1 Dream, 1 realistic and 1 floor NBA player comparison for Bucks’ Tyler Smith

The Bucks' second-round pick has great potential, but who does he compare to in the NBA?
2024 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot
2024 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot / Monica Schipper/GettyImages
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The floor – Kenrich Williams

Kenrich Williams is only 6-foot-6, but he has become a regular bench player for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they have rose to one of the best teams in the league.

The skill set in terms of rebounding and being able to stretch the floor is very similar between the two players. Williams may not average the highest numbers, but he was trusted to play 69 games on the Thunder's road to being the one seed in the Western Conference this past season.

Williams played 14.9 minutes per game off the bench for OKC, averaging 4.7 point and, three rebounds on 46.8 percent field goal shooting and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. During his six seasons in the league, he is a 36 percent shooter from deep, which will always be valuable to a team.

What Smith has over Williams is his frame and athleticism. This will allow him to open up the offensive game more due to his size to create better looks than Williams, especially in the paint. Defensively, as well as the ability to be athletic and versatile due to Smith's frame, also stands him in better stead to guard bigger players while switching onto guards.

Developing a skill set defensively is where Smith needs to improve both with his toughness and defending in pick-and-rolls.

Smith can easily have the defensive production of Williams and become a useful bench player, but he has to improve defensively if he wants to be a factor on the Bucks moving forward. As a second-round pick, there is a huge range for him, and his frame and skills can take him far, just the fine tuning that is needed. If he grows into a valuable bench player for Milwaukee, it would be a very good selection in the second-round.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.