Emmanuel Mudiay: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile
By Gavin Schall
Strengths
The first thing that stands out with Mudiay is the fact that he’s already been productive at the professional level. Despite not starting a single game for the Guangdong Tigers, Mudiay averaged 18 points, six rebounds and nearly six assists a night.
Mudiay’s combination of size and athleticism made him a nightly mismatch, the likes of which are rarely seen overseas.
In transition Mudiay was a one-man wrecking crew, finishing equally well with aerial acrobatics, nifty footwork and pure power; just call him the Chinese League LeBron James. Most importantly, Mudiay knew he could dominate in space and relentlessly pushed his advantage, running off of steals, rebounds and even made baskets.
In the long run, Emmanuel Mudiay will be viewed as the best player in this year's draft. Toughest player mentally by far. #NBADraft
— Kyle Harrison (@kyleaharrison) June 23, 2015
That’s not to say Mudiay was selfish in his attacks. He’s perfectly comfortable penetrating as far as the defense allowed him and then hitting whoever filled the lanes he opened. While he’s not the passing savant that D’Angelo Russell is, Mudiay was consistently able and willing to make the functional pass, a skill not as common as it should be in the league.
Mudiay has an incredibly feel for the pick-and-roll game, orchestrating tempo perfectly while intuitively knowing the exact millisecond to hit his partner in crime.
His height comes into play in that no matter how the defense played the roll, since he could see over the top and make an informed decision on whether to pivot back out and restart the offense or loft up a backbreaking alley-oop. Combine that feel, height and a rare patience for his age and Mudiay often had entire defenses on a string.
Defensively, Mudiay has the length and lateral quickness to compete and comfortably switch on to 2-guards as well.
Next: Weaknesses