NBA Draft 2017: 5 best perimeter defenders available
By Connor Learn
Perimeter defense is more important than ever before in the NBA. Which draft prospects will be the best defenders at the next level?
As NBA basketball becomes more perimeter-oriented offensively, the value of perimeter defenders has risen. Smaller, more skilled lineups league-wide have placed extra importance on capable wing defenders. Record-setting shooting has forced more teams to switch screens defensively, which has placed an extra emphasis on acquiring players with defensive versatility as well. Nearly every team in the league could use more perimeter defense on their roster as a result of these latest league trends.
Last summer showed just how much teams value versatile players who are solid perimeter defenders. Solomon Hill got $48 million from New Orleans. Courtney Lee got $50 million from the Knicks. Evan Turner got $70 million and Allen Crabbe got $75 million from Portland. JaMychal Green, Andre Roberson, P.J. Tucker, Jonathon Simmons and Tony Snell will demonstrate the same again this summer. The same concept of valuing perimeter defense in team building applies to the NBA Draft, where prospects who project as good perimeter defenders could be drafted higher now than they might in other years.
Here is a look at the five best perimeter defenders in the 2017 Draft:
5. Frank Ntilikina, France
Belgian-born Ntilikina has firmly established himself as a top ten pick. He is the best defensive point guard in this year’s class (with respect to De’Aaron Fox’s talent, he has short arms and a slight build). Ntilikina still needs to develop his shooting abilities and get better at penetrating defenses to becoming a starting caliber point man, but defensively he should be ready to shine from day one.
Ntilikina stands 6-foot-5 with a freakish 7-foot-1 wingspan. He moves well and has good hands and feet, like good defensive guards should. At only 19, he understands the game beyond his years and could yet fill out his thin frame as he matures. Ntilikina moves well and stands out defensively against most point guards. He still has lapses in focus and can be beaten with physicality like many young players, but those can be corrected over time. What is important now is that he has all of the tools needed to become one of the league’s best defensive point guards.
Recent draft gurus have pointed out the similarities between Ntilikina and recent lottery pick Dante Exum. Both players were lauded for their defensive potential and showed developing offensive skills that suggested they would become solid starting point guards. But through Exum’s first two years in the league, he is still severely lacking in NBA caliber offensive tools. However, his floor is as a good backup defender because of his athletic prowess. The same stands true for Ntilikina; this comparison shouldn’t scare teams. He could become Exum, George Hill, or even a wing like Marcus Smart has in Boston. Ntilikina could become unlike any other point guards during his career. His development will obviously determine what he becomes, but his defense will get him minutes first.