Also, the guy's leaping ability, at that size or otherwise, is INDEED a level of athleticism that would make him elite even on the NBA level. Check it out...
doesn't look like it. his left foot is just on the line when he takes above but still crazy athleticism for someone that size
Ballhandling and shooting will be key, but the dude will be able to step into the NBA and be one of the best athletes immediately.
I mean, the kid still has a year to improve and has youth and athleticism on his side but I'm VERY skeptical that he will be anything more than a bench player in the NBA unless he either grows another 3 inches or sheds a lot of weight and becomes a SF. He is just too short and lacks the lateral quickness to hang in the modern NBA where guards are nearly as tall as him and significantly faster side to side. He will be an exciting transition player, but his large frame coupled with his lack of length will not allow him to stay on an NBA roster for very long. If he can manage to improve his shot significantly and/or gets a late growth spurt and he can drop some weight, then I could see some potential there but he is going to have to be SUPER disciplined to do all those things in addition to having a little luck with his growth. Julius Randle is a good comp for him given they are both undersized but even with Randle leaning out considerably(and probably more offensively polished than Zion), he is a 9/mil a year fringe starter right now so I doubt there is much of an NBA future for Zion. Not trying to disparage the guy, but I mean those are the breaks for like 99% of us in the real world who didn't win the genetic lotto to even give us a chance to compete on that level. His athleticism will at least earn him a shot similar to Terrance Jones but for some perspective, Jones is taller and is currently playing on the Warriors...the Santa Cruz Warriors. All that said - he is a BEAUTIFUL dunker....would expect to see him playing in the Big3 league after his short NBA stint.
A 6' 10" wingspan at 6'6 isn't bad at all, its about league average for the NBA. He's no Kawhi Leonard, Trevor Ariza or even a James Harden in that department, but he's not Marvin Bagley/Blake Griffin. You can't really judge defense at the HS level, and his BF% isn't where it needs to be, but with NBA training alone he can dominate just by having Charles Barkley's measurements with Dwight Howard's weight+vertical.
How long can your knees, ligaments, and ankles take being 300 pounds and leaping like that? Seems like a recipe for injury risk.
His catch and shooting has improved tremendously over the summer alone. His rebounding ability is incredible and he's basically unstoppable in transition. Above all else, the thing I love about him the most and the reason why I expect him to be great is because his work ethic and willingness to get better is second to none. It's unfair to just call him a dunker because he's barely been able to show what he's capable of but he gave a little sample last night. The hoopmixtapes from high school definitely gassed him way too much and probably put unrealistic expectations on him. But he's not some terrible player like people make him out to be.
Today’s game is totally different- the SF of yesterday was almost like another big - now they are much more similar to guards. Barkley didn’t have to guard Kawhi, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Giannis, Lebron, etc. Zion doesn’t have the speed or length to battle with any of those guys.
And those guys can not bang with Barkely. They (except for LeBron) would get completely get used on the low block. Back in Barkley's day, the 3s,4s and 5s were bigger and defensively played in the paint. And prime Barkley still dominated. Can you image what Barkely would do in today's NBA with three defenders sitting on the 3 point line? Barkley was a once in a generation player. Zion has a shot at that as well. I am not saying the two are the same but ... LeBron is another athlete (also once in a generation) that is thickly built and has insane quickness and vertical. We will see.
I don’t think I have seen anyone say he is terrible - I personally I think teams would welcome Zion or even Sir Charles in the low post in this day and age(FWIW, I haven't seen any low post footage of Zion at all - don't think he has that type of basketball versatility like Chuck did). Unless you shoot a really really high FG% percentage in the post or your 3pt shooters are really bad, the 3pt shot is still the more efficient shot to take and if most of the league knows that and is orienting their rosters to that type of efficiency. I don't see how you can outpace an opponent around that playing with an old Barkley type of inside player. Who cares if you abuse a guy in the post for 30+pt a game if you still lose handily? The 2pt post show is less efficient and it takes longer to set up meaning you have less possession opportunities per game. Not to say those guys are completely worthless in this day and age(when you need a single bucket, you need a bucket) BUT this isn't a case where the pendulum is going to swing back the other direction one day to become low post centric. The efficiency numbers don't lie and unless the NBA decides to change the value of the 3pt shot, teams aren't going to revert to inside out play as long there is an advantage to be had playing outside in like the Warriors do. PLUS, Barkley would have been eaten alive by the SFs who dominate the league now - no way he could handle them defensively and the problem is teams build offenses now to specifically create mismatches in a way that wasn't true in Barkley's day. Barkley may get 35+ on the Warriors and lose by 25 because they take turns isolating Steph and Durant on Barkley and spread the floor and let them cook. ...but like you said - we will see.