New York Knicks: 3 options for the No. 27 pick in the NBA draft

New York Knicks NBA draft option No. 3: Malachi Flynn

Each NBA draft will typically have at least one player who unexpectedly rises up draft boards. It usually involves a standout performance during March Madness or something wingspan related at the draft combine. Malachi Flynn managed to do it without March Madness or the use of a traditional combine.

In The Atheltic‘s April mock draft, Sam Vecenie projected the Indiana Pacers to select Flynn with the 50th pick in the second round. By October, Vecenie had the Lakers choosing Flynn with the 28th pick.

Hoops Habit’s Larry Hammonds named Flynn one of the sleepers to watch in the first round, and Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo — who projected Flynn to the Knicks in his October mock — called Flynn one of the winners of the virtual combine. Apparently, Flynn is leaving a strong impression on teams in his interviews.

Flynn, 22, is an older prospect. He played two years at Washington State before transferring to San Diego State. Flynn drew interest via transfer from top programs like Gonzaga, Creighton, and Baylor.

But Flynn’s 2019-20 season was one of the best in college basketball. He guided the team to their third 30-win season (30-2) in school history. According to Kenpom’s adjusted rankings, the Aztecs were 10th in defensive efficiency, 11th in offensive efficiency, and 6th in efficiency margin.

Flynn had more win shares than anybody in college basketball last season, and he finished sixth in the country in box plus-minus. He was one of only six players in the country to average 15 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.

Flynn’s efforts on both ends helped him take home some hardware last season. He won both the Mountain West Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named consensus second-team All-American.

Flynn has no shortage of confidence, and that’s not a surprise. SDSU asked a lot out of their star player, but he always delivered. He’s an excellent decision-maker, especially in the pick and roll, and he knows it. When asked to give a rundown of his game to Matt Babcock, Flynn said:

"“I’m a really skilled player with a high IQ. I’m someone that can make good decisions with the ball, especially coming off pick-and-rolls, who’s tough-minded with everything that happens throughout the game. At the end of the day, I’m a confident player.”"

Flynn makes his teammates better without making mistakes as the primary ballhandler. Despite a high usage percentage (26.8 percent), Flynn only turned the ball over 57 times last season (1.8 per game) in 32 games played.

The young guard scored 1.06 points per pick and roll possession — 96th percentile — which is especially impressive given Flynn’s high-pressure role in the offense. His ability to make plays or pull up for threes off the screen will translate well to the modern NBA.

Flynn is an intelligent defender both on and off the ball. Despite being undersized, he’s able to fight over screens and anticipate passes to deflect passes or create steals.

But Flynn needs to improve his driving to be a complete player at the next level. He only attempted 21.1 percent of his shots at the rim last season.