#4 Moses Moody – Guard – Arkansas
A lot of the talk about this year’s NBA Draft is about how talented the top players in this draft class are, but there are a ton of other names that are classified as first-round picks that have a ton of potential to become a key talent in the league. One of these first-round talents with a lot of potential is Moses Moody out of Arkansas.
The 6’6” guard helped lead Arkansas to the Elite-8 for the first time since 1995 and he was among the nation’s best shooters all season long in college. For the Razorbacks, Moody averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and shot 35.8% from three-point range, which does not seem high, but he took over 5 three-point attempts per game.
Not only does he have the size to be a perfect match for the “modern day” shooting guard in the NBA, but Moses Moody uses his size and strength to score over smaller defenders either from the perimeter or on the drive. At the next level, Moody will definitely need to get strong in order to get the shots that he wants, especially on the drive, but this can be said about many prospects coming out of college and is not a major concern.
He is an elite level perimeter player and his game will easily translate to the next level as a result. Overall, Moses Moody is the ideal “catch-and-shoot” shooting guard in today’s NBA and whether it is running to a spot in transition or stepping out on the perimeter in a half-court set, the young guard always seems to find an open spot on the court and his high release makes it hard for opponents to contest his shot.
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Right now, Oklahoma City is just looking for ways to add the best talent they can to their roster, but they could definitely use some more shooters on their roster. The Oklahoma City Thunder shot 33.9% from deep as a team this past season, ranking them 29th in the league in this category.
Moses Moody is a guy who can join the Thunder and immediately make an impact as a high-level catch-and-shoot threat on the wing or in the corner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the main facilitator for this team and with other guys like Dort and Bazley showing the ability to score on their own, not much attention will be on Moody, allowing him to be a knockdown shooter early on in his career.
At 19-years-old, Moody is also still growing as an all-around player and has a very bright future as a scorer in this league. Playing with a bunch of other young, athletic talents could be exactly what the Arkansas product needs to be one of the premier players from this year’s draft class.
