Jarace Walker seems like a perfect fit for the OKC Thunder

It is almost March, which signifies March Madness, and the unofficial (or official, in some people’s cases) start of the NBA Draft season. While we will be profiling upward of 70 Draft prospects between now and Draft night on Thunderous Intentions, I will also begin doing a weekly Draft notebook as we ramp up our prospect coverage. Let’s tip this off with Jarace Walker.

I just grabbed another cup of coffee from the office Keurig because I know this will be a long one. I love Jarace Walker‘s potential fit with the Oklahoma City Thunder and am incredibly optimistic about his NBA trajectory. This will certainly not be the last time we dive into Walker.

Houston Cougars forward Jarace Walker appears to be a perfect fit for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Jarace Walker is a popular name among Thunder fans, and for a good reason. His 6’8 240 pound frame leaves OKC fans envisioning him paired with Chet Holmgren down low for next year’s squad. At Houston, the forward has played in 27 games, turning in 11 points, six rebounds, and nearly two assists per game, shooting 48 percent from the floor, 36 percent from distance, and 61 percent at the line.

Jarace Walker is still 19 years old and has displayed a high-level passing ability for a big man. This is important for the OKC Thunder, who are building this everyone is a playmaker style of basketball and will ask all five guys on the floor to be good decision-makers.

Jarace Walker is from New Freedom, PA, and split his high school time at Susquehannock, PA, and the IMG Academy in Florida. Now, the 19-year-old is part of one of the country’s best Men’s basketball programs, being coached by Kelvin Sampson.

Let’s dive into Jarace Walker’s defensive and offensive potential.

Jarace Walker was created for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense

Walker flashes a lot of defensive potential, showing elite skills in isolation. The Houston product can move his feet well and use his length to recover if the ball handler gets past him.

Through 20 isolation possessions, Synergy grades Walker in the 85th percentile, good enough for the “excellent” tab. In that setting, Walker gives up just 0.500 points per possession as opponents shoot 21 percent from the floor.

That is another area in which a potential prospect needs to thrive to play for Mark Daigneault, switchability on the defensive end, and Walker has it. Again, you will be hard-pressed to find many 6’8 240 pounders that do not terrify you to put them on an island on the perimeter, but Walker allows you to have supreme confidence in him no matter the situation he finds himself in on that end of the floor.

In a league dominated by the high pick-and-roll and devolves into hunting mismatches in the half-court in the postseason, finding a player that can not be played off the floor is critical, especially down low. Jarace Walker has no red flags in that category.

Synergy grades Walker as a good defender went tracking the roll man in the pick-and-roll, allowing just 0.769 points per possession while closing out on spot-up shooters at a high clip, only allowing 0.783 points per possession and a 30.6 percent field goal percentage in that area. Synergy grades Jarace Walker’s overall defense to be “excellent” for a good reason.

Imagine Jarace Walker sliding into this switch-everything system that Mark Daigneault has created with Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and even the improved defense of Josh Giddey. At the same time, Chet Holmgren roams the back end like a free safety, playing help-side defense and swatting away a billion shots.

Jarace Walker is a cutting and transition machine, making him an excellent fit for the OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been out to see Jarace Walker in person for a good reason. On top of just doing their due diligence, Walker fits almost everything the Thunder want to do and need to find in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The Houston product’s strong suit is undoubtedly on the defensive side of the floor, but he is no slouch offensively. He dominates in transition, ranking in the 97th percentile in the nation with 1.500 points per possession in that category, according to Synergy.

In transition, especially around the rim, Walker hardly gets sped up. Instead, he understands how to use his body, the ball, and the basket, to free up space from the defense and time his jump at the perfect spot to have enough space to finish around the cup.

At the rim, Walker shots 66 percent, slamming home all 23 of his dunk attempts and ranking in the 80th percentile with a 1.32 points per possession outburst at the ring.

On catch-and-shoot jumpers, Walker is shooting 40 percent from the floor. When unguarded, that leaps up to 41 percent and only dips to 39 percent when defended. An area of improvement for Walker will be his off-the-bounce jumpers, which he only makes at a 31 percent clip.

Scoring at the rim, off the catch on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kick-outs, and with Walker ranking in the 75th percentile on cuts, it is easy to see his role in Mark Daigneault’s offense.

Jarace Walker has a nice shooting stroke and does not appear to need many if any, tweaks to his form. However, some work with Thunder assistant coach Chip Engelland might take him from a nearly 37 percent three-point shooter in college to a new level in the NBA.

The concerning part of Walker’s jump shot production is his free throw shooting. He is only making his freebies at a 61 percent clip. Most NBA scouts use 70 percent or higher as a mark to project three-point success at the next level, and Walker is not near that mark.

Way back in November, Walker was hitting 43 percent of his triples, but that dropped to 25 percent in December before returning to 37 percent in January and February. With the Houston Cougars looking poised for a deep run in March, the forward will be on plenty of big stages in the coming weeks.

Jarace Walker currently ranks anywhere from three to twelve on NBA Draft boards of people I have talked to, and March Madness could go a long way in solidifying his range. However, Walker must be near the top for an Oklahoma City Thunder-specific big board.