NBA Draft 2019 Prospect Watch: Dylan Windler

Strengths

Much of Dylan Windler’s value as a prospect comes from his ability to be an elite knock-down shooter. As mentioned previously, his effective field goal percentage over his collegiate career placed him in the top 20 all-time in men’s college basketball.

A big chunk of his efficiency was carried by his ability to hit threes at a high rate.

Windler’s three point percentage in both his junior (42.6 percent on 4.9 attempts per game) and senior year (42.9 percent on seven attempts per game), exceeded 40 percent. In fact, his percentage this past season placed him 16th overall among all shooters in college basketball.

He has the hallmarks of an elite jump shooter. His form is great and his footwork is excellent too. It takes little effort for him to repeat his mechanics and hit the target consistently.

Windler can hit a variety of different shots. He’s excelled at coming off of screens and hitting catch-and-shoot jumpers. His reads and his movement off-the-ball make it hard for defenders to track him, leading to him getting a great deal of open looks.

He’s also elite at hitting pull-up threes in transition. He even began to make step-back threes in the style of James Harden during this season, something The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor highlights in his NBA Draft Preview on him.

His range wasn’t confined close to the NCAA three-point line either. Windler was a star at being able to hit bombs from NBA three distance consistently.

Windler’s far from just a jump shooter, either. Windler shot over 65% on two point attempts in every season of his collegiate career. He has the length and athleticism to get to the rim. His adept reads off-the-ball and his leaping ability make him a threat on lobs. He’s also a solid dunker on drives.

Windler does get to the line too. He got to the line at least four times per game in each of the past two seasons. This season, he made free throws at an 84.7 percent clip after shooting just 71.8 percent the season prior.

All of his offensive skills were on display in his 35 point performance in Belmont’s loss in their Round of 64 game of the NCAA Tournament.

Windler is also a respectable defender. His significant height (6′ 8”) and reach (6′ 10”) give him a distinct size advantage over most shooting guards. He has enough quickness and good enough footwork to stay in front of most players at his position.

He’s also an incredible rebounder as his 9.3 and 10.8 totals from each of the past two seasons show. Few guards are as good on the boards as he is.

Overall, Windler finished with the tenth best Player Efficiency Rating in all of college basketball at a 31.09 in 2018-19. Few players in the draft were as good as he was this season.