2020 NBA draft profile: International prospect LaMelo Ball

Strengths: Finishing

When LaMelo Ball is focused on attacking the rim — rather than taking his third contested early-shot clock three for the game. Ball can be both a violent dunker or a sleek and graceful finisher off the glass.

When you take his field goal percentage into account, he shot an abysmal 37.0 percent from the field, if you go off his two-point field goal percentage (removing the awful 3s he’s taken) it’s a more palatable 45.8 percent.

Ball is more than capable of being a Ben Simmons-Esque driver, obviously with less size but the playbook still applies – drive to the basket, find cutters or open shooters if not, dunk it or lay it in. Unlike Simmons, Ball is more than willing to take outside shots — and when they are falling it allows him to bite at the defense to create more open drives when they react to his hesitations.

He often falls back on a floater (which is reliable but he uses it too far out) when he feels like he can’t get over guys. More often than not the floaters he takes actually aren’t necessary and drawing a foul by driving with his length would be a better (and more efficient) choice.

His overall athleticism and length are a great starting point to an already gifted basketball player, his natural touch has been tested in the NBL and he’s proven can score in a professional league, rather than just against high schoolers or college kids his age.

If there’s one knock on his scoring around the basket it’s the frequency he attempts to make highlight plays or gets “too cute”. In most cases, he’s able to just lay it in normally or dunk it but tends to go for the “jelly” type moves.

Ball loves taking difficult, inefficient shots that would make a coach pull their hair out, now it’s time to dive into the weaknesses.