NBA Draft 2011: Comparing Kemba Walker vs. Brandon Knight at PG
Having great depth at big man with Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, Al Jefferson, Andrei Kirilenko, and Mehmet Okur, its presumed that the Utah Jazz are expected to take a point guard with the third overall pick (assuming they don’t move one of those players, the pick, or Devin Harris).
With the top point guard available, Duke’s Kyrie Irving, likely coming off the board first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the choice becomes pretty clear: Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight? Breaking it down further, its seems to be a case of proven vs. potential.
NBA Scouts, Draft Analysts, NCAA and NBA fans seem absolutely split on the matter, and its all a matter of preference.
We broke it down into key facets of each point guard’s game, and while our breakdown likely won’t change many minds, it will present them in a way that should help make it a little clearer to decide who you prefer.
That said, SwishScout.com presents “Who’s your Point Guard, Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight?”
Athleticism
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The calling card of Kemba Walker’s game is his incredible quickness and ability to get wherever he needs on the floor.
He is almost uncatchable in the open court on a fast break, and is very tough to defend man to man. Brandon Knight is a very solid athlete in his own right and has NBA quickness and leaping ability.
However, he isn’t nearly explosive, quick to accelerate, or speedy off the dribble like Walker. In this one, its Walker slightly based on that explosiveness and rare quickness that will serve him well in the NBA.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Build
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Brandon Knight has solid NBA point guard size at 6’3” with a strong frame, wide shoulder base, and great length with a 6’7” wingspan.
He needs to keep building some more muscle mass, but it will happen in due time as his body fills out and matures at his young age. Walker is clearly undersized at 6’1”, but has a nice compact build at 185 lb.s with natural strength.
However, you can’t teach size and length, which gives Knight the indefinite edge in this one, no matter how compact a player is at 6’1”.
Advantage: Brandon Knight
Shooting
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This is a tough one, as Kemba is excellent from the midrange and Knight from three-point range. Kemba was forced into taking some tough shots as the primary creator for UConn last season, but was a big shot maker down the stretch for his team.
The big knock on his game is a lack of range and shooting consistency from 3-point land, hitting 75 three-pointers last season with 33 percent accuracy, but luckily it’s one of the more improvable areas of a player game with work.
Knight is known for his marksmanship from deep, and hit 87 three-pointers as a freshman at a 37.7 percent rate. Brandon made some big shots for Kentucky as well, but isn’t nearly as productive in the midrange like Kemba is with his pull up jumper.
For this one, you would have to say Kemba wins the midrange battle and Knight from three, but ultimately it’s a push to me.
Advantage: Push (Kemba from midrange, Knight from three-point range)
Ball Handling
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Kemba has a killer crossover, and his ability to string together hesitations, change directions, and quick strike moves make him a tough defensive assignment at any level.
Walker is a shifty player with great agility and acceleration, and can get up and down the floor with the ball in his hands in no time. Thrived in isolations with his ball handling to break down the D to either blow by his man to the rim or create space for a jumper.
Knight is an improving ball handler who can handle the rock, but is still improving and can be a little reckless at times. In addition, Knight has gotten better with his left hand, but still seems to favor his right, which makes him fairly predictable for the time being.
If it comes down to scoring in isolations, Kemba is your man for the next few years.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Passing
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It’s a given that neither Knight or Kemba are inherent point guards, but rather ‘combo guards’ who are natural scorers that are going to need play the point at the next level. Nonetheless, both did a good job sliding into the position in the NCAA and producing.
Knight was the predominant signal caller at the one for UK, and managed to dish out 4.2 assists versus 3.2 turnovers per game (1.33 assist/turnover ratio). He’s gotten better at seeing the floor and creating for his teammates, but still more of a shoot first player.
Walker had the help of Shabazz Napier and was able to be utilized in both spots, but managed to create a good number of looks for his teammates on the perimeter and at the basket.
No one seems to think he’s a great passer, but managed 4.6 assists per game as their predominant offensive focal point versus only 2.3 turnovers (2.02 A/T).
Also, considering that Kemba didn’t quite have the natural scoring talent and shooters Kentucky did suggest he might be the better passer right now in terms of creating quality shots for his players, but that’s not to say Knight couldn’t catch him in a couple years at the rate he’s developing.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Rebounding
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For guards, both are very impressive at crashing and securing the boards. Knight grabbed four rebounds per game while Walker nabbed 5.4 in his junior season per contest.
Knight does it with his length and athleticism, while Walker does it with his great speed, motor and strength. You can’t go wrong either way, but Kemba has always been a persistent rebounder who can zoom in and grab a loose ball.
Knight will be a solid rebounding guard in the NBA, but Walker could just as easily be better with his abilities, and gets the slight nod on this one from us.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Defense
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The 6’1” Walker is a terrific defensive playmaker in passing lanes with his quickness and defensive instincts, as he jumps a lazy pass and is gone the other way for an easy score.
He also has nice lateral quickness, quick hands, and defensive intensity as well, but it doesn’t seem he will really be able to shut anyone down at his size.
