Making a sure-fire pick in the second-round of the NBA draft is not an easy task. While there are some notable players in the league that were second-round picks (Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas, and Draymond Green), most selections in the second-round struggle to stick in the league and usually wind up in the D-League or overseas. For instance, over the past five drafts only 45 of the 150 players selected in the second-round finished this past season on an active NBA roster.
The low success rate of second-round picks sticking in the league is the simple explanation as to why the Sixers’ five last-round picks in this upcoming draft are considered to be almost complete afterthoughts in comparison to their third overall selection. But while the top-three pick in the first-round obviously holds a lot more value, it does not mean that the second-round picks hold no value. Look back at last year’s draft when the Sixers selected K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant. Before he was shipped off to Houston, McDaniels showed a lot of potential as an athletic defensive wing. Next to Nerlens Noel, Jerami Grant showed the most progress and development in his game of any Sixer over the course of the season.
More from The Sixer Sense
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell
When drafting in the second-round, teams look for prospects with an identifiable skill that will translate over to the NBA. This is not a time to make the selection based off need, but rather to find a prospect that a team believes can last in the league. So even though the Sixers currently have Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jerami Grant, Furkan Aldemir, and Thomas Robinson (if they re-sign him), their crowded front court should not sway them away from drafting a big that they believe could make a living in the NBA. Rakeem Christmas is one big in particular that is rising up draft boards and should be considered by the Sixers at pick 35 if he is still on the board.
If you had told me that Rakeem Christmas would be the best player on a Syracuse team after any of his first three seasons there, I would have been defiant in saying that there would be no chance of that happening. In his first three seasons of college ball, Christmas was the same player and did not show much growth from year to year. He was a strong rim protector at the center position, but his lack of offensive abilities kept his minutes down and held him back from looking like a potential NBA prospect. Going into his senior year, his most likely destiny was to go undrafted as most draft experts rated him as a fringe second-round pick. But once the games started, Christmas wounded up turning heads and dramatically boosting his draft stock.
Rakeem Christmas’ senior year at Syracuse was remarkable for a few reasons. For starters, in his first three seasons at ‘Cuse, where he was a full-time starter, Christmas scored a total of 504 points. In his senior season Christmas went on to tally 542 points as the Orangemen’s go-to guy. For the first time in his college career Christmas demanded the ball in the post and showed off a repertoire of moves on the block, which were unseen in his first three years.
What was most impressive about Rock’s game in the post from this past season was how he would set himself up for a shot. Most of Christmas’ shots from the post were off a right-hook, but it was not just a simple sequence of catch-one dribble in-hook shot. Instead, Christmas showed off offensive skills and awareness in setting himself up with high-percentage shots.
Christmas loves going to his right and that was most likely in every opposing team’s scouting report. So this play is all about setting himself up for a finish with his right hand. Upon receiving the ball Christmas fakes a pass to the opposite corner, to get the defender to try and cut off that lane and, more importantly, play more to his right shoulder. Once Christmas feels the defender overplaying his right shoulder, he makes one dribble into the middle of the lane, spins, does a strong drop step, and makes the hook shot all in one fluid motion.
This is a really nice play from Rakeem Christmas. He gets the ball in the post and faces up Jahlil Okafor. Christmas then steps left but makes one quick dribble into the paint and rises up for a right-hook shot. Even though he does not beat Okafor off the dribble to create space, Christmas still went up strong and towards the basket when he shot the ball. In the three seasons prior to this Christmas was attempting about three shots a game and now he was making these kinds of plays.
Now, Rakeem Christmas is not projected to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon on the block, but in his senior season he showed that he could be capable on the inside. Even though he more than doubled his career high in field goal attempts for one season, Christmas finished the season shooting 55.2 percent from the field. So while Christmas is not going to be a go-to scorer in the low post, he proved that he has some touch and ability around the basket.
Feb 18, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas (25) takes a jump shot during the second half of a game against the Louisville Cardinals at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won the game 69-59. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Another thing Christmas has going for him are his physical tools and how he uses them on both ends of the court. Christmas measured under 6’10” at the NBA Draft Combine, but he made up for it with his 7’5” wingspan and 243 pound weigh-in. On offense, Christmas uses his strength to finish amongst traffic in the paint and to get himself in good position for a rebound. In transition, Christmas uses his good mobility to beat the opposing bigs down the court. With good hands, a nice touch around the rim, and explosiveness, Christmas could be utilized as a pick-and-roll option at the next level.
If a team is looking for an identifiable skill that will translate to the NBA, look no further than Rakeem Christmas’ defensive ability. Although he was an undersized center, Rock uses his strength, speed, and leaping ability to be a solid post defender and a shot-blocking menace. Christmas averaged 2.5 blocks per game last season and he racked up 247 total blocks in his Syracuse career.
As there is with almost all draft prospects, there are a few things that Christmas has to work on if he wants to stick in the NBA. The first, and most pressing, is his jump shot. In today’s game, you rarely see a team roll out a lineup with more than one player who is not capable of at least being able to knock down a mid-range jump shot. With the way the league is trending, there is going to be a decrease in the amount of bigs that cannot shoot.
Since he did not shoot many jumpers in his senior season at Syracuse, Christmas is going out of his way to exhibit his shot capability in workouts. For example, at the NBA Draft Combine scrimmage, Rock scored 20 points and pulled down six rebounds. In the scrimmage Christmas shot 7-of-10 from the field and hit a few mid-range jumpers as well. Developing a consistent jump-shot will go in long way in helping Rakeem Christmas being able to stick in the league.
Other than his jumper, there are two other red flags that arise in Christmas as a prospect. One critique of him is his motor. In watching a lot of Syracuse games over his four-year career there, Christmas did not always seem fully engaged on the defensive end. There were times where it would seem like he was not giving it his all on the defensive end, or was not going hard after defensive rebounds. It is an aspect of his game that can be improved on, but it should not be completely written off in his evaluation as a prospect.
A second knock on Christmas as a prospect is his age, as he enters the draft at 23-years-old. Teams are usually hesitant in drafting older prospects in fear of not being able to further develop their games. So with Christmas still being an older player and still somewhat raw on the offensive end, some teams may not think he can develop into a capable offensive player.
If he does not improve his jumper, then Christmas’ ceiling as a player is an Ian Mahinmi type of player. Mahinmi has made a living the past few seasons as a backup center, playing about 15-20 minutes per game, who protects the rim and finishes around the basket. If he can develop his jump shot, then he has upside as a Meyers Leonard type of player. Christmas’ shooting range will most likely not develop as far out as Leonard’s has, but the role played will be similar.
If the Sixers draft Rakeem Christmas, they would be doing it on the basis of his ability as a rim protector and the potential to grow his offensive game. He is never going to be a go-to scorer on offense, but he has a lot of upside as a third big off the bench. The Sixers could use Christmas off the bench as a back-up four to play alongside Joel Embiid or at the center position with a stretch four, such as Jerami Grant, playing alongside him.
Rakeem Christmas started the season as a very late second-round pick. Fast-forward to today, and some mock drafts have him as a late first rounder. His stock is on the rise, which is bad news for the Sixers who pick at number 35. But if Rakeem slips and is still on the board when the Sixers first pick in the second round comes up, then Christmas will have come early this year in Philadelphia.