Case for Josh Christopher - Possibly Best Value Pick w/ All-star Potential

Wanted to post this before Summer League starts, as he may have some mediocre/bad games and cloud everyone's judgement.

The #2 pick was always going to be Green vs. Mobley. #16 and #23 were amazing picks that most pundits/fans agreed were fantastic. However, there's a ~50/50 split on the #24 pick Josh Christopher and how some other players like Jaden Springer may be better for the Rockets.

I think Josh Christopher is an absolute steal at #24 and if it wasn't for his poor shooting performance and injury which cut his to play to only 15 games, he would have been a lottery pick. This is also the PERFECT time to bet on someone with a higher ceiling and lower floor. Christopher actually may have a higher floor than what most people think, so this is why I like the pick so much.

PROs

Defense - 96th percentile in Steals rate (one of the best markers to gauge elite defenders), 95th percentile in defensive rebounding. Work extremely hard on defense to fight through screens, rebound, man-up, etc.

Offense - 94th percentile on attacking the rim efficiency and 88th percentile on shot creation proficiency. 1.373 points per transition (91% percentile). Just watch his highlight tapes and you'll see he has elite handles for someone his size with excellent athleticism.

Shooting - How can this be a "pro" when he shot only 30.5% on 3s? Well, his FT% was 80%. He shot 12-29 (41.4%) on guarded catch and shoots with 1.17 PPP, which is HIGHER than Corey Kispert, Davion Mitchell, and James Bouknight. However, he only shot 1-13 on unguarded ones. There is also small sample size as he shot 59 threes total in the 15 games. This means his shot can definitely improve and he may be able to make difficult shots in the NBA.

Size - 6' 4.5 (w/ shoes) and 6' 9.25 wingspan. Longer than Eric Gordon - 6'3.25 (w/shoes), 6'9 wingspan and Jrue Holiday - 6'4 (w/ shoes) and 6'7 wingspan. 215 pounds at age 19 is bigger than most wings. Jaden Springer is 6'4.25 (w/ shoes), 6'7.75 wingspan and at 204 pounds.

Athleticism - Elite in this category. Just watch any of his highlight tapes.

All-Star Potential - As with reasons above, he is a 3 level scorer with potential to be an above average defender.

Pedigree - #10-12th best high school player by most scouting websites. Remember, this is an elite class where 7 players were top 10 picks in this draft. He is the next best one on the list.

Cons

Shooting - If he does not improve with a larger sample size, it will be difficult for him to get playing time. However, with the reasons above, I don't think this is the case.

Passing - Definitely needs to get better in this category. Has tunnel vision at times. Not sure if this is because of his non-NBA caliber teammates, but this remains to be seen.

Overall

Josh Christopher is a potential 3 level scorer with elite athleticism, and potential above average defender with all star potential, although he is likely to be a really good 6th man type 3/D+ player on a contender. He has shown the ability to make tough 3 point shots with great efficiency and if his shooting is above average, he may be one of the better value picks in the first round.

If he had a larger sample size I can easily see him going in the late lottery.

Credit

https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/20...h-christopher-arizona-state-memphis-grizzlies

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/josh-christopher-1.html

 

This is where I'm so excited with this kid. People often compare Jalen Green to Kobe (whether or not you think it's fair) because of his work ethic, but Christopher is the same (they even played on the same AAU team). He just doesn't always state he wants to be the best, but he puts in work by most accounts.