Every NBA Team's Most Disrespected Hidden Gem
As we schlepp through the dog days of the NBA offseason, otherwise known as "August," there is no better time to shine the spotlight on some of the most unheralded hoopers in the game.
So, let's do that—for every team.
The goal here is to avoid household names. That goes beyond sidestepping All-NBA types. High-profile fringe stars will not be considered, either. These players can certainly be underappreciated or disrespected but don't fit the spirit of our "hidden gems" concept.
Rookies, sophomores and anyone early into their careers will be considered. Generally speaking, though, we'll avoid anyone selected in the lottery. We're trying to take the "hidden" criteria here seriously.
If nothing else, treat this as a happy-to-be-here look at which developmental projects or oft-ignored career role players are worth monitoring for bigger roles, weightier impacts, an initial emergence or potential breakouts as we gear up for next season.
Atlanta Hawks: Mouhamed Gueye
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Secondary big-man minutes have the potential to get pretty dicey for the Atlanta Hawks if Kristaps Porziņģis misses his usual amount of time. There isn't much certainty behind Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu unless you think rookie Asa Newell can play a role out of the gate and scale up to center.
Mouhamed Gueye has the potential to render this a non-issue.
Though a lion's share of his minutes come at the 4, his 6'11" frame can handle sliding up to the 5. Opponents shot 8.4 percentage points worse against him inside six feet of the cup last season, and he's averaging over two blocks per 36 minutes through his first two years.
Gueye's offense is both a work-in-progress and teeming with potential. His efficiency is all over the place, and he struggles to finish through contact. But he's shown dribs and drabs of perimeter touch.
Boston Celtics: Sam Hauser
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Sam Hauser is set to begin a four-year, $45 million extension next season that should put him on more radars outside of Beantown. Given the relative shallowness of the Boston Celtics' roster, he's also in line for a role that will allow him to graduate from this discussion.
At the same time, he's continuously mentioned as someone the team may just salary-dump as part of its one- or two-year break in contention and all-out spending. He is far from that expendable.
Combo forwards standing 6'8" with knockdown touch don't grow on trees. Through the first four seasons of his career, the 27-year-old is nailing over 40 percent of his twos and 60 percent of his threes. No other non-big in the league has done the same during this stretch while taking more than 30 total shots.
Brooklyn Nets: Noah Clowney
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The numbers say Noah Clowney is coming off a depressing sophomore campaign. A sub-52 true shooting percentage is ghastly, even for a perimeter-oriented big.
Eye-test truthers will not be much kinder. Clowney is spindly, which makes for intriguing off-ball movement and defensive playmaking in transition but also leaves him getting nudged off course on drives and struggling to finish through contact.
Throwing all these concerns out of the window is a massive stretch. But Clowney is just 21 and dealt with plenty of ankle issues this past season. Latitude remains a reasonable default, at least into next season.
Bigs who can navigate the floor like he does, at both ends, are hardly dime-a-dozen. This is a 6'11" forward-center who can take threes off motion for crying out loud. The intrigue factor remains through the roof—infinitely so if he gets stronger without noticeably compromising his movement capabilities.
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Charlotte Hornets: Moussa Diabaté
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Although the Charlotte Hornets could still benefit from acquiring an experienced 5 with more juice in the tank than Mason Plumlee, Moussa Diabaté is nothing if not worthy of further exploration.
The 23-year-old's finishing around the rim can be an adventure, but this is at least in part due to the spotty spacers and table-setters around him. Next season should provide a better glimpse into what he can do in a more optimal environment. And even last year, he managed to hit 65 percent of his shots at the basket (35th percentile) and 48 percent of his 67 looks between four and 14 feet (63rd percentile).
Diabaté has made some strides as a rim protector but stands out more for his activity on the glass—particularly at the offensive end. Among nearly 400 players who have logged at least 1,500 minutes over the past three seasons, his offensive rebounding rate ranks sixth.
Chicago Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu
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Ayo Dosunmu is more well-known than most others on this list but eons from a household name. Discussions about him have a tendency to gravitate toward what he isn't—mainly, a true point guard or knockdown shooter.
Whatever.
At 6'5", Dosunmu effectively blurs the line between a wing and guard. While he shouldn't be running the offense for more than fits and bursts, his rim pressure and finishing are decidedly above-average for someone his size.
