17. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State Spartans
Position: Shooting Guard
Age: 22 (11/16/1993)
Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’6″, 220 pounds, 6’10”
Slash Line: .471/.454/.841
Season Averages: 32.7 MPG, 19.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 3.4 3PM
Analysis
Including Buddy Hield, no prospect has done more for their draft stock than Michigan State Spartans wing Denzel Valentine. While Hield was an early second-round prospect at the start of the season, Valentine was almost entirely overlooked by the masses.
Valentine is a nightly triple-double threat, and there really aren’t very many of those on the college basketball scene.
It’s becoming more and more difficult to deny Valentine’s NBA potential. He’s flirting with a triple-double on a nightly basis, displaying court vision that ranks amongst the best in this draft class, and is a genuinely elite 3-point shooter.
Valentine is averaging 3.4 3-point field goals made per game on 45.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Enough said.
Valentine is essentially a more efficient Lance Stephenson with a significantly better jump shot. There are risks involved in drafting him, with athleticism that ranks in the average range and a tendency to turn the ball over, but he’s a complete player.
There’s a drop-off defensively, but on offense, Valentine is the shooting guard version of fellow Michigan State Spartans alum Draymond Green.
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