“With the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks select… Frank Ntilkina from Strasbourg, France!”

This year’s Knicks pick was met with cheers, a stark contrast to the Kristaps Porzingis pick two years ago. After booing the Porzingis pick, who turned out to be one of the top 10 assets in the league, it seems as though Knicks fans in the building had learned their lesson this time around. However, not all Knicks fans were satisfied with Phil Jackson’s second European pick in a row. In fact, the Ntilikina pick was probably the most polarizing pick in the draft. Half of the New York fan base are angry they took such a risk on a player when safer bets like Malik Monk were still on the board. Meanwhile, some more mellow and circumspect fans are taking the wait-and-see approach; after all, they said the same exact thing about Porzingis.

So, does Ntilkina have a future in the NBA? No way to say for certain, but we can sure guess.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has paved the way for “Guys With Hard to Pronounce Last Names in the NBA”, but now it’s time for Ntilikina to uphold the mantle of exciting new player who’s name we just can’t pronounce. Many gave up on trying to pronounce his name, and now just call him “Frank Nicotine” which subsequently led to his other nicknames “Frankie Smokes” and “The Marlboro Man.” However, the similarities between Antetokounmpo and Ntilkina don’t just end at their obscenely hard to pronounce names.

Ntilkina is a 6″6 Guard, with a 7″ wingspan. Yes you read that correctly, a 7″ wingspan. The guy is freakishly long (almost Antetokounmpo-esque?) and not to mention tall for someone projected to be a guard. But these physical tools also give Ntilkina the versatility to be able to play the 1 through 3, potentially even being able to slot into the Power Forward spot in some seriously small ball line-ups. Watching him in the transition has been something to behold, his length allowing him to practically glide down the lane. That is not to say that Ntilkina is going to be like Antetokounmpo — no, that would be a rather unfair comparison to make. All I’m trying to say is that Ntilkina and Antetokounmpo have some uncannily similar physical attributes; namely, their incredible length and identical 7 foot wingspan.

Frankie Smoke’s gangling, long wingspan also allows him to be an incredible defender. His lengthy arms peskily find themselves snaking into passing lanes or being able to close out a shooter far faster than any one else, and that results in quite a few perimeter blocks for him (which is not seen very often in the NBA). His rangy wingspan also allows for a consistently impressive chasedown block as part of his defensive arsenal. Lebron would be proud! If there’s one thing that we know for sure that Ntilikina will be good at on an NBA level, it’s defense. The kid has brilliant defensive focus and discipline. He never sleeps off-ball, and is always roving for the potential harass + steal. All you have to do is watch a few defensive highlights on YouTube to understand how high Ntilikina’s defensive IQ is. Watching him defend pick and rolls and fight through switches is like looking at a metaphorical fine art of basketball defense; he knows where to go, and when to go at all times. He rarely, if ever, gets lost on defense. Defense should be the bedrock foundation upon which Ntilikina builds his NBA career; if nothing else, boy can he defend.

Ntilikina’s above average height for the guard position is also a benefit. It’s not yet clear where he’ll play in the NBA, as he could play either of the guard positions, and some people think to succeed in the NBA he would need to play the 3. However, if he does indeed play point, his ability to just simply be taller than other guards would give a huge advantage. His height has already allowed him to shoot over smaller guards in the EuroLeague past the three point line, and could also have potential in posting up smaller guards in a Sean Livingston type of way.

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The Marlboro Man’s other major strength, coupled with his rangy physical attributes, is his spot up 3-point shooting ability. Ntilikina shot a clean 40 percent in EuroLeague last season, and it should be noted that the European three point line is far closer to the actual length of the NBA one than that of the NCAA. A lot of people like to point out that Ntilikina only averaged just under 6 points per game in EuroLeague, and thus it should be pretty easy to shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc. However, this point is rather moot. Ntilikina made 40 out of 100 shots last season, and although that’s not a ginormous sample size, it’s a pretty large sampling of shots compared to what some of the other American college prospects have been posting. Besides, Frankie Smokes plays in a league where everyone is at least ten years older than him. Fears about his PPG average should be quelled when you consider that when Ntilikina was actually playing with people his own age, just like the other American college prospects, he posted some seriously absurd stat lines.

Whilst I am not concerned with his points per game total, I do have other serious concerns about Ntilikina’s game. Ntilikina completely lacks the ability to create shots for himself and others inside the three point line. His dribbling isn’t great either, and he often loses the ball to more aggressive defenders. Funnily enough, Ntilikina shares a lot of similarities with another foreign prospect from two years ago, Dante Exum. Exum was also a defensively minded tall guard who seems to be a bust because of his inability to create within the three point line. Exum was touted as a brilliant floor general prior to the 2015 Draft, however his playmaking ability floundered once he arrived to the NBA. Ntilikina is a much better three point shooter than Exum, giving him somewhat of a safety net, however, if the Marlboro Man is to become a star and not end up a bust like Exum, he will need to develop this.

The floor for Ntilikina to me seems a lot higher than others think; at the very least, his spot up three point shooting and defense should translate well to the NBA, a skillset that nearly every team covets. However, should he figure out how to handle the ball better and increase his dribble penetration and inside playmaking he could potentially create a unique blend of skills and physical assets that would look something like a smaller, less well rounded Giannis Antetokounmpo mixed with Patrick Beverly.