The 2019 Summer League is, unfortunately, lacking in star power. As is, the 2019 draft is historically weak in terms of top-end talent. Removing even more intrigue is the number of high draft picks sitting out of action for various reasons. This draft had a few ‘hidden stars,’ though, at least to the NBA’s eyes.

One of these stars is Memphis Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke.

The 21st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Clarke’s draft day slide came much to the chagrin of the draft cognoscenti. Many believed Clarke was easily one of the top prospects in this class, placing third on my final board, only trailing Jarrett Culver and Zion Williamson.

Despite being 23, and being a 6-foot-8, non-shooting center with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, it was blatant throughout the college season how exceptional Clarke was. He was the second best player in college basketball by a comfortable margin and had one of the best seasons in the last decade.

His Summer League debut validated the praise offered to Clarke, as he posted the best individual performance of the 2019 Summer League by a rookie and potentially by any player. On both ends, Clarke dominated the L.A. Clippers, posting 17 points, four rebounds, an assist and two blocks, shooting 63.6 percent from the floor and fielding a game-high +23 plus-minus. Clarke’s weaknesses, which so many excoriated him for, looked absent on Sunday night. His strengths, strengths which project him as a positive contributor on a championship team, were evident.

For Clarke, there are tons of points to revere. We’ll start with one of his defining traits, his basketball IQ and preternatural feel for the game, specifically on the defensive end. Clarke’s intersection of top end feel and top end athleticism creates a menacing defensive prospect, regardless of any lackluster measurable.

Team defense is incredibly valuable in the NBA, especially during high-level basketball. Clarke is an elite team defender, with preternatural awareness as a help defender. Terance Mann finds a gap in the defense, but Clarke quickly plugs it with a quick rotation and vertical contest, forcing a pass out:

Clarke has a high-speed mental processor, hyper-aware of the action unfolding in front of him. When Jerome Robinson makes his wraparound pass, Clarke sees Grayson Allen run to the corner and recognizes the only open man will be Amir Coffey. He runs out to the line and contests into a miss:

Mfiondu Kabengele drives into Clarke and passes it out, forcing a closeout and opening a lane to drive. Once the driver blows by his man, Clarke peels off of Kabengele and contests the reverse layup into a miss:

Here’s one of my favorite plays indicative of Clarke’s defensive IQ. Guarding the pick and roll, Clarke switches onto a guard and the ball swings opposite court. When Robinson beats John Konchar off of the dribble, watch Clarke point to his teammate to execute an off-ball switch, which allows Clarke to be in a position to rotate and stop a would-be layup:

Being a ridiculously athletic basketball savant predictably makes Clarke an excellent weakside rim protector. Accruing a 10.8 block percentage last season at Gonzaga, Clarke is a bonafide eraser despite his lack of height for a big. Clarke has pristine timing on his jumps, reading the step-through and springing up to volleyball spike the shot at its apex:

Clarke’s fluid lateral mobility and change of direction ability make him an excellent pick and roll defender in drop coverage. With his athleticism, he’ll be as versatile as it comes with big/big wing defenders. He probes the dropping guard, poking the ball away from him:

Watch how swiftly Clarke flips his hips to redirect from the guard to the big man. Then, he spryly bounces off of the floor to contest the floater:

One more time, Clarke drops and times his jump for a contest:

Unlike many rookie bigs, Clarke has a sixth sense for defensive playmaking and this includes when to jump for blocks and when not to jump. So many bigs are overly jumpy and offensive players exploit this. With Clarke, there’s nothing to exploit. Clarke holds himself back from jumping at Amir Coffey and he passes it out, expecting a block attempt. The play ends in a turnover:

Clarke has the same Jedi mind tricks as Zion where players become flummoxed due to his presence alone. Again, Clarke stays down and Robinson throws the ball out of bounds with no resistance:

The presence of Clarke scares Terance Mann off, who throws the ball away instead of going up at Clarke:

If there’s one area that can be nitpicked Clarke’s defense, it is guarding true bigs down low. Without any length or height for the position, it will be tough to stop big men from scoring down low:

Even then, Clarke will still find ways to win on the defensive end against bigger players with positioning and timing. He slides with Kabengele and contests the poor hook:

On defense, Clarke is an utter monster. A versatile, athletic and smart defender, he has upside to be one of the better complementary defenders in the NBA. Offensively, Clarke is better than he gets credit for. His run-jump athleticism will pop on runouts and dunks; Clarke turns defense into offense here, contesting Kabengele, running in transition and rocking the rim:

Cutting to the basket, Clarke’s speed and timing will open countless dunk and layup opportunities:

His quick jump and timing will make Clarke a palatable lob threat as a roll man; he floats in midair before slamming this ball:

Shooting is the main swing skill with Clarke, the one which will decide how valuable he truly is. Clarke only shot 4-15 from beyond the arc at Gonzaga. However, there are signs indicating he will shoot at a competent level at least, given his elite touch, two-point percentage (51.7) and rim percentage (79.7). Clarke becoming a pick and pop threat would be huge for him and this PNP three looked solid:

Around the rim, Clarke weaponizes his elite touch with finishes around the rim. On hooks, fades and floaters, Clarke will rack up buckets:

For a big man, Clarke’s handle is solid and isn’t talked about enough. It needs to improve for him to consistently play on the wing, but the foundation is good. At this point, Clarke has enough handling juice to take advantage of his first step burst and toast bigs off of the dribble:

Off of the catch, Clarke blows by Kabengele middle and draws a foul:

Clarke busts out a crossover here, giving him a free path to the lane and gets him a good shot:

Clarke is a good passer with the IQ to find open teammates off of his gravity and off of others. This drive and kick is simple, but an important play for a big like him to make:

On both ends, Clarke has the foundation of skills, IQ and athleticism to be a valuable complementary piece on a championship team. The Grizzlies continues to raze the rest of the NBA in this offseason and stealing this future star at the 21st pick was the beginning of arguably the best offseason in the NBA.