Knight has terrific length, size, and ability to stay in front of his man as well, and matches up against NBA guards more favorably than Walker.
While he’s not quite the playmaker on D that Walker is, Knight has the tools to be a legit defender in the league on a nightly basis.
Advantage: Brandon Knight
Basketball IQ
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Both guards have a great feel for the game and do a great job of letting the game come to them. Walker proved that he was nearly unstoppable and could singlehandedly win the game for his team while keeping them involved.
Knight displayed a nice grasp of how to run an offense and when to take over down the stretch for a team. Another close situation where you would have to say that, based on merits and NCAA accomplishments, the edge probably goes to Kemba.
Walker has the experience and had the time to develop in the NCAA to refine his game and demonstrate his clear knowledge. Knight is still learning and won’t have the NCAA experience to facilitate his learning as a PG, but is now thrown into a trial by fire in the league.
While the former Kentucky point guard should be just fine with his work ethic and smarts, Kemba has proven that his feel for the game is supreme and should prove to be a weapon in the NBA.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
NBA Readiness
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This one isn’t much of a contest, as conventional wisdom tends to point towards NCAA experience getting the nod over "one and done" for NBA readiness.
Walker has accomplished just about everything you would want from an NCAA scoring guard in his career and earned is place in the NBA. While Knight led his team to the Final Four in his first season and flashed terrific upside, he still has a great deal to learn, develop, and improve in the way of consistency.
You could also make the argument that Knight might not have even been the most NBA ready or even the best NBA prospect on his team, but you know what you are getting when you take him.
Based on accomplishments and skill set, Walker is the clear-cut prospect at the position to step in and contribute immediately.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Potential
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Brandon Knight is looked at as a project at the point guard at the position, and will need a couple years to refine his skills to become the players a lot of people think he’s capable of becoming.
Walker still has legit upside for a player with an already mature game, but his ceiling isn’t as high as Knights. Walker is a couple years on Knight, and that additional growing time to play and adjust to the NBA could benefit Knight’s game in the long run.
While he lacks experience on the NCAA level, the additional time in the league and playing experience at the next level should bode well for Knight’s game.
His skill-set is already quite impressive, and the fact that he still has a lot of room to go makes him all the more attractive for a team as their long run PG.
Advantage: Brandon Knight
Clutch Factor/History of Winning
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Leading a team to an SEC Tournament title and to the NCAA Final Four in your freshman campaign and hitting a couple game winning shots in the "Big Dance" is a great accomplishment that Knight can hang his hat on.
Brandon’s freshman accomplishments and body of work aren’t easily topped by just any player, but unfortunately for him, he’s up against Kemba Walker.
Walker hit numerous big shots and game winners for UConn as their go to guy during the regular season, Big East Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament on their way to the title.
Head to head in the 2011 Final Four, both put up equally impressive stats, but Walker won the battle by a nose. Kemba Walker was the main reason UConn had a special season that saw one of the most incredible NCAA postseason runs in college basketball history.
Advantage: Kemba Walker
Risk
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Looking purely at weaknesses and red flags for each player, they are about the same. The knocks on Knight’s game are that he is turnover prone, takes some dicey shots, and is still developing as a point guard.
Kemba tends to rush and take some errant shots, is clearly undersized for his position, and needs to improve his three-point shooting. Both are projected to be taken in the top 10 of the 2011 NBA Draft lottery, so position in the draft isn’t a factor either.
You can’t really point to one particular aspect of either’s game and say that it will be their downfall in the league. Both present a fair share of risk, but the upside and skill sets of both far outweigh that gamble in this particular draft.
Advantage: Push
Recap
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If you weren’t keeping score, here’s the recap and breakdown of how they match up against each other head to head.
- Build
- Defense
- Potential
- Athleticism
- Ball Handling
- Passing
- Rebounding
- Basketball IQ
- NBA Readiness
- Clutch Factor/History of Winning
Split Decision:
- Shooting
- Risk
The Verdict is...
The Verdict
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The final score based on this breakdown is Walker 7, Knight 3. While far from telling, accurate, nor scientific and likely differing depending on what expert you ask, it hopefully gives some gauge of how they stack up against each other in considering one over the other.
Some aspects of the PG position definitely carry more weight than the others (rebounding vs. passing, for example), which we didn’t add into consideration in this case by instead opting to look at overall game.
Nonetheless, I personally feel that the experience, skill set, quickness, and winning mentality that Kemba Walker can bring to a team is indispensible. Knight is a nice player, but he definitely has a ways to go and is a little more of a gamble in my opinion.
Undersized guards who are Walker’s height (or shorter) and don’t have his speed to just fine in the league, and there’s no reason he can’t do the same or be better in his own right. A team like Utah, or a team beyond their spot if they pass on both, has a serious decision to make if they want to get a point guard early in the Draft.
The "Knight versus Walker" debate is one you can count on growing in the coming weeks leading up to the Draft.
For more NBA Draft scouting reports, check out the SwishScout.com 2011 NBA Draft Library and follow us on twitter @SwishScout.com.