He has also shown glimmers of improved playmaking coming around ball screens and knows how to facilitate when attacking downhill. Payton Pritchard and Tyrese Haliburton were the only players last season to match his scoring efficiency (57.1 percent) and assist rate (12.4) on drives while finishing at least as many of them (371).
Much of Dosunmu's time with the Chicago Bulls has seen him line up defensively at the point of attack. That is where he's best suited (on most nights), but he's proven that he can tussle with select 3s and 4s, too.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Sam Merrill
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Anyone who hasn't religiously watched the Cleveland Cavaliers over the past two seasons may have been taken aback by Sam Merrill getting slightly more money (four years, $38 million) than Ty Jerome (three years, $27 million) in free agency. That is understandable, and there's a real debate to be had about who's more valuable in a vacuum.
Regardless of where you land, Merrill's payday did not come out of nowhere. His meld of long-range volume and efficiency is anomalous. Among everyone who has tallied at least as many minutes as him over the past two seasons (2,470), Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo and Malik Beasley are the only players to average over 10 three-point attempts per 36 minutes while hitting them at a 38 percent or better clip.
Merrill's utility goes beyond those numbers to boot. The manner in which his triples come are divine—completely within the flow of the offense.
He can bombs away coming around screens, from a standstill or on the heels of an escape dribble. He doesn't take a lot of twos, but he's improved at dribbling away from aggressive closeouts and spraying the ball out to other shooters. Offensive possessions will never stall out because of him.
The 29-year-old's defensive serviceability shouldn't be overlooked, either. He isn't going to shut down anyone, but he fights over screens and has little trouble tracking fellow pinballers around the half-court.
Dallas Mavericks: Naji Marshall
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Naji Marshall would exist a dimension above this discourse if he were a more consistent three-point shooter. So many combo wings get dismissed or viewed as limited when they don't provide that smacks-you-in-the-face floor-spacing element.
It would definitely be neat if Marshall both made and attempted more triples. But he's a highly useful player without that glitzy volume and efficiency.
The scope of his defensive assignments regularly runs the gamut of guards, wings and bigs. He's more likely to get moved around so that he winds up covering a star than to avoid tracking one.
What he lacks in dependable outside range, he makes up for with driving acuity. He can bully his way to the rim, but that's not his default. He dusted off a nifty floor game during his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, displaying patience coming around screens, some hesitation handles and a few footwork counters, all without sacrificing efficiency. His 56.1 percent clip on drives ranked seventh among 75 players who finished at least 500 downhill attacks.
Denver Nuggets: Julian Strawther
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Julian Strawther became a lock to receive this honor following the parade of applause for the Denver Nuggets signing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a minimum contract.
Yes, the 23-year-old is an uncomfortably significant defensive liability for someone standing between 6'6" and 6'7". The footwork looks discombobulated, he's not especially strong, and he's a serial fouler. But the offensive value he provides belies the efficiency over which so many harp.
Two seasons into his career, Strawther has yet to top 35 percent shooting from deep. That's not ideal. Yet, last year's 34.9 percent clip represented a 5.2 point improvement from his rookie year and continued to come on volume Denver's rotation sorely needs.
Defenses also tend to treat him like a five-alarm fire. Among every Nuggets player last season to log at least 400 minutes, only Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokić (because of course) posted a lower shot quality on spot-up threes, according to BBall-Index.
Strawther's movement is important, and it opens up more than his long-range game. He can catch defenses sleeping with baseline cuts—though, he could stand to do more cutting overall—and is comfortable attacking the paint and getting to his floater, which he just drilled at a solid-but-has-room-for-improvement 45.2 percent clip.
Detroit Pistons: Chaz Lanier
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Chaz Lanier's NBA career isn't old enough to check the "Disrespected" box, but the Detroit Pistons are absent other good options—unless you have strong feelings about Bobi Klintman, or you one of Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, two of the past three No. 5 picks, qualify as hidden gems.
Drafted 37th overall this past June, Lanier turned heads during his Las Vegas Summer League outings for the ceaseless pressure he puts on defenses. Shots did not always fall at a high rate for the 23-year-old, but his 34.1 percent clip from deep came on nearly 12.5 attempts per 36 minutes.
More importantly, Lanier uncorked his jumpers quickly, cleanly, off motion and under duress. There are shades—shades—of Klay Thompson to his half-court relocation and transition trailing and mapping, as well as his pull-up twos.
