“Who does he remind you of?”
It’s a common refrain when talking about NBA Draft prospects. A player comparison is an easy way for someone unfamiliar with a player to get an idea of his style or potential. It’s also tricky because it’s hard to do accurately.
When talking to scouts or front office personnel, they are hesitant to make player comparisons (at least publicly) for two reasons. First, every player is unique and there is no perfect match, it’s always a little flawed. Second, the established player brings baggage to the comparison. In this year’s mix below, Darius Acuff Jr. gets compared in style to Kyrie Irving, but Irving is a Hall of Fame player, which is an unfair burden to put on any player.
Still, NBC Sports reached out to and spoke with a number of sources around the league in recent weeks (and longer in some cases), and here is what they said.
AJ Dybantsa, 6’9″ wing, BYU
Player comp: Bigger Jaylen Brown; Kawhi Leonard; Tracy McGrady
Dybantsa is one of the hardest players to find a good comparison for — he is a physical, powerful downhill driver with incredible coordination who can get into the paint and finish or draw the foul. However, what makes comparisons difficult are his size and physical profile, which is just otherworldly.
Jaylen Brown is the comp most used by the people NBC Sports spoke with — but more the current, All-NBA Brown than the guy who came out of college. What Brown and Dybantsa share is an ability to get to their spots and make shots, but Dybantsa is just bigger and a tough shot maker. It is his size that had one league source using Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady as a comp.
One other comp that comes up a lot with Dybantsa is Kawhi Leonard, because of the physicality and the level some backers think he can reach. There is no wing harder to keep from getting to his spot than a healthy Leonard. Dybantsa would do well to model his game after that.
Darryn Peterson, 6’5″ guard, Kansas
Player comp: Devin Booker; Jamal Murray with better defense
Booker is the name that comes up most often, and it’s easy to see why in some respects. Peterson is a big guard who can score from all three levels and can just take over a game that way, much like Booker (who has dropped 70 in a game). However, Peterson sees himself more as a point guard — even if Bill Self didn’t use him that way as much at Kansas (health was a factor) — which is why a comparison with peak playoff Jamal Murray makes sense. Or maybe a bigger Damian Lillard (with some defense).
One comp I like with Peterson, in terms of impact and style, is peak Paul George. It’s not apples-to-apples because George is taller and a wing, but the ability to get buckets, lift up teammates and defend all match up.
Cameon Boozer, 6’8″ forward, Duke
Player comp: Young Kevin Love
Much like Dybantsa, it’s hard to come up with a good Boozer comparison because he is already so polished as a player, and he doesn’t fit neatly into pre-existing molds. The first time I saw Boozer play in person, and a scout threw out Kevin Love’s name, it was easy to see the comparison (although Boozer is ahead of Love coming out of college). It’s the ability to pass, shoot, and use footwork to score around the bucket, but more importantly, just process the game faster than anyone else on the floor. Boozer just makes good decision after good decision.
Caleb Wilson, 6’9″ forward, North Carolina
Player comp: Chris Bosh; Bigger, more athletic Pascal Siakam
People tend to think of Chris Bosh as that other guy in Miami with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and that sells him short. Way short. He was a five-time All-Star and All-NBA player who averaged 24 points and 10.8 boards a game while shooting 36.7% from 3 the season before he went to Miami. No player made a bigger sacrifice in Miami for that team to win than Bosh.
Wilson has unbelievable athleticism and can be a defensive force right away, but his ability to develop a perimeter game — as Bosh did — is the key to reaching his ceiling. Siakiam is another player who developed a perimeter game over time and is long and athletic, the model Wilson can follow.
Darius Acuff Jr., 6’2″ point guard, Arkansas
Player comp: Damian Lillard; Trae Young
In terms of pure style, Acuff’s game looks a lot like Kyrie Irving’s — great handles, plays the angles, is a below-the-rim player who can shoot — except he’s not as quick as Kyrie, and living up to Irving’s accomplishments (champion, Rookie of the Year, nine-time All-Star) is an unfair burden to put on Acuff. Also, Acuff is built a little more like Jalen Brunson, and that is another player Acuff’s style gets compared to.
That said, Trae Young and Damian Lillard are the best matches because both are offenses unto themselves (or Lillard was at his peak), but their defense limits their teams’ ceilings. That doesn’t have to be the case, Acuff can focus and become a better defender (Young has improved in recent seasons, Brunson is a good comp here) but that’s the way league sources talking to NBC Sports have projected Acuff.
Player comp: Tyrese Haliburton (but slower); Josh Giddey
It’s not just me who thinks Wagler’s game has some shades of Haliburton, Wagler himself does. Here is what he said on ESPN during the NBA Draft Combine:
“I’d definitely say I watch a lot of Tyrese Haliburton. I think I can play a little bit like him just off of, you know, my passing ability, my shooting ability and just making the right read all the time.”
Wagler is not as quick or athletic as Haliburton, and Wagler is going to have to prove he can be as good a decision maker as Haliburton (one of the best in the game). What Wagler has is a game that’s a little unorthodox, he’s not going to be rushed, and that can be developed.
Kingston Flemings, 6’2″ guard, Houston
Player comp: De’Aaron Fox; Derrick White
San Antonio’s Fox comes up most often as a name because he is quick with the ball and his speed in transition or just getting downhill puts pressure on a defense. Flemings is dynamic on offense — he came in as a freshman to a Houston team that had just come off appearing in the national championship game and quickly became the guy with the keys to the offense.
Fox and White also both come up because Flemings works hard on the defensive end. He may not be as good a defender as either Fox or White because Flemings measured a little smaller at the combine (6’2″) and he’s thin and has to get stronger, but the effort is there.
Brayden Burries, 6’4″ guard, Arizona
Player comp: Desmond Bane; Derrick White
Burries projects as a physical two-way combo guard, which is why the names of Bane and White came up in comparisons for him. Burries will walk in the door of whichever team drafts him with an NBA body already, and he can contribute as a rookie. What Burries also brings, as do both Bane and White — as well as young players such as Brandin Podziemski — is grit and scrappiness. That will serve him well at the next level.
Mikel Brown Jr., 6’4″ guard, Louisville
Player comp: LaMelo Ball; Darius Garland
Brown is an elite playmaker who his supporters think can thrive in the pace and space of the NBA more than he did in a more clogged up offense at Louisville. That’s where the LaMelo Ball comparison comes in — both are dynamic, entertaining playmakers that can be hard to take your eyes off of, guys who can score or make a pass out. It also fits because both can be a little out of control or make poor decisions, leading to turnovers.
Brown is interesting heading into the draft because he’s a bit polarizing, but teams that believe they can develop his decision-making see a future All-Star in him. He could be taken anywhere from 5-10 in a wide open stretch of the draft.
Aday Mara, 7’3″ center, Michigan
Player comp: Zach Edey; Brook Lopez; Marc Gasol
Mara is interesting because he is not just a big body who can protect the paint using his size — think Edey — but he’s also a very good passer. Gasol, a former Defensive Player of the Year, is a little bit aspirational for Mara, but the idea that he can be the hub of an offense because of his passing skills is where the comparison comes from.
Mara’s jump shot may be the key on offense. If he can develop it, that’s where the Lopez comparisons come in, because he can shoot and pass. However, Mara has work to do to get there.
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