#3 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 2021 NBA 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.
Being an overall playmaker is what has made Bouknight an interesting prospect and one of the reasons why the Golden State Warriors could be interested in him. It was very apparent this past season that the Warriors need more guys who can create for themselves and supply Curry with extra scoring, which is exactly what Bouknight can do.
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Given his length and his scoring abilities, Bouknight is a guy that could really thrive on a team that is willing to let him be a leader for the second-unit. 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 off-the-ball next to All-Star-caliber players.
With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all healthy, the Warriors will be back and competing for championships in no-time, but adding James Bouknight could actually help them succeed now and in the future. He has shown a lot of growth over the last two seasons at UConn and the Warriors do need more playmakers, which is why this fit could be spoken into existence.
James Bouknight is a crafty guard who can be a streaky shooter at times from beyond-the-arc, but overall, he has a ton of potential to grow into an all-around playmaker as a combo-guard. Finishing at the rim is his specialty, but Bouknight should really be classified as a three-level scorer.
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He may not have shot the ball at a high percentage from the mid-range or three-point line in college, but James Bouknight is going to be a guy teams look at as “instant offense” during the pre-draft process. The Golden State Warriors really need guys that can create offense, especially in their backcourt, which is why they could take a look at the 20-year-old guard with either the 7th pick or 14th pick this year.
Seeing as he can learn from two of the best backcourt players in the league in Steph and Klay, there is no reason why Bouknight should not want to be drafted by the Warriors. This fit seems like a win-win for both sides and it should not be surprising if Golden State used one of their two lottery picks on the UConn product.
