NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: D.J. Wilson

Strengths

Although D.J. Wilson isn’t the typical draft prospect in the one-and-done era, he’s shown to have one of the more interesting skill sets in the draft.

As previously stated, he’s one of the older prospects in the draft, usually a player who has been in the college system for three years doesn’t have a ton of untapped potential. However, in this case, he’s only had one season of real on-court experience, to go along with an intriguing skill-set, and athletic make up.

Last season, he was able to cherry pick his way to a number of uncontested dunks. He moves his body very well up and down the floor, allowing him to close out on perimeter shooters, protect the rim in transition, and pressure the opposing defense.

His offensive skill set, mixed with his athletic make up, creates an interesting NBA prospect. He showed the ability to attack the hole off the dribble, although it wasn’t a consistent skill. The 6’10” wing showed a sweet stroke, averaging 37 percent from deep on three attempts per game, and shows his basketball IQ by moving without the ball, both as a shooter, and back door cutter.

One of his most impressive qualities was his ability to dunk through contact. Spoiler alert: one of his weaknesses is his willingness to fight through contact, but on the bright side, he’s at least shown that he can play through contact.

Even as one of the older prospects in the draft, I think he has a pretty favorable amount of potential. There aren’t a ton of stretch fours in the league who can finish above the rim, spot-up shoot, and time out a block against a pull-up jump shooter, a defensive quality that’s more important now than it’s ever been in the league. The NBA Playoffs showed how important it is to contest without fouling three point shooters.

One of Wilson’s best qualities is his work ethic. As described here by his Father/HS coach:

"“There was a lot of doubt out there,” Jones said. “I think people doubted whether he was strong enough or tough enough or mean enough. No one ever really doubted his skill set, because he’s got an amazing work ethic — this is a kid who’d work out three times a day, before school, after school and again at night."

If he’s going to continue to improve as he hits the NBA, he’ll need to rely on a similar work schedule.