Defensive shortcomings coupled with the Pistons' immediate aspirations and perimeter depth could prevent Lanier from getting much run as a rookie. Aside from Duncan Robinson, though, he's the player best equipped to paper over the offensive void created by Malik Beasley's absence while remaining the subject of a sports gambling probe.
Golden State Warriors: Quinten Post
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Quinten Post's entry into the Golden State Warriors' rotation last season as a rookie was often depicted as a last resort. And in some ways, that's exactly what it was. Golden needed a 5 who could open the floor. Post was its only option.
And he delivered.
The seven-footer drained 40.8 percent of his three-balls on 179 attempts. That is an unprecedented marriage of efficiency and volume for a rookie big man. Keegan Murray and Jayson Tatum are the lone first-year players standing taller than 6'7" to match those benchmarks.
Earning a larger role next season will require Post to tighten his defense, particularly if Al Horford lands in San Francisco. He might be up to the task. The Warriors did an excellent job insulating him in most matchups, but he still had moments in which he flashed quality decision-making guarding pick-and-rolls and baseline verticality around the basket.
Houston Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate
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Congratulations to the Houston Rockets for assembling a rotation so effectively deep that pretty much everyone has at least a nascent understanding their—*checks notes*—10 best players' value. Aaron Holiday and Jae'Sean Tate are the sole options from which to choose here. (Yes, Reed Sheppard is too high-profile.)
Tate gets the nod because, well, he's somehow the longest-tenured Rocket. OK, not really. But this needs to be said.
In actuality, nothing screams "HIDDEN GEM!" like a 6'4" wing who can capably defend, like, four positions and has a ruggedness factor to his drives signing for the league's minimum on a team that, if all goes according to plan, won't expand his role beyond the 11.2 minutes per game he averaged last season. (He did deal with some back spasms, but that's not what drove his playing time into the ground.)
To be sure, Holiday is a serviceable backup's backup who returned to the Rockets for the minimum as well. But you expect to see narrower markets for single-position guards.
Even if his best days are behind him, and even though the off-ball offense has usually left much to be desired, Tate's defensive malleability should be more sought after.
Indiana Pacers: Jay Huff
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Jay Huff probably won't be eligible for this honor one year from now. The Indiana Pacers are destined to give him the kind of role he's never had in the aftermath of Myles Turner's departure.
Holding the soon-to-be 27-year-old to the same standard as his rim-protecting, stretch-5 predecessor goes a few bridges too far. The depth of Turner's offensive armory wasn't nearly appreciated enough by the end of his time in Indiana. Huff is nevertheless someone who can offset some of what the Pacers lost when their longtime center left for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Just four other players last season racked up at least 50 blocks and 50 made threes while hitting the latter at a 40 percent clip: Kevin Durant, Keon Ellis, Kristaps Porziņģis and Nikola Vučević. Opponents also shot 57.1 percent against Huff at the rim, a top-20ish mark among everyone who contested 200 or more point-blank attempts.
Everything here is presented with the caveat that the 7'1" behemoth played fewer than 750 minutes. There will be a learning curve with more reps, and as Caitlin Cooper expertly explained for Basketball, She Wrote, the Pacers may find it harder to replicate their defensive approach with Huff in the middle instead of Turner. None of this dulls the intrigue for a center who's oozed play-me-more qualities for more than just last season.
Los Angles Clippers: Jordan Miller
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This spot could go to another Los Angeles Clippers two-way player in Trentyn Flowers (holy defense) or to Kobe Brown (a floor-spacer with size), but dammit if Jordan Miller didn't rope yours truly back onto the bandwagon following his performance during Las Vegas Summer League.
After a fairly erratic opening game, the 25-year-old delivered more even-keeled outings in Sin City. The drives could be sloppy, thanks in large part to a pretty loose handle, but he bodied his way in for tough finishes and trips to the charity stripe. His three-ball remains touch-and-go, but he exited Vegas shooting 38.5 percent from deep, not to mention 62.5 percent inside the arc.
Taking the ball out of Miller's hands will threaten to mute his offensive impact. If he can get a little quicker making decisions off the catch, though, the 6'7" wing has a chance to actualize the three Ds: defense, driving and...downtown shooting.
Color me slightly surprised nobody claimed him after the Clippers waived him just prior to summer league.
