2018 NBA Draft: Why you should get to know William McDowell-White
By Connor Harr
Serviceable defense
McDowell-White’s defense is not fantastic on ball, but he is a good off-ball defender. He plays the passing lanes aggressively and has tremendous success with it. His off-ball pass disruption and his extremely quick reflexes and reaction time help him to sometimes jump the pass as soon as it leaves his matchup’s hands on ball.
It helps create easy turnovers and obtain difficult steals most players would not be able to get. Here’s a look at how McDowell-White’s steal percentage stacks up to Brunson, Holiday, and Carter again.
| Name | Steal % |
| Jevon Carter | 4.9% |
| William McDowell-White | 3.4% |
| Aaron Holiday | 2.5% |
| Jalen Brunson | 1.7% |
I also think he gets a bad reputation as an on-ball defender. A lot of times by the end of the game he’s gassed from shouldering a heavy offensive burden for his team. This will lead to him getting beat on ball at times, but I hit on his defense in my scouting video.
His size at 6’5″ and solid frame should make him versatile enough where he could find a role playing less athletic wing or combo guard matchup and do a solid job guarding them. He should not have a problem guarding other backup point guards either because most are not high-level athletes anyway.