Ranking the 10 best lockdown defensive prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft
By Rowan Kent
Best Defensive Player #7: Rayan Rupert, New Zealand Breakers
Unlike the past few seasons, there isn’t a young player in Australia’s NBL that figures to crash the NBA lottery due to their massive potential. Just because a player won’t go in the lottery, however, doesn’t mean that a player like Rayan Rupert doesn’t deserve first-round consideration.
Rupert is a definite project, as he’s still young and has fairly rudimentary ball-skills on offense. On defense, however, he’s already a pesky wing defender. He has a 7’3” wingspan, which he uses to harass drives, disrupt passes, and thwart shots at the rim. Coupled with his great leaping ability and reflexes, all of Rupert’s tools make him into a plus defender:
Wanted to highlight these two defensive plays by Rayan Rupert late in the 4th quarter that ultimately helped his team win the game. Elite defensive prospect for a wing as he incredible tools with a 7’3” wingspan. Very versatile on defense. Can take a team out of their offense. pic.twitter.com/MRZqjYgePg
— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) October 15, 2022
Whoever drafts Rupert will need to give him a lot of time and space in the G-League to let him reach his ceiling, but on a young team, he could both get valuable minutes and have the chance to show the rest of the NBA how good of a defender he is today and can be tomorrow.