Los Angeles Lakers: Jake LaRavia
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Jake LaRavia's two-year, $12 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers stands to go down as one of the summer's best bargains. The term "connector" gets thrown around a lot these days, but the 23-year-old typified it last season, both during his time with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.
Coaxing more offensive volume out of LaRavia could be a chore, but he has hinted at the ability to hit threes coming off screens and has some shiftiness to his handle and footwork when going downhill. Though not a particularly quick player, he makes quick decisions. The ball isn't going to stick once he catches it. His assist percentage last season was higher than his usage rate.
Frequently operating at athleticism and strength deficits can come back to bite LaRavia at the defensive end. He makes up for it with active help and by leveraging size and space in direct-coverage situations, the latter of which allows him to guard up and down the positional spectrum, including the occasional tussles with smaller advantage creators.
Memphis Grizzlies: Cam Spencer
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Scotty Pippen Jr. is handing the Memphis Grizzlies' "Hidden Gem" torch to Cam Spencer, the 6'3" guard who plays with the competitive spirit of someone who would commit flagrant foul on pre-K hoopers if he thought it'd help him get inside his opponent's head.
The shooting is as advertised. Spencer buried 46.5 percent of his 7.2 three-point attempts per game during summer league—volume and efficiency that holds up whether he's trailing plays, dribbling around ball screens, firing out of hand-offs, pulling up, coming off pindowns, etc. If he's able to chisel out playing time on a roster with Pippen, Ja Morant, Jaylen Wells, Ty Jerome, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Vince Williams Jr., et al., this will be the skill that helps him do it.
Tightening his handle may be the ticket to more extensive looks. He has great vision in transition and half-court space and will throw passes that are equal parts theatrical and terrific but runs into trouble when facing traffic or prematurely picking up his dribble.
Miami Heat: Pelle Larsson
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Pelle Larsson looked the part of a rotation player during his stints at the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, predominantly thanks to the ease with which he could make things happen when getting downhill.
There is a restrained burst to how he will go after defenders, with or without a ball screen. He is not overtly fast, but he deftly turns corners and burrows his way through openings.
Right now, the efficiency around the rim (37th percentile last season) doesn't matter as much as the rate at which he gets there and is able to draw fouls. He averaged a Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderian 9.0 free-throw attempts per game in summer league, and through limited action with the Heat as a rookie, he posted the team's second-highest foul rate on drives.
That knack for inciting and working through contact extends to the middle of the floor, where he's no stranger to putting defenders on his back hip and uncorking a floater. The handle can run a little wide, but his overall live-dribble poise opens up opportunities for those playing beside him. And overall, he plays with the motor of a still-in-the-honeymoon-phase Jimmy Butler.
Miami has room to experiment with on-ball creators thanks to the plug-and-playness of Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. If Larsson's most recent flashes are any indication, he should be among the one or two primary benefactors of that runway.
Milwaukee Bucks: AJ Green
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Ryan Rollins is a perfectly acceptable answer here after bursting onto the scene with his defense, surprisingly palatable clip from distance and solid finishing around the hoop. AJ Green has merely flown under the radar for longer, establishing himself as one of the most accurate and, by extension, underused shooters through his first three seasons.
The 25-year-old has converted over 42 percent of his triples since entering the league in 2022 while attempting 637 of them. Grayson Allen, Sam Hauser and Luke Kennard are the only players to match or beat those totals during the same period.
Adjusting for per-minute volume makes Green stand out even more. Over 85 percent of his career shots have come from distance, the majority of which are fired above the break. Hauser is the lone other player (minimum 25 games) to match Green's efficiency while averaging eight or more attempts per 36 minutes.
This meld of volume, efficiency and, frankly, shot type is worth giving Green an even bigger role next season without additional qualifiers. But his case strengthens further after factoring in how he's held his own defensively against some burlier guards and pinging-around snipers.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Terrence Shannon Jr.
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Terrence Shannon Jr. is tracking toward becoming too mainstream for this exercise. He was too good for the G-League this past season. And then he was too good in summer league.
Downhill pressure comes naturally to the 25-year-old. He can attack closeouts or get defenders on their back feet operating from a dead stop. The rim pressure and comfort level drawing and working through contact is a staple. His strength is evident even when generating separation to put up a floater. Dudes just seem to bounce off him.
