I'm going to do a series of posts profiling a number of interesting players from the playoffs. Today we'll start with Joseph Kight. Kight has become one of the best players in the league, with 2 All-star, All-league, and All-defensive selections. He's only 25 years old, but he has come a long way in his years in the league. The Jazz selected him with the 11th pick. Let's see what they got at the time.
- Kight rookie.PNG (23.16 KiB) Viewed 898 times
Heading into the draft Kight essentially looked like a decent role player. He had good potential as a scorer and wouldn't be a sieve on defense. The closest comparables were Jonathan Bender and Kawhi Leonard (post TC death). I love the Kawhi comparison. Kight projected to be a better inside scorrer and shot blocker with worse jump shooting and stealing abilities. From a defensive standpoint, the game essentially decided that they were defensive studs even though their post and perimeter defensive ratings were in the mid 50s. Obviously, Kight's career took a much different path.
- Kight progress.PNG (7.3 KiB) Viewed 898 times
Kight saw increases in all three shooting categories, both defensive categories, and blocking. What has really always set Kight apart as a unique player, even before his TC boosts, was his ability to block shots. Averaging over 2 blocks a game as a wing is pretty special. As is averaging over 25 points a game, with PLENTY of room to grow offensively (The TC gods give and TC gods take away). Let's look at his career so far.
- Kight stats.PNG (20.04 KiB) Viewed 898 times
What sticks out to me is that Kight came into the league averaging 18 POINTS A GAME. Now, he's scoring more efficiently. He started out as no schlub, averaging 1.25 points per shot. This season, 1.41. Wow. Poor, Kawhi, his best rookie comparable has only averaged more than 18 points per game once and has an average points per shot of 1.23. Let's not forget that Kight chips in over five rebounds a game.
What does the future hold? This is up to TC. Kight took a big step back in TC this year (though it didn't really make much of a difference in the outcomes). If TC allows him to actually reach his potential, Kight has MVP aspirations. If Kight becomes a perennial TC target. We may have already seen the best of Kight.
