#4 James Bouknight – Guard – UCONN
Draft stocks are constantly shifting ahead of the NBA Draft and one guy’s stock that keeps getting higher and higher is James Bouknight out of UConn. While he only played in 15 games with the Huskies this past year, Bouknight averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and shot 44.7% from the floor, cementing himself as one of the best finishers and scorers at the guard position in this draft class.
The first thing you think of when you see James Bouknight out on the court is how long he is for a guard and how well he creates opportunities not just for himself, but for others as well. Offense is scoring is what you get with this guy and plenty of teams in the first-round will be monitoring him heading into the draft.
At the NBA Draft Combine, James Bouknight measured in at just under 6’5” and he measured a 6’8.25” wingspan. He did not play in any of the scrimmages, nor participate in any of the agility/strength drills, but the 20-year-old guard has seemed to lock-in his spot in the mid first-round range because of his play at UConn.
The best part of Bouknight’s game besides his ability to score is his ability to crash the offensive glass. He averaged 1.5 offensive boards per game this past season and while that does not seem like a lot, he created plenty of second-chance points for his team.
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Washington does have Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal as their primary ball-handlers in the backcourt, but Raul Neto and Ish Smith are both free agents this offseason. The Wizards need some more young talent in their second-unit that can learn from both Westbrook and Beal, which is why going after Bouknight could make a lot of sense.
Given his length and his scoring abilities, Bouknight is a guy that could really thrive in a system like Washington’s, which has established stars already running things. Early on in his career, he may struggle if he is thrown into a position where he has to create for not just himself but everybody else, but he will likely be utilized as a scorer next to either Westbrook or Beal, depending on which one is out of the game.
READ MORE: 2021 NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Who improved their stock most during the combine?
The Wizards could utilize Bouknight sort of as a “sixth-man” type of guy and use him as a “plug-and-play” guard. Not only will this be beneficial to his development, but he could definitely thrive off of other guys getting more attention than him on offense.
Bouknight’s draft stock has fluctuated between being a potential lottery pick to being a 20-30 pick in the first-round, but one thing we do know about him is that this kid has a lot of potential to grow into a key offensive weapon for any team he is on. With experienced veteran guards to learn from, he could become a player we look back on in the 2021 NBA Draft and wonder why he did not go higher than he did.
