A scouting report on NBA draft prospect Jalen Williams:
- Position: Wing
- Height: 6-4.5 (without shoes)
- Weight: 209 pounds
- School: Santa Clara
The 21-year-old Williams is poised to become the first Santa Clara player drafted since Steve Nash in 1996.
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He spent one fewer year at the school than Nash, declaring for the draft after averaging 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists his junior year.
Strengths
By all accounts, essentially everything Williams did at the draft combine boosted his stock. Williams impressed in the scrimmages, posted a 39-inch max vertical leap, and measured in with a 7-2.25 wingspan. That was the highest wingspan of any non-big man.
Though Williams is older than most of the players who will be chosen in the first round, his game is rising. He showed last season that he’s a three-level scorer adept at nuanced tricks of the trade like knowing when and how to shift pace and shield off defenders. He also was an excellent catch-and-shoot player. Per NBA.com, Williams’ 1.41 points per catch-and-shoot jumper in the half court ranked in the 97th percentile. Overall, he shot 39.6 percent from three-point range and 80.9 percent from the foul line.
NBA
The conventional NBA model of needing a “backup point guard” is likely a tad outdated. Regardless of the team situation, it’s always valuable to have players who can run pick-and-rolls, set teammates up, and make solid plays when opponents force stars to relinquish the ball. Williams is promising in those ways, plus he appears to possess the size, athleticism and intelligence necessary to defend point guards, wings and perhaps some power forwards.
Williams didn’t commit many turnovers and flashed off-ball savviness as a cutter, two nice traits for NBA role players.
Weaknesses
Williams told ESPN’s draft analyst Mike Schmitz (soon to be Trail Blazers assistant general manager) that he’s been focusing on “guarding people my height” after frequently defending smaller ball handlers in the West Coast Conference. Guarding veteran NBA wings will be a major adjustment.
The disparity between the WCC and NBA is also worth considering with Williams offensively. Creating separation off the dribble and shooting comfortable mid-range jumpers over his defender will be much trickier. Williams’ year-to-year development, well-rounded package and catch-and-shoot skill are all encouraging, but we’d be surprised if he becomes a star.
Three-point shooting will presumably be integral if Williams pans out as a strong role player. Williams’ long-range jumper looks good — simple, low-effort form — but he wasn’t a high-volume three-point shooter. He also made only 27.4 percent of his threes as a sophomore.
It’s not remotely a make-or-break area, but Williams was a relatively unproductive rebounder given his physical traits.
Fit
The concept is basic, but the Sixers would benefit from adding two-way, multi-skilled players who can contribute late in the postseason. Williams clearly has that potential.
His playmaking should also appeal to a team that often used Furkan Korkmaz as a main second-unit ball handler before acquiring James Harden.