One bad wingspan measurement may have just handed Milwaukee a top-10 talent at the 10th pick. Kingston Flemings was supposed to be a borderline lottery pick at best. He was a productive Houston guard who'd need to prove himself as a legitimate first-rounder. Then he got to Chicago and dominated every drill they put in front of him.
Of course, that was until Flemings' wingspan came in at just 6-foot-3 and a half, which is a remarkably low number that naturally set off alarm bells for scouts who were already watching his defensive tape with skepticism. For a guard at this level, that measurement isn't ideal. Evaluators noticed, and his draft stock slid all the way down. And it's for this reason that Kevin O'Connor's latest mock has him falling all the way to Milwaukee at #10.
But for a Bucks team that's very clearly been working out guards all pre-draft season, that's an immense gift. Because it presents them with an opportunity to land a rebuilding piece for the future.
The Bucks might have an absolute stud falling to them at No. 10
Here's what the wingspan conversation is obscuring: Flemings is actually really, really good at basketball regardless of what his measurements might tell you.
In 37 games at Houston, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game with a 56.3 true shooting percentage and a 12.6 box plus-minus. He wasn't doing it against nobodies either. Flemings was facing Houston's Big 12 schedule and still separated himself as one of the better guards in college basketball.
And the combine, supposedly where his stock cratered, he was exceptional. Flemings led the entire combine in the three-point star drill, going 19-of-25, and hit 15-of-25 spot-up threes, which are encouraging signs for a guard whose college bread and butter was separating into midrange jumpers. He also finished top five in the max vertical, pro lane agility, shuttle run, and sprint time.
The short-wingspan conversation in NBA drafts has a complicated history, but for this writer, recent history should prove it shouldn't matter as much these days. Case in point: Desmond Bane and Tyler Herro both have negative wingspans, yet no one can argue that neither of the two are quality contributors in the association.
What matters more than raw length is how a player uses what he has. Flemings is a proven two-way guard whose game relies on downhill speed and midrange efficiency, and who shot 38.7 percent from three at Houston on a relatively low volume, which should tell us that the shot is real and at the very least still developing. A player who can get downhill, sink a midrange jumper, and is already a steal threat at the college level doesn't need a 6-foot-9 wingspan to make an NBA roster work.
Kingston Flemings would fit perfectly on the Milwaukee Bucks
For Milwaukee specifically, the fit is clean. The Bucks need guard depth regardless of what happens with Kevin Porter Jr.'s free agency. They need players who can create off the bounce, defend with activity, and play within a system that isn't going to be running through a superstar next season. Flemings checks every one of those boxes. If he's genuinely available at 10, Milwaukee is getting a player most boards had inside the top eight before the combine measurements dropped.
The bigger point, really, is this: teams that let a wingspan number scare them off a player this complete are going to watch him make their roster look bad for the next decade. Milwaukee's in position to benefit from everyone else's hesitation. Sometimes the best draft picks are the ones the room talked itself out of. Flemings at 10 would be exactly that.
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