2021 international class

[clyde21]

nah def looks like C to me, toolkit is all C

[916fan]

I think everyone kinda forgot about Filip Petrusev after he went to Gonzaga, then back to Serbia. Last season for Gonzaga, he averaged 25.9mins: 17.4pts 7.9rebs 0.7blks 1.4asts on 56.2/18.2/65.5

So far in 13 games for KK Mega Soccerbet(formery known as Mega Leks) he's been averaging:
32.4mins: 24pts 7.9rebs 1blk 1.3asts on 59.2/41.2/77.9

Looks like his biggest improvement from college has been his shooting and 3pt shot. It was non-existent at Gonzaga, but he's taking 2.6 attempts per game in Serbia.

Watch on YouTube

I don't think he's going in this years draft, but after seeing his stats, I thought he was worth mentioning here. He could be a 2nd rounder.

[Mickey8]

Of course he will go to this year NBA Draft and should be the first round pick, and who ever picks him in the second round he will end up as one of the steals

[clyde21]

this dude is such a freak...1st round potential tbh

Read on Twitter

[pad300]

Victor Wembanyama was born on Jan 4,2004 (according to Wikipedia). He's hurt now, but is there a chance he enters this year - he'd be 18, and it would get him a first round spot...

[peZt]

Victor Wembanyama was born on Jan 4,2004 (according to Wikipedia). He's hurt now, but is there a chance he enters this year - he'd be 18, and it would get him a first round spot...

He can't enter this year. You have to turn 19 in the year of the draft. So only 2002 generation is eligible for this years draft. He can't even enter next years draft. And if he could enter he'd be a top 5 pick

[Kukoc-Lauri]

Victor Wembanyama was born on Jan 4,2004 (according to Wikipedia). He's hurt now, but is there a chance he enters this year - he'd be 18, and it would get him a first round spot...

He can't enter this year. You have to turn 19 in the year of the draft. So only 2002 generation is eligible for this years draft. He can't even enter next years draft. And if he could enter he'd be a top 5 pick

Waynamba if eligeble would for sure go top 5 or 6 at worst in 21 draft.

[Sabas11]

I like him, because he's really tough, aggressive and physical. Really strong. For a European comparison, he's sort of like a Jaka Blazic type, with a better basketball IQ. I can't really think of similar kinds of European players being drafted before. I'd have to think about it.

If he was French, he'd be a top 10 pick. If he was Greek, he'd have zero chance of being drafted. He's Lithuanian, but he's not a big man (NBA likes Lithuanians, as long as they are bigs)......just going by the logic the uses of clearly drafting based on stereotypes and nationalities for European players.

You were doing so well until that second paragraph

One of the biggest draft sites actually admitted before that NBA scouts do scout based on nationality. They do use a player's nationality in their scouting and in their determinations, and that they do use stereotypes for players, based on where they are from.

If you follow European basketball closely, you can easily see there is an extreme bias by the NBA in favor of French players. If any young French player even shows up on the rotation of a European team, they are immediately put into first round, or even lotto mock rankings.

This happens for absolutely no other nationality of players. Just look at guys like Okobo, Ntilikina, Howard Carter, Ajinca, Doumbouya, Hayes, Maledon, Toupane, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Lauvergne, Hoard, Ingles, Mahinmi, Moiso, Petro, Sy, etc.

Several European countries have numerous prospects that are better and more talented than such players every single year that don't even get drafted. You have numerous French guys being drafted by the NBA, even if they are not in the top 30 best players in Europe in their age group.

There is no chance at all that this happens by shear luck and good fortune of French players.

There is also a pro bias favor for Spanish players and for players from any of the former Yugo countries. There also seems to be a bias in favor of Turkish players recently.

While there is very clearly a strong bias against players from some other countries. Always against Greek players. Seems to now also be the case for players from Russia in recent years. Some countries seem to have players drafted pretty much as you would expect, not more than they should, or less than they should, like Italy for example.

But there is no way that the number of French players being drafted is based on just the level of the players, as compared to what other European countries have. I think the main reason is fairly obvious, as back in the 1980s, the French League and French Federation made a huge marketing partnership with the NBA in France. It is something that no other country has done with the NBA, not even China.

Before that, the NBA never even looked at a player from France. But by the time those marketing deals had really taken off, the NBA was suddenly looking for French players, and then after the Spurs hit on Parker, it is just a very obvious NBA policy to draft any French player that even makes a European team's rotation, no matter if they are not even in the top 500 best players in Europe, they will be drafted, and likely in the first round. And if they just somehow manage to be getting playing time on like a second tier level team, like in the EuroCup or something, then it's a very good chance they go in the lotto, even if they are a very average at best player.

There are always some non-French European players that are definitely better than the French players being drafted in the first round, that don't even get taken in the 2nd round.

I am sure that the NBA hopes to eventually have the same kind of marketing situations in the UK and Germany, and that they would be drafting any player with a pulse from there as well.

You really want to have a look at the track record of Greek players? Ok fine.

Fotsis - Scrub
Rentzias - Scrub
Glyniadakis - Scrub
Spanoulis - Greek T-Mac lol
Koufos - Scrub
Sofoklis - Scrub, could not make it
Printezis - Scrub, could not make it
PapaG - Darko-type bust, lottery pick who couldn't even stay 500 minutes in the NBA lol
Sloukas - Scrub, could not make it
Giannis brothers - Scrubs, in the NBA because of nepotism

The only exception is Giannis and he is the ultimate outlier. But yeah sure, scouts have no interest in scrubs because 'they're biased against Greek players'.

