Nassir Little

Draft Notes

Little is a well built and powerful athlete who has all the physical tools to be a big time NBA small forward. He’s a late bloomer type, who is just starting to put all his skills together and take his game to the next level. His Freshman season was inconsistent but the talent and ability is obvious and his ceiling is very high.

Little is a menace on the defensive end. He’s a hyper-active defender who moves his feet well, gets down in his stance and can guard all over the floor. He can handle almost any defensive assignment and seems to take the match up personally. His perimeter defense is truly special for a player his size.

He’s got crazy length with a plus 8 wingspan, allowing him to play big, rebound in traffic and disrupt on the defensive end.

On the offensive end, he can score with his back to the basket, showing a nice turn around jumper and a slick up and under move. He has a quick spin move and drop step move and shows exceptional bounce to the rim. He has some combo forward skills and can be a small ball 4 or big wing.

Although 3 point shooting isn’t a strength of his game at this point, he does have very nice mechanics and a chance to become a really good 3 point shooter. He elevates well on his jumper and has a smooth release. He also has the ball handling skills to create space with the dribble and shake his way into a jumper.

Little is a powerful driver who can drive the lane with either hand and has a nice little floater and good looking mid range game, to go along with his ability to get above the rim. If he can perfect his mid range game he’ll be hard to handle.

A dynamic transition player who is at his best in an up tempo game.

He plays a complete game and has all the effort and intensity you can ask for. He rebounds and defends well and knows how to pass the rock and operate within the flow of the offense.

Big upside.

For Nassir it’s all about gaining consistency and staying on his current trajectory.

His 3 point shooting shows some promise but he needs to get more consistent and doesn’t project to be a strong part of his game, at least early in his career. His overall feel on the offensive end can be lacking and his ball handling is so so.

Comparisons

• Physically he reminds of Gerald Wallace and has a similar type of game (although Little is far more advanced at this stage, than Wallace was).
• Has a little Kawhi Leonard in his game.

Draft Projection

lottery to mid first round pick