The days of traditional big men are going by the wayside in the NBA. Nowadays, most teams prefer a stretch 4 or 5 — post players who can stretch the floor on offense and the defend the perimeter on defense. Sacramento Kings rookie Marvin Bagley III will be looking to prove he can do these things at a high level in the NBA.
The Kings selected Bagley with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft. The 19-year-old played one season at Duke, where he earned several awards, including ACC Player of the Year.
Simply put, Bagley was a star in college. In 33 appearances with the Blue Devils, the Tempe, Arizona native racked up averages of 21.0 points on 61.4 percent shooting from the field (39.7 percent from beyond the arc), 11.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 33.8 minutes per outing.
Though he's 6-11 and 234 pounds, Bagley is an agile defender on the perimeter. And in fact, he spent most of his time in training camp guarding the switch on pick-and-rolls.
There were some analysts who scoffed when the Kings drafted Bagley at No. 2 overall, claiming his size could be a liability on defense. His trainer, however, disagrees.
“Switching on Marvin will probably be a bad idea for most people,” Bagley's trainer, Earl Ramsey, recently told Seerat Sohi of SB Nation. “He can sit down. He can really play D.”
In the four preseason games he has played with the Kings thus far, Bagley has posted averages of 11.5 points on 41 percent shooting (73.7 percent from the charity stripe), 6.8 rebounds and a block per outing. Bagley logged 18 minutes off the bench in Monday's preseason win over Maccabi Haifa, notching 12 points, six rebounds, one steal and one block.
Exactly how the Kings will utilize Bagley's services in the regular season remains to be seen. Some reports indicate that the coaching staff likes him at power forward, while others say he'd be best at center. Either way, Bagley will be up for the challenge.
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