward
- Birthdate/Age: March 3rd, 1999, 22 years
- College: Gonzaga, Senior
- Stat line: 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals
- Home Town: Edmonds, Washington
Box Score Statistics:
| Season | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 2PA | 2P% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 35 | 19.4 | 5.3 | .460 | 2.1 | .630 | 3.3 | .351 | 1.0 | .667 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 6.7 |
| 2018-19 | 37 | 26.1 | 6.4 | .437 | 2.0 | .573 | 4.4 | .374 | 0.9 | .875 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 8.0 |
| 2019-20 | 33 | 33.0 | 10.0 | .474 | 4.6 | .517 | 5.4 | .438 | 2.5 | .810 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 13.9 |
| 2020-21 | 32 | 31.8 | 12.3 | .529 | 5.9 | .628 | 6.5 | .440 | 3.1 | .878 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 18.6 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/16/2021.
Current Ranking:
- The Ringer: 10th
- NBA DraftNet: 13th
- ESPN: 13th
- CBS Sports: 12th
- NBA: 9th
- Bleacher Report: 14th
- FanSided The Step Back: 10th
With that let’s dive a little deeper into Corey Kispert to determine his strengths and weaknesses.
Corey Kispert strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
Scan the above basketball reference chart to note the steady progression of the Washington native’s game. While his 44 percent 3-point efficiency on 6.5 attempts per game is his calling card Kispert is much more than a one-trick pony.
Kispert developed solid ball-handling skills with the ability to score off the dribble in order to augment his perimeter shooting.
In addition, the forward added versatility to his offense by developing his paint game where he can finish with either hand. For his position, he’s a decent playmaker although this is an area where he can grow. He’s a solid rebounder who isn’t afraid to crash the boards.
At 22, he’s one of the more mature prospects and his maturity is evident on the court where he demonstrates intelligent decision making and shows poise under pressure. What he makes up for in athleticism he counters with grit and effort.
Kispert fell just short of the 50-40-90 club in his senior season: 52.9%/44%/87.8%.
Weaknesses:
In spite of being an older prospect, Kispert will take some time to adapt to the speed and size of the pro-competition. Offensively it’s his ballhandling, mid-range, and paint scoring that will be affected but should be fairly easy tweaks.
However, the defensive end of the floor will likely require a steeper learning curve. Like most rookies, his lateral slides need improvement as he’s already below average in this area. His high I.Q. and energy will help the transition to learning a new team defensive scheme but will present his greatest challenge.
Gonzaga was stacked and played one of the easier NCAA schedules so his stats might be slightly padded in comparison to his peers.
Pro Comparison:
Draft analysts point to Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Harris, Gary Trent Jr., and Wally Szczerbiak as comparable pros for Kispert.
From the narrator’s perspective, I see shades of former OKC Thunder big man Danilo Gallinari in the Bulldog. He’s four inches shorter but there are many of the same attributes the duo shares. Both are perimeter assassins with versatility offensively and each is slow of foot but brings energy and passion to the hardwood.
OKC Thunder fit:
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Not much of a question the OKC Thunder could use more scoring in general especially from the perimeter. Kispert unselfish,team-first attitude fits the club identity as well.
His age is a slight deterrent given the Thunder timeline and while he offers attributes the team could use he’d likely be relegated to the reserve unit given the goal of developing Aleksej Pokusevski to slot in at the small forward position.
If this was year three of the rebuild I’d be much more inclined to push for his addition. Regardless, his projected drafting position is between ninth and 14th which lands in the middle of the OKC Thunder’s first and second selections.
That said if something happens in terms of trades to shift OKC’s draft order or Kispert inexplicably falls down the ladder he’d be an excellent addition to bolster the reserve unit offense.