San Antonio Spurs: 5 options for pick No. 29 in 2017 NBA Draft

1. Bam Adebayo, PF/C, Kentucky

The San Antonio Spurs should be able to select one of these five players in the first round. Should all five already be selected, or all but Giles are off the board and the doctors have bad news, the team could look to international big men like Jonathan Jeanne or Anzejs Pasecniks.

We know how Pop loves his international bigs.

However, Bam Adebayo is the most likely of this list to be available when the 29th overall pick rolls around. At 6’10” with a 7’3″ wingspan and 9’0″ standing reach, he is just a tad on the short side compared to these other centers, but his athleticism more than makes up for it.

At the draft combine he recorded a standing vertical of 33.5″ and a max vertical of 38.5″, showing he has the tools to leap as a rim runner/protector.

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Adebayo’s offensive game is still dependent on cuts and rolls to the basket, plus put-backs from offensive rebounds. Luckily, crashing the offensive glass is something he does on the regular, averaging 3.1 of them per game at Kentucky.

Tristan Thompson, who averaged similar numbers in college, has been productive offensively relying heavily on second chance opportunities. If Adebayo can follow this mold and utilize his extra length and leaping skills he has over Thompson, there’s no reason he can’t become a 10-15 points per game player in the NBA. With multiple scorers on the roster, the San Antonio Spurs wouldn’t need much more than that anyway.

Next: 5 potential landing spots for Chris Paul in free agency

The 2017 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, June 22.