It’s difficult to comprehend how a player who played just over 21 minutes per game for his college team could be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, but that’s the situation in which Devin Booker finds himself. Certainly last year’s Kentucky team was not a typical college squad, though. Booker’s minutes load, or lack thereof, is more of an indication that he played on the deepest college team ever than anything else.
When Booker was in the game for Kentucky, he demonstrated one skill in particular that allowed him to make a major impact. Since deadeye shooters have incredible value in today’s pace and space NBA, that skill just so happens to be the reason he is coveted by teams at the next level.
Nearly half (49 percent) of all Booker’s shots in his lone season at Kentucky were 3-pointers, and he knocked down an impressive 41 percent of those attempts. The impeccable balance he demonstrates on his rise coupled with beautiful, compact form and a high release point on every shot prevents variance and allows him to create a relatively clean look for himself from anywhere on the court.
Most of Booker’s threes (98 percent) were assisted, but he is not a one-dimensional shooter who can only spot-up. He moves well off the ball with little wasted movement, and he’s highly capable of splashing a shot through the net after curling off of a pin down screen or after pump-faking a defender and dribbling into a pull-up jumper.
Booker is not one to put the ball on the floor much, but he rarely takes more than one or two dribbles before pulling up for a jumper when he does. He will need to improve his ball-handling ability, because performing the same pull-up jumper almost every time he dribbles will quickly become predictable and easy to key on at the next level. At the very least, he’s not going to turn the ball over often when he dribbles. His turnover percentage last season stood at an impressive 10.4.
A big reason why he usually settles for pull-up jumpers rather than continuing to the rack is because he understands his limitations. At 6-6 and 206 pounds, Booker has great size for a shooting guard, but his explosive ability is lacking. On the rare occasion he gets all the way to the basket, he predominantly finishes below the rim.
Even though he lacks elite athleticism, Booker charging in the lane looking to utilize his sturdy frame to absorb contact from a defender and finish strong would be a welcome sight. Far too frequently, he has a defender on his hip with an opportunity to take the ball all the way to the rim, but he opts for a floater or a lower-percentage midrange jumper instead because that’s what feels comfortable. Perhaps he can be coached out of that habit, but it’s unlikely that he will ever become much more explosive than he is currently.
Aside from being able to shoot the lights out, Booker’s excellent spatial awareness allows him to add value offensively. In the halfcourt offense, he is able to track the eyes of defenders and cut as soon as they turn their heads away from him towards the ball-handler. That usually creates a wide-open look for Booker at the rim, which mitigates the problem his lack of athleticism often poses around the basket. He also has a great understanding of when to leak out in transition, and he’s capable of filling the proper lane and finishing or dishing it off to an open teammate for a better shot.
As a passer, Booker is capable of doing more than dumping the ball off to an open teammate in transition. He won’t hurt his team by making stupid passes, and he makes the right decision more often than not. He’s not going to make many fancy passes, but that’s preferable to forcing the issue. He is a willing passer which is what is important at this early stage in his development. His distributing skills could easily expand as he grows accustomed to the speed of the professional game.
Defensively, Booker is both big and strong enough not to get pushed around by other NBA shooting guards. Being bullied back towards the rim shouldn’t be a problem for him. Staying in front of quicker guards is likely to be the major issue. Despite his solid defensive stance, good footwork, and decent ability to fight through screens, his average lateral quickness is a hindrance. Quick guards at the college level were able to expose him with regularity, so you can only imagine what NBA guards will be able to do. It’s likely that he will only be able to guard one position at the next level which limits his defensive versatility. That’s undesirable in today’s increasingly position-less NBA.
Concerns about how length might affect Booker on the defensive end at the next level abound as well. His wingspan was measured at 6-8.25 at the combine, which is not great for someone his height. In college, he was barely a factor in terms of steals and blocks. There is no reason to project anything different for him in those categories when he gets to the Association.
Overall, it’s easy to see the appeal of a player like Booker for a lottery team. Great shooters will always be valuable commodities, and his ability to knock down shots in myriad situations sweetens the pot because he can fit in any system. He’s the youngest player in the draft, so the team that drafts him will have plenty of time to mold him into something even more useful than his current form.
Even if Booker never develops into much more than a sharpshooter, that might still be enough to earn him multiple NBA contracts.