Dogged defense is a calling card. The Wolves have thrown him on everyone from LeBron James to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker's departure has opened up minutes in the Minnesota Timberwolves' rotation. Head coach Chris Finch confirmed Shannon is going to get them—before NAW ever officially left. If his three-pointer continues to fall—he shot 35.5 percent as a rookie and then splashed down 38.5 percent of his 8.7 attempts per game in Las Vegas— Shannon's days of flying beneath the radar are over.
New Orleans Pelicans: Karlo Matković
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Karlo Matković didn't play a ton for the New Orleans Pelicans last year, and the road to more court time could be tough sledding next season if all of their bigs are healthy. On an unrelated note: If anyone's selling their stock in him, yours truly will happily purchase it.
Everyone and their second cousin thrice removed by divorce's dry cleaner's fourth-best friend wants to see the Pelicans put either a sturdy rim protector or floor-spacer alongside Zion Williamson. Matković is the closest New Orleans comes to having a player who can check both boxes.
The 25-year-old's three-pointer didn't fall at an enviable rate last year, but he knocked down over 39 percent of his attempts in the G-League and has other ways in which he can score. He runs the floor pretty well and has some above-the-rim oomph both in the open floor and when he slips screens in the half-court.
Matković's rebounding could be better but isn't a Defcon Disaster. And while he's not what you'd call a matchup-proof defender, he did limit opponents last year to 56.9 percent shooting at the rim on over four contests per game. His chase-down block on Maxwell Lewis towards the tail end of the regular season is also one of those highlights that'll live rent-free in mine yours all of our heads.
New York Knicks: Guerschon Yabusele
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Guerschon Yabusele is riding a career high after a five-year hiatus from the NBA followed by an "I'm back" return last season with the Philadelphia 76ers. It would still be a stretch to declare him on the radar when he wound up signing a two-year deal worth (slightly) less than the mid-level exception.
(Aside: This is also a default option. Kevin McCullar Jr. remains unsigned as of this writing, and by a New York Knicks' executive's own admission to Keith Smith of Spotrac, we shouldn't expect many opportunities for young players like Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek next season.)
Putting down 38 percent of his threes on more than five attempts per 36 minutes elevated Yabusele's profile more than anything. There's some question whether it's for real, but the outside improvement dates back to his time with Real Madrid.
His ancillary scoring layers are the real gems. He can effectively attack closeouts (62.7 percent shooting on drives), get in-between buckets after setting and slipping screens, leak out in transition (1.49 points per possession) and also has some dead-stop creation in his arsenal.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Ajay Mitchell
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Cracking the regular rotation of a championship favorite, as a rookie, is bonkers stuff. That's exactly what Ajay Mitchell did before suffering a toe injury at the beginning of January.
The 23-year-old's defensive intensity is absurd. He navigates screens like a whiz, is mostly excellent at contesting shots and will bust up plays as the helper. The Oklahoma City Thunder had the depth to keep him off the most glittery assignments, but he's ready for heavier lifts.
Mitchell spent large swathes of summer league delivering extended glimpses into self-creation and playmaking. Having that as a tertiary fallback is huge for the Thunder—and, truthfully, a luxury into which they probably won't tap.
Part of Mitchell's appeal, though, is his capacity to scale down and complement. He moves well without the ball, hit 37 percent of his above-the-break triples as a rookie, and even his pull-up middies come within the flow of the offense.
Bookmark his contract details on Spotrac. You'll need to continuously see that Oklahoma City is paying him less than 2 percent of the salary cap through 2027-28 to keep believing it.
Orlando Magic: Tristan Da Silva
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Positional overlap with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will forever cap Tristan Da Silva's role on a fully healthy Orlando Magic team. The thing is, they were far from fully healthy last season, and he filled in admirably for a huge chunk of the schedule, at times stepping into a starter's role and doing a lot of silent defensive dirty work.
Orlando still has room to give Da Silva regular reps as a reserve. It is not teeming with backup-wing options, and rolling out his 6'8" frame will be more appealing than having Anthony Black scale up to certain opponents.
Hitting more threes will be key for the 24-year-old sophomore. His sub-34-percent accuracy on wide-open triples last season is a red flag, albeit not a huge one. He showed more confidence in his outside shot through two summer-league performances, even banging in a step-back trey against the Toronto Raptors.