[UcanUwill]

You were doing so well until that second paragraph

One of the biggest draft sites actually admitted before that NBA scouts do scout based on nationality. They do use a player's nationality in their scouting and in their determinations, and that they do use stereotypes for players, based on where they are from.

If you follow European basketball closely, you can easily see there is an extreme bias by the NBA in favor of French players. If any young French player even shows up on the rotation of a European team, they are immediately put into first round, or even lotto mock rankings.

This happens for absolutely no other nationality of players. Just look at guys like Okobo, Ntilikina, Howard Carter, Ajinca, Doumbouya, Hayes, Maledon, Toupane, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Lauvergne, Hoard, Ingles, Mahinmi, Moiso, Petro, Sy, etc.

Several European countries have numerous prospects that are better and more talented than such players every single year that don't even get drafted. You have numerous French guys being drafted by the NBA, even if they are not in the top 30 best players in Europe in their age group.

There is no chance at all that this happens by shear luck and good fortune of French players.

There is also a pro bias favor for Spanish players and for players from any of the former Yugo countries. There also seems to be a bias in favor of Turkish players recently.

While there is very clearly a strong bias against players from some other countries. Always against Greek players. Seems to now also be the case for players from Russia in recent years. Some countries seem to have players drafted pretty much as you would expect, not more than they should, or less than they should, like Italy for example.

But there is no way that the number of French players being drafted is based on just the level of the players, as compared to what other European countries have. I think the main reason is fairly obvious, as back in the 1980s, the French League and French Federation made a huge marketing partnership with the NBA in France. It is something that no other country has done with the NBA, not even China.

Before that, the NBA never even looked at a player from France. But by the time those marketing deals had really taken off, the NBA was suddenly looking for French players, and then after the Spurs hit on Parker, it is just a very obvious NBA policy to draft any French player that even makes a European team's rotation, no matter if they are not even in the top 500 best players in Europe, they will be drafted, and likely in the first round. And if they just somehow manage to be getting playing time on like a second tier level team, like in the EuroCup or something, then it's a very good chance they go in the lotto, even if they are a very average at best player.

There are always some non-French European players that are definitely better than the French players being drafted in the first round, that don't even get taken in the 2nd round.

I am sure that the NBA hopes to eventually have the same kind of marketing situations in the UK and Germany, and that they would be drafting any player with a pulse from there as well.

You really want to have a look at the track record of Greek players? Ok fine.

Fotsis - Scrub
Rentzias - Scrub
Glyniadakis - Scrub
Spanoulis - Greek T-Mac lol
Koufos - Scrub
Sofoklis - Scrub, could not make it
Printezis - Scrub, could not make it
PapaG - Darko-type bust, lottery pick who couldn't even stay 500 minutes in the NBA lol
Sloukas - Scrub, could not make it
Giannis brothers - Scrubs, in the NBA because of nepotism

The only exception is Giannis and he is the ultimate outlier. But yeah sure, scouts have no interest in scrubs because 'they're biased against Greek players'.

I feel like you replied to terrible post, with even more terrible post. No need for this kind of discussion.

[coutournant]

Another 19pt (8/9 FG) performance by Makoundou, with huge dunks as usual, and a mid-range game too. He still needs to improve on defense at this level

Watch on YouTube

[clyde21]

Yoan is worth a flyer in the 1st round just based on his toolset alone, if he can hit that mid range game consistently and provide some rim support on defense he'll be a strong rotational guy at least with a + ceiling

[nolang1]

Watch on YouTube

I think at this point the trajectory is lottery pick; would have to be the number one big after Mobley.

[Mirotic12]

I think at this point the trajectory is lottery pick; would have to be the number one big after Mobley.

I like him a lot, but the level of competition there is too low to be making any serious judgements. FIBA Europe Cup is the fourth tier European competition. It's probably not even overall as good as something like the Belgian League.

Iraklis is a scrub team in Greek League, and they won all their games so far in FIBA Europe Cup.

He's playing against Romanian and Bulgarian teams in that clip.

[No-Man]

We will see who declares but this class albeit it lacks high end top lotto talent is superduper deep

Sengün is murdering turkish teams on the regular, it's not just FIBA Europe Cup

[Ruzious]

Watch on YouTube

I think at this point the trajectory is lottery pick; would have to be the number one big after Mobley.

He is a very impressive looking player for just 18, Any thoughts on how likely it is he'll develop a good 3 point shot?

[No-Man]

Very likely imo, good FT shooter, soft touch, mechanics arent bad bad

[UcanUwill]

Very likely imo, good FT shooter, soft touch, mechanics arent bad bad

Hey, sorry for OP, he is not in 21 draft, and he is in college, but what are your thoughts on Ažuolas Tubelis from Arizona? DO you have NBA comparison for him and do you think he has upside? He had one of his best games last night.

[Kukoc-Lauri]

1.Garuba 2.Roko Prkacin 3. Franz Wagner first round. 4.Rokas Jokubaitis 5.Filip Petrusev 6.Alper Sengun 7.Malcom Cazalon 8.Ariel Hupokorti second round. Non draft summer league invites Yves Pons Juan Beggharin

[jman3134]

Launched a report for a major NBA draft sleeper- Gui Santos of the Minas Storm: https://bit.ly/2YVxq82

I expect him to rise up draft boards when it is all said and done.

[jman3134]

Did a profile on Makoundou:

https://bit.ly/2ZkoVDz

The raw athleticism is off the charts, including some dunks/plays I had never seen before. I compiled a good amount of his highlights on here.