Kristaps Porzingis: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile

Strengths

Kristaps Porzingis is already incredibly well rounded, which is especially impressive for a 19-year-old. If he can add strength and get a little tougher, he should have absolutely no problem becoming an above-average starting power forward by the end of his rookie contract, and for a guy expected to be picked in the 5-10 range, there really isn’t that much more you can ask for.

Offense

While he doesn’t have great offensive post skills, he shows potential as a face-up big man who can create his own shot with his ball handling and even pop out behind the arc and knock down a three. All of that, combined with the fact that he is from Europe, have led to some typical Pau Gasol/Dirk Nowtizki comparisons, although in some regards, the comparisons are warranted.

According to DraftExpress, Porzingis shot 45.9 percent from three-point range in Eurocup play last year, although that was a bit of an outlier, considering across all competition he shot 35.9 percent from three. Regardless, being able to knock down 36 percent of your threes is more than sufficient for a seven-footer.

It’s also worth remembering that the Euro three-point line is 22 feet, two inches long, compared to 20 feet, nine inches in college basketball. The Euro line is not only one foot, three inches longer than the college line, it’s also that much closer to the NBA’s three-point line, which is 23 feet, nine inches.

However, Porzingis isn’t just a pick-and-pop big man. He has the rare ability for a seven-footer to create his own shot off the dribble, which has NBA scouts and personnel so intrigued.

Porzingis is solid at attacking closeouts and driving to the rim, although he doesn’t really have that many dribble moves at this point. However, that, coupled with his ability to run off screens – which again, for a seven-footer is completely ridiculous – makes him such a threat on offense, and if he could continue to bulk up and improve his jumper, he could become one of the most difficult players to guard in the NBA.

And while he does possess some guard-like skills, Porzingis has the ability to play well around the rim, outside of post-ups. He has a pretty solid turnaround jumper from close, going either direction, and he’s a pretty solid offensive rebounder, posting somewhere in the range of 2.5-3.0 per 40 minutes in all competition (although it’s worth noting that he is not as good of a defensive rebounder as he is an offensive one).

Oh yeah, and he can also get up and play above the rim. HIGHLIGHT TIME!

Funnnnnnnnnnn stuff.

Defense

Kristaps Porzingis is an excellent shot blocker, even better than the numbers suggest. Porzingis averaged just about two blocks per 40 minutes last year, which is solid for a power forward, but really, he is an expert at using his length and reacting to the offense, especially as a secondary defender. He can improve his off-ball defense, but he was also fairly effective in sliding over to rack up blocks and steals; he averaged about 1.7 steals per 40 minutes last year.

And that defensive ability alone, coupled with everything else on offense, would seemingly be enough to keep him on the court at the NBA level, as he develops from a weaker, more raw 19-year-old to a potentially really, really nice player. But it doesn’t just stop there.

Porzingis’ versatility could allow him to guard multiple positions on the floor, although he has no chance of becoming a 1-through-5 defender like Willie Cauley-Stein. Porzingis should be able to guard most fours, some of the smaller fives and a some of the NBA threes right away, and that could all change if he does bulk up, which seems to be the biggest question about him right now.

If Porzingis adds the strength required to fill out his frame, it’s kind of freakish to see how good he could become. However… that’s a pretty big if. There’s certainly a lot of ground to cover in that regard.

Next: Weaknesses