Philadelphia 76ers: Top 10 Prospects to Watch, 3rd Edition
Tatum has quickly emerged as somebody who is well in the race for the top overall prospect. After missing the first several games of the season due to injury, Tatum has returned with impressive showings thus far. His polish as an in-between scorer and variety of go-to moves on offense projects extremely well at the next level, and could make him one of the more NBA-ready prospects on the board.
Where Tatum shines most is offensively. He utilizes a plethora of excellent moves in isolation to create space on his jumpers, and possesses footwork that is far more advanced than your typical 18-year-old forward. Whether it’s in post-up scenarios or facing the basket, his ability to find nooks in the defense and hit shots is exceptionally impressive.
He also boasts a 40 percent clip from beyond the arc, and enough skill as a passer to avoid it becoming a liability like some projected coming out of high school. In addition to that, defensive concerns that plagued his pre-college analysis greatly diminished. His length and athleticism, in combination with strong effort, has made him a respectable perimeter defender for the Blue Devils thus far.
Where he fits with the Philadelphia 76ers
Tatum files under that additional wing depth category once again, but does so in a way none of the other swingman before him do. From day one, Tatum holds real go-to scoring potential and is somebody the Sixers could, in theory, rely on offensively.
He’s a strong enough shooter to work off of Simmons, and has made the Carmelo Anthony/Paul Pierce comparisons seem incredibly well-founded with his scoring prowess thus far. He possesses an innate sense of space on the court and is extremely apt in finding his spots on the floor and knocking down shots.
He gives the Sixers their Joel Embiid counter punch on the exterior, and carries a rather lofty upside as — potentially — their best player moving forward alongside Embiid.
Expert’s Opinion — Sam Vecenie, Sporting News/Yahoo
"Even though Tatum has played just three games for Duke, there’s a comfortability level with him from scouts that there simply isn’t for many others in this draft due to his maturity both on and off the floor. Tatum is among the most polished offensive forwards to enter the draft since Kevin Durant in 2007, with the ability to create space for shots in a wide variety of ways. He’s also a good athlete that has shown the ability to defend quite a few different player types already in his time at Duke. Scouts still would like to see Tatum get the rim a bit more often in the halfcourt, as well as continue to get more comfortable shooting the 3. Overall, it’s tough to see Tatum falling out of the top five unless further injury befalls him."
Big Board Rankings:
- Big Board 3.0 — 7
- Jeremy Woo — 2
- DraftExpress — 6
- Sam Vecenie — 2