The 2021 NBA Draft will be an important event for teams to build for their future. Here is the Usman Garuba 2021 NBA Draft Profile.
Usman Garuba Background
Position:Â Power Forward
Size:Â 6-foot-8, 229 pounds
Country:Â Spain
Class:Â N/A
2020-21 stats: 4.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 blocks, 0.6 steals, 47.1% FG, 31.6% 3PT, 65.9% FT
Garuba is a Spanish international player, who has experience playing professionally. He will hope that professional experience will help him in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The 19-year-old has spent the entirety of his career with Real Madrid. He started off with their youth teams and then played for Real Madrid B starting in the 2017-2018 season. Garuba got the call up to the senior team at Real Madrid in 2019-2020. Over two full seasons on the senior team, Garuba averaged 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Garuba also has plenty of time spent on the Spanish youth national teams during his career and is on the roster for the 2020 Olympics (to be played in 2021).
After getting some quality professional experience, Garuba decided to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft. He is currently projected to be a mid to late first round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Strengths
Garuba has great athleticism and body control. He has quick feet, which help him at the defensive end. Because of his body control, he is even able to handle the ball decently well for a player his size. He can be an athletic mismatch, as well as a size mismatch for smaller players on the court. Garuba can push the ball in transition and gets plenty of baskets by running the floor well.
His defensive versatility will make him a desirable prospect. He is 6-foot-8, so he can guard on the inside, but his footspeed allows him to also guard on the perimeter. Garuba shows good defensive awareness and plays good team defense. On top of that, he plays hard on the defensive end, which makes him that much better.
He is very effective in the pick and roll, which is becoming more important in the way basketball is being played in the NBA. Garuba sets hard, but clean screens and then works his way to the basket well. He isn’t the most elite finisher, but he is effective enough to be a real threat.
Weaknesses
He needs to continue to work on his shooting. While he did shoot 31.6 percent from deep in all competitions in 2020-2021, Garuba was left wide open a lot. He also doesn’t shoot well from the line. Garuba will need to improve his form and speed up his shot. It takes him a while to set his feet and release the ball, which may not work at the NBA level.
Garuba could be a tweener in the NBA. The league is going smaller, so Garuba’s best bet to see the floor is as a small-ball 5. He is just 6-foot-8, so he may have trouble guarding the bigger players in the NBA. If his shooting doesn’t improve, it may be hard to play him at anything other than the 5, because he won’t be spacing the floor that well.
His best work at the offensive end comes off of transition, pick and rolls or when he decides to drive to the basket himself. He needs to continue to work on his offensive game. If he can be a player that consistently catches the ball in the post and finishes better, he can be a more complete player. Garuba will need to add moves to his game to become a more polished offensive player.
Projected Draft Range:Â Mid to late first round pick
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