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The 2017 NBA Draft will be a busy day for former Pac-12 hoopers. Standout guards Markelle Fultz of Washington and Lonzo Ball of UCLA are expected to go 1-2. DraftExpress also has four more ex-Pac-12 players slotted into the first round in its latest mock draft.
Despite Markelle Fultz’s journey to the top and Lonzo Ball’s “Big Baller Brand” spiel, Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen might be the most intriguing prospect from a pure basketball perspective.
A 7-0, 225-pound Finland native, Markkanen is anticipated to hop off the board anywhere in the top 10 in next month’s draft. He entered the college basketball world as a consensus five-star and helped guide the Arizona Wildcats to a 32-win season in his only year as an amateur.
Markkanen’s skillset, however, is what entices so many analysts and NBA scouts. Despite his mammoth size, Markkanen finished last season as one of the elite three-point shooters in the country. Is this due to a small sample size? Not at all, actually. Markkanen is the first PF/C NBA prospect in the last three seasons to record more made three-pointers than at-rim attempts, according to Hoop-Math’s database.
The following graph displays Lauri Markkanen’s shot selection by distance compared to the average for every PF/C NBA draftee from the past three seasons. The numbers are incredibly unique.
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And also in tabular format:
Markkanen vs. Average PF/C NBA Prospect
Comparison | Markkanen | 2014-16 Avg |
---|---|---|
Comparison | Markkanen | 2014-16 Avg |
Height (in) | 84 | 81.8 |
FGA at rim | 95 | 145.1 |
FG at rim | 66 | 102.5 |
FGA 2PJ | 118 | 139.6 |
FG 2PJ | 50 | 55.5 |
FGA 3P | 163 | 34.7 |
FG 3P | 69 | 12.1 |
FGA Prox | 0.18 | -0.37 |
FG Prox | 0.02 | -0.54 |
Here is the entire list of NBA power forward and center draftees since 2014:
Lauri Markkanen vs. 2014-16 PF/C NBA Prospects
Name | Draft Year | Height (in) | FGA at rim | FG at rim | FGA 2PJ | FG 2PJ | FGA 3P | FG 3P | FGA Prox | FG Prox |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Draft Year | Height (in) | FGA at rim | FG at rim | FGA 2PJ | FG 2PJ | FGA 3P | FG 3P | FGA Prox | FG Prox |
Lauri Markkanen | 2017 | 84 | 95 | 66 | 118 | 50 | 163 | 69 | 0.18 | 0.02 |
Taurean Prince | 2016 | 79 | 110 | 71 | 170 | 62 | 140 | 48 | 0.07 | -0.13 |
Alec Brown | 2014 | 85 | 103 | 66 | 144 | 57 | 100 | 42 | -0.01 | -0.15 |
Henry Ellenson | 2016 | 82 | 113 | 71 | 218 | 93 | 104 | 30 | -0.02 | -0.21 |
Myles Turner | 2015 | 83 | 60 | 43 | 131 | 56 | 61 | 17 | 0 | -0.22 |
Adreian Payne | 2014 | 82 | 125 | 85 | 125 | 49 | 104 | 44 | -0.06 | -0.23 |
Georges Niang | 2016 | 80 | 164 | 126 | 211 | 101 | 143 | 56 | -0.04 | -0.25 |
Josh Huestis | 2014 | 79 | 96 | 66 | 173 | 64 | 77 | 26 | -0.05 | -0.26 |
Ben Bentil | 2016 | 80 | 202 | 127 | 173 | 67 | 158 | 52 | -0.08 | -0.3 |
Frank Kaminsky | 2015 | 84 | 200 | 140 | 187 | 85 | 101 | 42 | -0.2 | -0.37 |
Skal Labissiere | 2016 | 83 | 55 | 37 | 133 | 61 | 2 | 0 | -0.28 | -0.38 |
Marquese Chriss | 2016 | 81 | 146 | 100 | 132 | 58 | 60 | 21 | -0.25 | -0.44 |
Johnny O'Bryant | 2014 | 81 | 129 | 89 | 267 | 107 | 2 | 1 | -0.32 | -0.45 |
Pascal Siakim | 2016 | 81 | 137 | 66 | 135 | 70 | 15 | 3 | -0.43 | -0.45 |
Larry Nance Jr | 2015 | 80 | 121 | 99 | 197 | 72 | 42 | 14 | -0.22 | -0.46 |
Dwight Powell | 2014 | 82 | 138 | 90 | 202 | 75 | 39 | 10 | -0.26 | -0.46 |
Cory Jefferson | 2014 | 81 | 158 | 105 | 172 | 65 | 38 | 14 | -0.33 | -0.49 |
Trey Lyles | 2015 | 82 | 86 | 64 | 125 | 49 | 29 | 4 | -0.24 | -0.51 |
