What to know about draft prospect Sekou DoumbouyaForward Sekou Doumbouya, an 18-year-old who is originally from Conakry, Guinea, and wasn’t at last week’s NBA Combine, is projected by most to be the first international player taken as a late lottery pick in the June 20 draft.
Doumbouya, a 6-9 forward, is averaging 7.8 points on 48.3 percent shooting from the field and 34.3 percent shooting on threes to go with 3.3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.
While he’s known as a prospect who comes with an offensive game that’s still very much a work in progress, Doumbouya finished Saturdays’ win against Levallois with 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting on threes to go with nine rebounds.
“Doumbouya rebounded from a slow start and has been very productive in Pro A France since returning from a hand injury,”
ESPN wrote. “He has outstanding physical tools for a modern-day NBA forward, particularly defensively, where he shows significant potential, and he has a projectable skill level offensively.”
“Doumbouya has been much better over the last month and a half,”
The Athletic wrote. “In his last eight games, Doumbouya has seen his points per minute increase, his three-point shooting volume and efficiency has increased, and generally he just looks much more comfortable with the speed of the game.
This is one of those classic high-risk, high-reward prospects. The upside is obviously there, but there’s also uncertainty about the type of player Doumbouya will turn into. He’s still growing into his body and his offensive game is still raw. Doumbouya is a streaky shooter and has some trouble creating offense off the dribble. But his length and athleticism have scouts fawning over his potential as a defender. Doumbouya is quick enough to switch on to guards and has the length to be an above-average rim protector one day. The question will be, what will Doumbouya be on the offense? If he can ever develop a consistent shot and improve his handle, he can be a very good NBA player.