With the NBA Draft weeks away, let’s dissect and analyze R.J. Hampton’s season with the New Zealand Breakers and where he might fall in the NBA 2020 Draft.
News cycles exploded in May of 2019 when R.J. Hampton — a projected lottery pick going into the 2020 NBA draft — “skipped” college and the NCAA to play professionally in the NBL in Australia, signing with the New Zealand Breakers.
American players in the past such as the OKC Thunder’s Terrance Ferguson have also followed this pathway called the “Next Stars” program. This was also the pathway that got LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton into the NBL.
Hampton wasn’t the primary option on the Breakers, like any professional sports team the goal is to win and a wiry 18-year-old isn’t going to be able to do that. Head coach Dan Shamir only had Hampton play 20.6 minutes per game in a 40-minute FIBA league. He started 13 of a possible 15 games.
Hampton was a productive piece on the team and showed he is a very capable playmaker – especially in the pick and roll. He was able to be a starter and transition into a secondary ball-handler and backup guard when it was asked of him.
The potential with Hampton is evident with his skill set as a hyper-athletic driver and as a light-footed defender, he can grow into being a two-way guard who is switchable on defense and can be a threat as a scorer and as a facilitator.
The keyword that comes up when you speak about Hampton is “project” — he is solid in many aspects, a jack of all trades. Hampton is raw as a prospect and his speed/athleticism is the only real outstanding quality, but we’ve seen players like Russell Westbrook be described like that so what does an NBA team get if they drafted R.J. Hampton?
2020 NBA Draft Profile
Name: R.J. Hampton
Height: 6’5″ (6’7” Wingspan)
Weight: 190 lbs.
Position: Guard
School/Club: New Zealand Breakers
NBA Comparison: Jordan Clarkson, Dante Exum
2019-2020 statistics
8.8 PPG
3.9 RPG
2.4 APG
40.7 FG%
29.5 3P%
67.9 FT%