There might be slightly more offensive utility to plumb—the Magic had him initiate plenty of sets in Las Vegas—but Da Silva will shine brightest playing within himself. He more than any other role player may benefit from the arrival of two additional creators in Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones.
Philadelphia 76ers: Trendon Watford
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"Replacing Guerschon Yabusele will be difficult" is not a sentence I saw myself writing this time last year. And yet, here we are.
Claiming the Philadelphia 76ers won't miss Yabusele's offense goes too far. He has more directionality to his closeout attacks. But Trendon Watford is an excellent replacement—especially at less than half the cost.
Playing for a team that shouldn't suck will do wonders for the 24-year-old's overall profile. His grab-and-go chops are fun as hell, and he's an understated foul-drawer. He deserves a medal for shooting north of 50 percent on drives for last year's Brooklyn Nets.
Watford will also hit threes when they're teed up for him, and he's got the mobility to guard 3s and some 2s, as well as the strength to rumble with 4s and certain 5s. He's essentially a winning player who's finally in a situation that should allow him to prove it.
Phoenix Suns: Jordan Goodwin
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Collin Gillespie came oh-so-close to running away with this spot. And then the Los Angeles Lakers waived Jordan Goodwin to make room for Marcus Smart, paving the way for the Phoenix Suns to reunite with the scrappy guard.
Serious question: In the year 2025, are we sure Smart is that much better than Goodwin? (Smart can guard up way more, so I'm clearly kidding. I think.)
The 26-year-old is a ball-hound...even when he's not on it. He battles through screens, stands the test of high-end isolation scorers, party-crashes passing lanes and tracks down boards atypical for someone standing 6'3".
Having him run the offense is a thorny proposition. The worst version of Smart has him beat there. But Goodwin did just knock down 38.2 percent of his 4.5 three-pointers per 36 minutes through 29 appearances with the Lakers—outlier efficiency that inflates his value tenfold if it holds.
Portland Trail Blazers: Yang Hansen
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My sincere apologies to Duop Reap, a personal favorite whom the Portland Trail Blazers keep on burying deeper and deeper on the depth chart. Yang Hansen has to be the pick here.
ESPN's Jeremy Woo surveyed 20 anonymous NBA executives and scouts on their post-draft impressions, and the 20-year-old finished second in the "Biggest Reach" category. Now, this means he only received four votes, but the #ContentMachine pulverizes proper context with its bare, callous-covered hands. So this is akin to a personal affront.
Hansen spent most of the Las Vegas Summer League like he knew these results in advance. The passing already jumps off the screen. Teammates fly around on his catches, because they know he'll find them.
Tilting an extra body towards him in the slightest is going to get your defense burned. At 7'1", Hansen has three-point range. He connected on four of his 12 attempts from downtown in Sin City. His touch around the basket felt automatic at times, and he had zero qualms about putting the ball on the deck and attacking from the outside in.
The extent of his defensive ceiling remains a mystery, but he runs the floor well for someone so huge, he's comfortable backpedaling against ball-handlers without leaving too much room in drop coverages, and whatever the over/under is on his blocked shots next season, it's not high enough.
Sacramento Kings: Nique Clifford
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Despite my best efforts to avoid selecting rookies as much as possible, the Sacramento Kings have few good alternatives. Keon Ellis no longer seems overlooked externally (or, thankfully, internally). Going with Devin Carter feels a tad premature.
Nique Clifford fits the bill when you consider how most rolled their eyes when the Kings traded into the No. 24 pick. They are, after all, the Kings. He tamped down much of the concern by tearing it up during the Las Vegas Summer league.
Worries over whether his three-ball will translate after it came along later in his collegiate career remain. He drilled almost half of his attempts in Sin City, but that came on modest volume and was boosted by going a combined 6-of-7 from downtown against the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.
Still, the overall scoring arsenal passes the eye test with flying colors. The degree of difficulty on some of his treys was actually stupid. He hit a crossover step-back triple coming off a baseline hand-off against the Cleveland Cavaliers that's playing on an audio and visual loop for the microscopic warlocks living in my temporal lobe.
Clifford probably won't sponge up many point guard reps for the Kings, but he maintains his live dribbles like one. He showcased everything from tough-angled and driving finishes to turnaround Js and back-to-the-basket bandwidth. Perhaps most critically, he profiles as someone can—and wants to—guard the other team's best perimeter scorer.