Bobby Portis | 2015 | 83 | 191 | 144 | 245 | 92 | 30 | 14 | -0.35 | -0.52 |
Brice Johnson | 2016 | 81 | 160 | 140 | 275 | 127 | 0 | 0 | -0.37 | -0.52 |
Cheick Diallo | 2016 | 81 | 23 | 17 | 35 | 16 | 0 | 0 | -0.4 | -0.52 |
Mitch McGary | 2014 | 82 | 22 | 16 | 31 | 14 | 2 | 0 | -0.36 | -0.53 |
Joel Bolomboy | 2016 | 81 | 167 | 125 | 115 | 48 | 55 | 20 | -0.33 | -0.54 |
Kevon Looney | 2015 | 81 | 167 | 103 | 101 | 26 | 53 | 22 | -0.36 | -0.54 |
Jordan Mickey | 2015 | 80 | 156 | 105 | 214 | 85 | 9 | 1 | -0.39 | -0.54 |
Aaron White | 2015 | 81 | 161 | 117 | 108 | 33 | 59 | 21 | -0.31 | -0.56 |
Stephen Zimmerman | 2016 | 84 | 105 | 62 | 92 | 35 | 17 | 5 | -0.41 | -0.56 |
Karl-Anthony Towns | 2015 | 83 | 111 | 84 | 137 | 59 | 8 | 2 | -0.4 | -0.57 |
Noah Vonleh | 2014 | 82 | 135 | 80 | 48 | 17 | 33 | 16 | -0.47 | -0.57 |
Chinanu Onuaku | 2016 | 82 | 106 | 78 | 114 | 59 | 1 | 0 | -0.48 | -0.57 |
Cameron Bairstow | 2014 | 81 | 199 | 138 | 224 | 98 | 3 | 1 | -0.46 | -0.58 |
Aaron Gordon | 2014 | 81 | 177 | 129 | 160 | 44 | 45 | 16 | -0.35 | -0.6 |
Richaun Holmes | 2015 | 80 | 160 | 110 | 79 | 31 | 41 | 16 | -0.43 | -0.6 |
Jarell Martin | 2015 | 82 | 201 | 138 | 144 | 50 | 52 | 14 | -0.38 | -0.61 |
Rakeem Christmas | 2015 | 81 | 177 | 124 | 189 | 79 | 1 | 0 | -0.48 | -0.61 |
Julius Randle | 2014 | 81 | 180 | 126 | 194 | 67 | 18 | 3 | -0.41 | -0.63 |
Chris McCullough | 2015 | 82 | 59 | 35 | 53 | 18 | 1 | 1 | -0.51 | -0.63 |
AJ Hammons | 2016 | 84 | 131 | 114 | 79 | 51 | 11 | 6 | -0.54 | -0.63 |
Jarnell Stokes | 2014 | 80 | 184 | 127 | 191 | 72 | 0 | 0 | -0.49 | -0.64 |
Montrezl Harrell | 2015 | 80 | 183 | 148 | 156 | 56 | 37 | 9 | -0.39 | -0.65 |
Domantas Sabonis | 2016 | 82 | 224 | 161 | 153 | 73 | 14 | 5 | -0.54 | -0.65 |
Damian Jones | 2016 | 82 | 164 | 123 | 145 | 61 | 3 | 0 | -0.52 | -0.67 |
Diamond Stone | 2016 | 83 | 162 | 119 | 132 | 48 | 0 | 0 | -0.55 | -0.71 |
Dakari Johnson | 2015 | 84 | 89 | 57 | 67 | 22 | 0 | 0 | -0.57 | -0.72 |
Ben Simmons | 2016 | 82 | 210 | 158 | 173 | 57 | 3 | 1 | -0.54 | -0.73 |
Deyonta Davis | 2016 | 82 | 122 | 87 | 77 | 32 | 0 | 0 | -0.61 | -0.73 |
Willie Cauley-Stein | 2015 | 84 | 143 | 104 | 93 | 31 | 0 | 0 | -0.61 | -0.77 |
Joel Embiid | 2014 | 84 | 114 | 87 | 52 | 19 | 5 | 1 | -0.64 | -0.8 |
Cady Lalanne | 2015 | 82 | 171 | 116 | 61 | 19 | 18 | 3 | -0.61 | -0.82 |
Jahlil Okafor | 2015 | 83 | 260 | 199 | 93 | 25 | 0 | 0 | -0.74 | -0.89 |
Jakob Poeltl | 2016 | 84 | 300 | 208 | 53 | 20 | 0 | 0 | -0.85 | -0.91 |
Markkanen has drawn heavy comparisons by NBA scouts to current Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. A German seven-footer, Nowitzki has converted 1,780 three-pointers in his 19-year career. He also leads all active NBA players in field goals made, free throws made, defensive rebounds and points.
Time will tell if Markkanen will be able to carry over his deep shooting talents to the NBA level, but NBA pundits are already oozing over his potential. Despite the movement towards sharp-shooting forwards and centers in today’s NBA, Markkanen is still a unique talent that is a once-in-a-generation player.
Fresh off one of the most efficient freshmen seasons in college basketball history (1.30 points per possession and 58.4% eFG%), Markkanen is an offensive threat that can score at all three levels. Assuming Markkanen is drafted by an organization that can continue to develop his skills, there is reason to believe that Markkanen could be a force in the NBA for quite a long time.
Do you believe the Lauri Markkanen hype? Leave a comment below or send a tweet to @boettger_eli and @PacificTakes.
(Statistics used in this article are courtesy of Hoop-Math)