NBA Draft 2019: Player comparisons for all projected first round picks
By Trevor Marks
27. Goga Bitadze, C, Georgia/Buducnost (6-11, 7-2, 250lbs)
Player Comparison: smaller Jusuf Nurkic with fluidity and ball skills (6-11, 7-2, 280lbs)
European bigs are, essentially every single year, compared to other European bigs — this year is no different! Similar to Portland Trail Blazer and giant human being Jusuf Nurkic, Bitadze is a similarly large center capable of leveraging his frame/strength in the post, on the boards, and on the defensive end. He’s not as strong nor as heavy as Nurkic, but Bitadze does boast better fluidity, ball skills, and touch on his jumper, yet the two players are still relatively similar in build and style.
26. Grant Williams, F, Tennessee (6-8, 6-10, 240lbs)
Player Comparison: Boris Diaw’s skills + PJ Tucker’s body
No matter where you turn, perhaps the most common comparison for Grant Williams is Houston Rockets power forward PJ Tucker, whose build is similarly stout and dense to that of the Tennessee product. This comparison falls flat on its own, though, since their physical traits are the only shared characteristics: Williams boasts superior passing, ball skills, post scoring, and touch, while Tucker is largely a stand-still three-point shooter and defensive bruiser. Tucker doesn’t play with the strong finesse that Williams plays with — insert Boris Diaw, one of the more savvy bigs to play in the NBA in the past couple decades, who was quite large (OK, fat) but offered unique playmaking and ball-handling at his size. If Tucker were to possess Diaw’s offensive skills, you’d get something similar to Williams. (It’s not perfect, but comparisons rarely are.)
25. Admiral Schofield, F, Tennessee (6-5, 6-10, 241lbs)
Player Comparison: Justin Anderson (6-6, 7-0, 230lbs)
Admiral Schofield and Justin Anderson are a pair of short, stocky, jacked small forwards who both received questions over their transition to the next level and both garnered late-first, early-second round buzz leading up to their respective drafts. They’re similar from a physical perspective, and their per-100 possessions start from their final college seasons (Schofield’s senior season in 2018-19 and Anderson’s junior season in 2014-15) are quite similar, too:
- Schofield: 29.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 blocks on .474/.418/.698
- Anderson: 29.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.3 blocks on .466/.452/.780
Take with that what you will.