Basketball: NBA Draft 2018: Monster, All-Rounder, Wunderkind

The Draft 2017 was only a few months ago – but the focus is already on the future and the Draft 2018. SPOX introduces the three most exciting talents of the year: Michael Porter Jr., Marvin Bagley and Luka Doncic.

After an impressive 34.8 points and 13.8 rebounds on average in a 29-0 record at Nathan Hale High School (Seattle, Washington) last season, Porter understandably competed with various colleges. However, the 2.08-metre tall wing player gave the contract to the University of Missouri, where his older brother Jontay plays and his father Michael Porter Sr. as an assistant coach.

A forward of this size, combined with immense athleticism and speed, is not seen by the NBA every day. The Gatorade National Player of the Year is a versatile, consistent and very efficient scorer.

He has a good throwing form and can throw very well from far away as well as under distress (47 percent triple in his senior year), which is also the case for C. J. Roberts is impressed:”He often hits difficult throws, I haven’t seen anything like that before in high school.”

His drive to the basket can often only be stopped with a foul (86% FT quota) for the defence, but he always tries to get a better positioned opponent into action.

Thanks to Porter’s massive 2.13m wingspan, which was used in the McDonald’s All-American Game 2017 MVP, it also excels as an aggressive rebounder and a solid shot blocker. Below the basket, he knows where to stand for tip-ins or putbacks, and he even jumps after his own unsuccessful attempts again and again.

Porter already has a very good timing in the Pick’ N’ Roll and he can finish with a high percentage of the movement, whereby his excellent body control helps him. Because of this enormous versatility, it is not so easy to assign it to a drawer at all, at least three positions are conceivable for him:”I wouldn’t assign it to any particular position,”an NBA scout told Sports Illustrated anonymously.

Even though Porter is already pulling a lot of fouls, he has to try to get some more balance in his game and force the move to the basket more. So far it seems as if the 19-year-old would rely on his litter too often.

Although he can throw very well even under distress, he still lacks a variant for simple points if the throw doesn’t fall. In some cases he limits himself too much to catch-and-shoot or returns the ball after just a few dribbling, which is also due to the fact that he is not yet completely familiar with his expandable ball handling, especially with his left hand.

Since his size could be dangerous under the basket, he should also work on his post-game to get a good alternative to the Distance Throw.

Because of his physical nature, Porter is often associated with Kevin Durant, as Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin also finds:”He is like a mixture of Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett. Both are great players who can not only throw from the outside and are athletic, but are also safe scorers in distress and always try to create their own throws.”

Forecast: 2. pickup

Page 1: Michael Porter Jr.: The all-rounder

Page 2: Marvin Bagley: The Athletics Monster

Page 3: Luka Doncic: The prodigy