Utah Jazz: 5 options for pick No. 52 in 2018 NBA Draft
By Mason McFee
1. Kostas Antetokounmpo, SF — Dayton
Yes, he is the brother of the Greek Freak, and no, he is not being put here just because of that reason…. but it’s hard not to see the similarities.
Unlike his older brother, Kostas Antetokounmpo played collegiately, albeit one lone season for the Dayton Flyers. He may not have posted any eye-popping numbers (as evidenced by his 5.2 points per game scoring average and 2.9 rebounds per game), but he certainly wasn’t short on highlight plays:
Look at this play against George Washington. Antetokounmpo’s teammate drives into the paint, and dumps it off to the big man waiting there — a sound move. Unfortunately, the big man cannot convert on either of his attempts, and the ball is batted around in the air before Antetokounmpo corrals the rebound. Then, he showcases his dunking ability.
A lot of the clips in this particular highlight reel are Antetokounmpo scoring off of lobs, dunks and layups. What the creator of this video doesn’t showcase as much is his driving ability, his insane wingspan (7’2″) and his defensive prowess.
Like Giannis Antetokounmpo was early on his career (and still is today to a lesser degree), Kostas is still figuring out how to use his gangly frame. What he does have going for him is his 7’2″ wingspan that allows to stay in any play, even if he gets beat or blown by.
Antetokounmpo uses that same length to attack the basket, and shoot over his defenders. If the Jazz were to draft him, they’d probably slot him at the small forward position initially, but in his rookie season could easily slide over to be a small-ball power forward just because of his length and raw athleticism.
Antetokounmpo may only weigh 190 pounds to go with his 6’10” frame, but Giannis was pretty skinny when he first came to the NBA, and that’s worked out pretty well. Again, I’m not saying that Kostas is Giannis 2.0, but their games are eerily similar.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Doncic still No. 1 in post-lottery edition
Antetokounmpo could be nothing but a role player, but the Jazz have shown that they aren’t afraid to take chances on “so-so” prospects. (See Mitchell, Donovan). If they took Antetokounmpo, they may want to rename themselves the Utah Spurs with the load of international talent they’d have.