San Antonio Spurs: Julian Champagnie
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Julian Champagnie edges out Lindy Waters III and my Devin Vassell agenda. If you're familiar with my "Well, actually" affinity for both, you'll know that's saying something.
Combo wings who shoulder fairly difficult defensive assignments and spray triples usually receive tons of attention, respect, acclaim, the whole shebang. Champagnie has quietly turned himself into one of the better, more reliable three-and-D weapons in the business.
Last season saw him crescendo to the peak of his powers. He sank more than 37 percent of his eight-plus long-range attempts per 36 minutes, and according to BBall-Index he placed inside the 80th percentile of defensive matchup difficulty.
Champagnie has likewise become an expert at playing within his wheelhouse, even as the pecking order and stylistic principles shift around him. Just over 91.1 percent of his looks last season came from beyond the arc or at the hoop—the seventh-highest rim-or-three frequency among 275 players to clear 1,000 total minutes, per PBP Stats.
Toronto Raptors: Jonathan Mogbo
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Few bigs are as positionless on defense as Jonathan Mogbo. As Samson Folk wrote in Mogbo's rookie-season review at Raptors Republic:
"Mogbo immediately became one of the best switch bigs in the NBA. He was 8 times as likely to switch in the pick n’ roll, as opposed to any other form of coverage. There are three players that defended over 150 possessions against pick n’ roll ball handlers and kept the points per possession under .700, which is a paltry number. Those 3 players? Alex Caruso, Jonathan Mogbo, and Kris Dunn. Excellent company to keep. Mogbo’s ability to step out with a wide array of players and turn their water off is a truly elite NBA skill. That’s a huge deal, and not to be taken for granted."
Mogbo's 7'2" wingspan feels like an estimate that rounds down—by roughly four to six inches. He busts up plays and corrals opponents with the appearance of someone much longer.
Piecing together a more dependable offensive package will be critical if he's going to crack a frontline rotation that should be healthier and just added Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9. He has real flair in transition, can put the ball on the deck in open space and make passing reads operating from the middle of the floor. But nothing he does is incredibly consistent, and there's scant hope of him reliably stretching the floor. He attempted two threes during summer league. One was blocked (at the buzzer). The other came closer to hitting a fan than the rim.
Failing the development of more range away from the basket, Mogbo should be a useful screener and catch-and-goer in the half-court—provided Toronto has enough spacers around him.
Utah Jazz: Kyle Filipowski
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That's "Summer League MVP Kyle Filipowski" to you, to me, to all of us.
Speaking of which: This is somewhat odd timing to feature him here following that type of recognition. But the 21-year-old is working off a standout debut campaign in which he made a case for himself as the best offensive newbie and still failed to make an All-Rookie team.
Crying "Snubbery!" without naming who should get bounced low-hanging fruit. That's my favorite food group. For real, though: He had a Second Team case over Kel'el Ware, Bub Carrington and even Yves Missi.
Here is a list of every rookie big man (so, 6'9" and up) to match Filipowski's effective field-goal percentage while hitting at least 75 threes:
- Chet Holmgren (2023-24)
Aaaand, that's it.
Filipowski is more than his outside snipery as well. He has great touch and timing on his passes, and a real floor game inside the half-court. Among 211 players who finished as many drives last year as Filipowski, his 58.7 percent clip out of those plays ranked sixth. Four of the five players in front of him are exclusively guards.
Indeed, the defense is challenging. Filipowski is probably a pure 4. But getting his offensive portfolio in a 6'11" frame and with the No. 32 pick is flat-out bonkers.
Washington Wizards: Justin Champagnie
30 of 30
Another Champagnie? Another Champagnie. (Please do not let this selection preclude you from keeping tabs on Tristan Vukčević.)
Justin Champagnie has shouldered an outsized defensive burden ever since joining the Washington Wizards, and he's handled it well. Only Bilal Coulibaly is going to see more time opposite No. 1 options, and he's adept at providing help, particularly around the basket.
Snagging someone like that who also nails nearly 42 percent of his spot-up threes on a contract that, on average, takes up around 1.5 percent of the salary cap should be illegal.
Oh, and just for kicks, here's everyone last season who played at least 1,000 minutes and then rated in the 85th percentile or higher of catch-and-shoot three-point accuracy and points saved at the rim per 75 possessions, according to BBall Index:
- Justin Champagnie
- Kristaps Porziņģis
L-O-L.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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