The Sacramento Kings added another critical piece to their ever-growing stable of young talent last summer, taking Duke big man Marvin Bagley III with the second overall pick of the NBA Draft.
An offensive powerhouse who dominated opposing bigs in college, Bagley showed during his rookie campaign why the Kings drafted him with the No. 2 selection, averaging 14.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and a block over 25.3 minutes per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from 3-point range and 69.1 percent from the free-throw line.
Still, while Bagley looked impressive in his 62 games of action this season and made the All-Rookie First Team, there are absolutely areas in which he needs to improve, especially if Sacramento hopes to make a big leap and enter the Western Conference playoff picture next year.
Here are three things Bagley needs to work on this offseason.
3. Free-Throw Shooting
Bagley got to the free-throw line 4.2 times per game during the 2018-19 campaign, a rather impressive number for a rookie big man. By contrast, Phoenix Suns rookie center DeAndre Ayton took just 2.7 foul shots per game.
However, Bagley's efficiency at the charity stripe left much to be desired, as he made just 69.1 percent of his free throws.
This is an area where Bagley has struggled since college, as he converted a mere 62.7 percent of his foul shots during his lone season at Duke.
The good news is that Bagley is not completely broken from the foul line, and in fact, he is not even terrible. He already showed improvement in that category during his first NBA season, but this summer, he needs to get even better.
Hopefully by next season, Bagley is shooting over 70 percent from the line.
2. Get Stronger
At 6-foot-11 and 234 pounds, Bagley is hardly a string bean, but he can certainly stand to get stronger this offseason, especially considering that much of his offense comes on the low block.
While Bagley is pretty polished in the post, possessing a few really nice moves that were on full display at Duke, he struggled a bit down low during his first NBA season, largely due to the fact that he simply could not move opposing bigs.
Here is the thing, though: Bagley was 19 years old for most of the year, turning 20 in March. So, basically, he was a teenager playing with a bunch of grown men, so you have to assume that he will fill out and get stronger naturally over time.
If and when he does, Bagley has the potential to develop into an unstoppable force down low.
1. Defense, Defense, Defense
In spite of the fact that Bagley has terrific athleticism and a good 7-foot-1 wingspan, his problems on the defensive end of the floor are well-documented.
We knew of these issues at Duke, as Bagley was viewed as an offensive presence with loads of potential, but was also considered a possible defensive liability when entering the pros.
To be fair to Bagley, he is just a kid, and he has a fine motor, but he was burned far too many times on defense this past season, as opponents took advantage of him in pick-and-rolls and exploited him on switches.
On the positive side, Bagley is a very hard worker and is, again, a very good athlete, so he has the potential to at least become a passable defensive player.
Expect Marvin Bagley III to work exceedingly hard on his defense this summer.
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