Ceiling: Kristaps Porzingis 

Floor: Davis Bertans 

Chet Holmgren is arguably one of the most interesting and most talked about prospects since LeBron James. The former consensus number one prospect committed to Gonzaga and helped them to the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Playing in a less competitive league in the WCC, Chet averaged a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on 61-39-72 shooting splits. Chet was extremely efficient scoring the basketball at all levels. He was also an elite rim protector averaging almost 4 blocks per game which was fourth in the country. I believe those stats are inflated because he played in the WCC, and he somewhat disappeared towards the tail-end of the Zags tournament run. 

Though Chet is one of the most well-rounded centers to come through the draft process, there are some major pitfalls in his game. Firstly, Chet measures in at 7’1 and a mere 195 pounds. This was taken advantage of time and again by teams such as Memphis and Arkansas (who knocked the Zags out of the tournament). Though he is not afraid to play physically, at this point in time he is not built to be a center in today’s physical NBA. We have seen transformations, specifically the transformation of Giannis Antetokounmpo gaining 51 pounds of muscle since he was drafted in 2013, so obviously his size could be a temporary problem. Chet was an elite rim protector in college, but got into foul trouble from time to time when facing stiff competition, thus I don’t expect this to be the case as much in the NBA as he is also not the most athletic nor is he a large presence like NBA centers such as Rudy Gobert or Giannis. He will get his fair share of blocks given that he has a 7’4 wingspan, but he won’t be contending for a DPOY anytime soon. Personally, I am not the highest on Chet, he has the skill sets to be one of the great centers in the NBA, but he lacks the strength at this moment to succeed in the NBA. 

NBA Best Fit

I see Chet teaming up with his high school teammate Jalen Suggs and joining the Magic with the number one pick. This is a good fit for Chet as there is somewhat of a gaping hole at the center position that is being “filled” by a mix of Robin Lopez, Mo Bamba, and Wendell Carter Jr., none of which hold the potential of Chet. The top three picks are all somewhat interchangeable, and I could see Chet fit at the Rockets or Thunder.