David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Bryan Kalbrosky
May 17, 2024 12:13 pm ET
Now that the 2024 NBA Draft Combine is officially behind us, there are several players who helped themselves quite a bit while participating in Chicago.
This was the first time that all players were required to participate in the event in order to get drafted. While the scrimmages were important, athletic testing and measurements were also impactful for all evaluators as well.
As such, Jared Dubin offered overall ratings for each prospect who participated in athletic testing (via Last Night In Basketball):
“bSPARQ is an offshoot of SPARQ, which stands for Speed Power Agility Reaction and Quickness, and it is a tool to measure the athleticism of NBA Draft prospects. SPARQ was originally developed by NIKE and some version of it has been used to measure the athleticism of athletes for several years. It is extremely popular among certain NFL teams, for example. By reverse-engineering the formula that was used to measure SPARQ for high-school athletes, we were able to create a similar metric to measure the athleticism of NBA prospects.”
Meanwhile, per Dubin, here is more on how those numbers translate:
“NBA% is the percentile of athleticism a player’s bSPARQ scores at his position. Those position designations are automated based on how a player was listed at the combine.”
Even though the testing is important, scrimmages carry significant weight as well. So with all of that in mind, here were the biggest winners after participation in Chicago:
1
Devin Carter
Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 16
NBA ATHLETICISM: 78th percentile (Wing)
Providence’s Devin Carter was perhaps the biggest winner from athletic testing at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. Here is more from Jeremy Woo (via ESPN):
“[A] solid day at the combine helped back up Carter’s reputation as one of the draft’s top defenders and athletes. He’ll be a strong consideration for teams searching for NBA-ready backcourt help, and presuming he takes this momentum into private workouts, Carter could feasibly come off the board as high as the late lottery.”
His athleticism ranked in the 78th percentile as a wing, per Dubin, and would have ranked in the 89th percentile as a combo guard and 98th percentile as a point guard.
Some of his closest physical comparisons include positively impactful defenders like De’Anthony Melton and Bruce Brown.
2
Zach Edey
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 23
NBA ATHLETICISM: 92nd percentile (Big)
We already knew that Zach Edey was the right size to make an impact in the NBA.
But he improved on his athletic testing since last year and Jonathan Givony reported that some teams are especially high on Edey (via ESPN):
“Edey has quite a few fans around the NBA at this point, and there are plenty of executives who say they have him ranked as a lottery pick, or even as a top-10 prospect because of how well he rates in their analytics models.”
3
Baylor Scheierman
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 35
NBA ATHLETICISM: 20th percentile (Wing)
Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman was a bit underwhelming during athletic testing. But he was a standout during scrimmages.
He is now considered “likely to receive consideration” in the first round, per ESPN’s Givony. FOX’s John Fanta added that Scheierman “could help an organization” immediately.
Jonathan Wasserman also liked the performance (via Bleacher Report):
“He’s one of the draft’s most accomplished shooters who’s also an excellent pick-and-roll player with high IQ and toughness to compensate for limited athleticism. Scheierman improved his case as a role-playing connector who could be ready for some rookie minutes.”
4
Oso Ighodaro
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 44
NBA ATHLETICISM: 91st percentile (Big)
Jeremy Woo was impressed with what he saw from the former Marquette star (via ESPN):
“Ighodaro had a good showing in Wednesday’s second scrimmage, scoring 11 points, on 4-for-4 shooting and hitting three free throws. He showcased his passing ability, effectiveness as a screener and defensive versatility, switching onto smaller players. However, he’s a non-shooter outside the paint, a below-average rebounder and lacks elite rim protection skills. A creative team might see more of his upside and envision a way to optimize him off the bench.”
5
KJ Simpson
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 45
NBA ATHLETICISM: 83rd percentile (Point)
John Fanta thinks that Simpson did well for himself in Chicago (FOX Sports):
“With a 40.5-inch max vertical, one of the best marks in the combine, the 6-2 guard has put together a great showing to build his stock. In game action, the Buffaloes product posted 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go along with three steals, displaying his defensive tenacity in the process. I really like Simpson for his aggressive nature and the ability to get downhill.”
6
Trentyn Flowers
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
CONSENSUS RANKING: 49
NBA ATHLETICISM: 85th percentile (Wing)
After spending last year playing in Australia’s NBL, Trentyn Flowers had a stellar showing at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. He was a clear standout in athletic testing and scrimmages.
Here is more analysis from Jonathan Givony (via ESPN):
“[He] ran the floor energetically in transition, stepped into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer smoothly and looked more competitive defensively than his reputation indicates, fighting over screens and holding his own. It was a good reminder of why he was a top 25 high school recruit and should give him some positive momentum, especially if he can have another strong showing in the final day of scrimmaging.”
Flowers had 12 points in less than 17 minutes during his first scrimmage, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with an excellent alley-oop dunk. Here is what one scout told Raphael Barlowe (via NBA Big Board):
“I don’t see why he’s not a first-round pick. I think he’s a good shooter, he can slash, finish in transition, and he’s got the size and length to defend. There are guys projected to go a lot higher in the draft, but the gap between them is really small, if there is a gap at all.”
His athleticism ranked in the 85th percentile as a wing, per Dubin, and would have ranked in the 93rd percentile as a combo guard and 99th percentile as a point guard.
7
Jamal Shead
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 54
NBA ATHLETICISM: 82nd percentile (Point)
Although he got hurt during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Houston’s Jamal Shead returned to the court for five-on-five scrimmages during the 2024 NBA Draft Combine.
Krysten Peek had nothing but praise for Shead (via Yahoo):
“Even not fully back at 100%, Shead was tough defensively, keeping players in front of him and fighting over screens. Offensively, he was the floor general we’ve seen for the last four years with Kelvin Sampson and Houston, finishing with 13 points and 6 assists in the final scrimmage. In a draft with a ton of small guards, Shead is going to dominate group workouts with teams and could hear his name called on draft night from a team that needs him to lead its second unit.”
Ricky O’Donnell also walked away with nothing but kindness for Shead (via SB Nation):
“Shead was the standout of the second scrimmage, which is no surprise if you watched his Houston career. He’s an elite on-ball defender for a guard, and turned into a solid scorer when he needed to for the Cougars this year. He looks like a potential second round steal.”
Meanwhile, a scout told Raphael Barlowe that they were blown away by Shead’s athletic testing (via NBA Big Board):
“I watched the lane agility test for Shead, and I legitimately don’t think I’ve ever seen that type of lateral quickness before. Unfortunately, right after showing the quickest side-to-side I’ve seen, he hit a cone. I feel like he could’ve set some type of combine record.”
8
Bronny James
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
CONSENSUS RANKING: 71
NBA ATHLETICISM: 78th percentile (Wing)
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony described this as a “positive week” in Chicago for Bronny James:
“He’s moved into the late second round of our latest projections. We’re going to have him at 54 in our next update. That’s all the way from the backend of our top 100. Talking to NBA people out here, they feel like he’s legitimized himself as a real NBA prospect. He’s not just some kind of sideshow, LeBron’s son … The way he shot the ball in drills, the athletic testing … he played a great role helping his team to a win, playing good defense, making shots, just showing his feel for the game, his versatility. People love his attitude, his enthusiasm, the way he understands what type of player that he is.”
Bronny led his team in scoring while securing a victory in his second scrimmage on Thursday and, as we noted, he did well in athletic testing as well.
He ranked in the 78th percentile as a wing, per Dubin, but would have ranked in the 89th percentile as a combo guard and 98th percentile as a point guard.
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