Frank Ntilikina

Things have not panned out for Frank Ntilikina as hoped when he was selected by the New York Knicks 8th overall in 2017. Phil Jackson, who selected him, was dismissed less than a week after the draft. He then had four different head coaches in his four seasons with the team.

New York hasn’t been a great place for young players to develop in recent history and Ntilikina is yet another example of that. The team was unable to get him to play with the same level of confidence consistently that he plays with during the international competition.

While he may never turn into a full-time point guard, there are enough tools to work with that Ntilikina can help contending teams. He showed an improved jump shot in limited action during the 2020-21 season, knocking down 23-of-48 of his 3-point attempts this past season.

The one thing that The French Prince can certainly bring teams is defense. While he has struggled to get things going offensively, he has already proven that he can be an elite defender in the NBA.

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Standing 6’4” with a 7’1” wingspan, Ntilikina is capable of defending every position in the backcourt and on the perimeter, providing a defensive weapon for contending teams to deploy late in games.