Frank Ntiilkina holds the honor of being the standout international prospect in this summer’s NBA Draft, but can he make an impact when he arrives in the league?
Who Is Frank Ntilikina?
In a draft loaded with more top college prospects than there has been for a number of years, Frank Ntilikina stands out as the most intriguing player likely to declare from overseas.
Born in Belgium to Rwandan parents, Ntilikina is a French national having lived in Strasbourg since he was only three years old. That connection has extended further into his professional life, as having made his way up through the club’s academy system, Ntilikina is now thriving with professional basketball club Strasbourg IG.
Still, it’s not necessarily club basketball that has had the biggest impact on the 18-year-old’s potential path to the NBA.
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At Strasbourg, Ntilikina has had to battle with tested veterans on a strong and established team for floor time, but with the French national team he has had the opportunity to impress.
Ntilikina has taken full advantage of the considerable audiences that FIBA’s underage tournaments can attract, starring for the French teams at both the 2015 and 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships.
Having claimed MVP honors after leading France to victory at the 2016 staging, which took place in December, in many ways Ntilikina’s timing could not be better from an NBA perspective.
That’s enough background, though. Let’s take a closer look at more specific elements of Ntilikina’s game.
Next: Strengths
Strengths
For as much as Ntilikina has a wide range of intriguing skills, it’s his physical gifts and how they could mesh with his basketball abilities that are most exciting.
From a measurements perspective, Ntilikina represents close to the ideal mold for the modern NBA point guard. The Frenchman stands at 6’5″ tall, and is widely reported to possess a 7’0″ wingspan — although official measurements have yet to surface.
This combination of long arms and lengthy strides screams out two-way potential, and that is what Ntilikina has started to show in his recent play.
Ntilikina told the New York Times in January that he was “learning to use his prodigious wingspan, measured at around seven feet, to disturb opposing players, eliminating passing angles and making them think twice about shooting”.
Not only should this ultimately allow him to stifle smaller guards with heavy on-ball pressure, but Ntilikina has good hands which will allow him to be a pest in the passing lanes, and even cover occasional close outs on late rotations from teammates.
Offensively, Ntilikina has shown the ability to finish athletically at the rim, pick out teammates in transition and off drives, and even knock down mid-range and three-point shots. The skills are certainly there, but the challenge will be to put it all together.
One of the biggest knocks on Ntilikina used to be his shooting range, but as Mike Schmitz of Draft Express acknowledged following his latest FIBA exploits, he has “answered a lot of questions about his outside shot”
If anything, this would seem to be just one example of how Ntilikina has benefited from playing with accomplished professionals at club level. Although point guard projects to be his position long term, Strasbourg’s more polished point guard options have forced the youngster into playing shooting guard at times. That off-ball experience looks to have rounded out Ntilikina’s game, and should make him all the more versatile in the future.
Next: Weaknesses
Weaknesses
Although Ntilikina will need to put on some weight upon arriving in the NBA, the biggest challenge he’s going to face isn’t going to be physical or even necessarily skill-related.
Ntilikina needs to improve as a decision-maker, and a lot of that is going to come down to finding greater confidence and aggression. As Andrew Keh of the New York Times wrote:
"“For Ntilikina, the goal is to wield [his] tools with more aggressiveness and consistency. He is quiet by nature. The people around him would love to see him take more risks, to make more mistakes, to show more fire. ‘He’ll tell me, ‘I have that inside,’ said Vincent Collet, the coach of Strasbourg and the French national team. ‘I tell him: ‘Don’t keep that inside. Show it.’”"
It will have been noted by NBA scouts that some of Ntilikina’s virtuoso performances for his national team have come at the expense of increased turnovers. At the FIBA Under-18 European Championship in December, Ntilikina averaged 3.3 turnovers in 27 minutes of play per game. In looking for the Frenchman to be aggressive offensively, turnovers may always prove to be a necessary evil. But even if he can overcome that element of his game, there’s going to be a period of learning in the interim.
Ntilikina’s physique and length give him distinct advantages that could make him a skilled inside scorer, yet at only 18, he has yet to fully understand how best to utilize his frame.
Ntilikina has no shortage of potential to improve further in the coming years, even if that could take some time. With an excellent attitude and a measured personality, there’s no reason to suggest he can’t overcome any of his current weaknesses.
Next: What the Experts Say
What The Experts Say
(as of 4/8/17)
Draft Express (Jonathan Givony): 10th
ESPN (Chad Ford): 11th
CBS (Howard Megdal): 11th
Sporting News (Sam Vecenie): 9th
The Step Back (Trevor Magnotti and Chris Stone): 7th
Quotes:
J.Z. Mazlish of The Step Back believes much of Ntilikina’s value will come in his versatility and his ability to cover a couple of in-demand NBA skillsets.
"“Ntilikina has a coveted intersection of defense and shooting. Playing next to a star wing he can provide a lot of value as a defender, spot-up shooter, and secondary playmaker, or he could even play alongside another point guard due to his size allowing him to guard 2s.”"
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express believes that Ntilikina has room to develop further, in spite of an already impressive base of NBA-level skill.
"“Likely still has plenty of room to improve athletically as his frame matures and he has NBA coaches and strength and conditioning staff in place to help him maximize his tools. Lower body in particular could get stronger, which may help him become more explosive.”"
Next: Fit With The Bucks
Fit With The Bucks
At this point it now feels like something of a hex to bring this particular comparison back up, but Ntilikina is the kind of prospect the Bucks thought they were getting when they traded for Michael Carter-Williams. While MCW ultimately proved to be much lesser than those hopes, Ntilikina could surpass any reasonable expectations for an athletic and versatile defensive point guard.
It remains to be seen whether Ntilikina’s recent shooting improvements are sustainable. Regardless, in rounding out the point guard rotation the Bucks have moved past the point of just needing a basic 3-and D archetype.
Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova have effectively plugged the gap the Bucks had for solid, low-key, off-ball guards, but an injection of a more dynamic point guard into the mix would certainly be welcomed.
Although he isn’t entirely reliable at creating opportunities for himself just yet, Ntilikina certainly has the ability to create shots out of nothing, or get to the rim in ways that are beyond Milwaukee’s current guard corps.
On a more basic level, Ntilikina loves to get out and run, and is adept at throwing lobs. In other words, fastbreaks with the Frenchman, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker would be a sight to behold.
If Jason Kidd and the Bucks remain dedicated to their current defensive scheme which is heavily predicated on switching and taking risks, Ntilikina’s length and instincts would be a significant asset.
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With most current projections penciling the 18-year-old in to be selected around the top-10 on draft night, if the Bucks really want Ntilikina, they’re likely going to be relying on his stock sliding or finding a way to trade up.