NBA Draft: Five sleepers to consider in the first round

NBA draft sleeper No. 5: Malachi Flynn

Well what do you know, another conference DPOY winner makes the list. Malachi Flynn, won the 2019-2020 Mountain West Conference DPOY, MWC Player of the Year, and was named to the WMC All-Defense team and first-team All-WMC.

He accomplished all that while leading the Aztecs to 30-2 record and a conference title.

Flynn averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game last season for the Aztecs, while posting .441/.373/.857 shooting splits. Synergy has him in the 91st percentile for overall offense.

Last season, Flynn averaged an astonishing 1.325 PPP when shooting with less than four seconds left on the shot clock, placing him in the 98th percentile according to Synergy.

According to Real Gm, Flynn either scored or assisted on 40.6 percent of his team’s baskets in his lone season at San Diego State.

He’s like an artist painting with both hands the way he delivers accurate passes through traffic using both hands to the cutter or the open shooter. According to Synergy, Flynn ranks in the 94th percentile passing out of the pick and roll (1.28 PPP).

He’s an amazing perimeter scorer who can stop on a dime and pull up from anywhere off the dribble. He connected on 76 of 204 3-point attempts (37.3 percent).

Similar to Patrick Beverly, Flynn is a pesky, hard-nosed defender. He does a good job making ball handlers uncomfortable and intercepting passes when defending off-ball.  He was credited with 126 steals across 94 college games.

He isn’t very fast and he isn’t a great athlete either, but he does a good job changing pace, using his elite footwork, and well timed hesitation moves to create space between him and the defender. His height will make him susceptible to blocks when attacking the paint against bigger and more athletic players in the NBA, but he his a crafty finisher around the rim.

You can see some these skills on display in the clip below provided by swish cultures:

Still, with all that being said, he’s projected to be a second round pick. Many teams will unwittingly pass up on the undersized 6’1″ point guard from San Diego State on draft night but the team that selects Flynn will luck out. He’s a high I.Q. guard with a reliable outside shot that has the skill and mental toughness to run an NBA offense.

As of right now, the Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Knicks, and hold picks 26, 27, and 28 respectively and all of them could use a playmaking point guard who’s also a perimeter threat.