Published: October 11, 2009
Season scouted: NBA Las Vegas Summer League
Player: Hasheem Thabeet #34 Team: Memphis Grizzlies Year: Rookie
Height: 7′3 Weight: 267 Position: C
2009 Las Vegas Summer League stats: 5 games/25.0 Minutes / .452(FG%) /.722(FT%) / 8.2ppg / 4.6rpg / 0.8bpg.
BODY/ATHLETIC GAME:
Extremely long arms. Slender build, with room to grow in both muscle and overall mass. Needs to continue to gain upper body strength. Lacks lateral movement at this point in his career. Good leaping ability for his tall frame.
SHOOTING ABILITY:
Not his strength. Usually his offensive game stays in the paint, however, when he is pushed out of the lane, he doesn’t have the outside shot to keep the defenders on him. Usually when he receives the ball outside the key, he gives up the ball and re-positions himself back on the low post. When he gets the ball low in the key, he finishes well considering how close he is to the rim, which results in a few dunks a game. For his size, he is a decent free throw shooter. As stated above, he shot 72.2% from the line in Las Vegas. His percentage however fell from 69.8% to 62.7% in his last two seasons at UCONN.
OFFENSIVE GAME:
Stays exclusively in the paint. Doesn’t posses a great low post game. Needs to improve his footwork, and also developing some sort of hook shot, or face up jumper. Considering Thabeet averaged 12.1 ppg in his career at Connecticut, and only 8.2 this summer, at least for now he won’t be an offensive threat for the Grizzlies. However, once Thabeet gets the ball low in the key, he finishes with ease because of his proximity to the basket.
DEFENSIVE AND REBOUNDING:
His defensive ability/potential is the main reason why he went #2 overall in the NBA draft. Clearly he was the #1 shot blocker coming out of college averaging 4.5, & 4.2 bpg in his career at Connecticut. However, he needs to develop more of his defensive skills instead of relying primarily on his shot blocking ability. Foul trouble was a problem at times because instead of playing solid defense, he tried to block away the shot, which would result in him going after shot fakes, or playing too aggressively and committing the foul. If Thabeet can become more of a traditional defender, gain strength in his upper body and legs, while mixing in his shot blocking, he has the ability to become a great defender at the professional level, which is why many compare him to legendary defender Dikembe Mutombo.
FUTURE:
Thabeet has many variables that could make him a great player for years to come in the NBA. With that being said, he has a lot of work to do to get their especially on his offensive and defensive fundamentals, which is why some are weary that he won’t pan out, and become yet another mediocre center in the NBA. I don’t see Thabeet being an offensive threat any time soon, maybe in the future if his develops. I think the comparison to Mutombo is accurate. If he can develop, and learn to be a smarter defender, he has all the making to become the second coming of Mutombo. Overall, he has a lot of potential, and a lot of room to grow. Playing this year for Memphis will help his progression considering he will get a good amount of playing time.
One Comment on "Scouting Report: Hasheem Thabeet"
Brendan de Haan on Wed, 14th Oct 2009 8:59 am
He will be the Biggest bust for all the rookies this year.