2019 NBA Draft Grades: Pistons Select Sekou Doumbouya With No. 15 Pick
The Pistons selected international forward Sekou Doumbouya with the No. 15th pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
Doumbouya is the highest-valued international prospect in the 2019 draft class after playing in France with the Limoges of the LNB Pro A league. In 27 games this season, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Doumbouya, 18, only started playing basketball around five years ago. He attended this year's All-Star Weekend as part of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Global Camp.
SI's NBA draft expert Jeremy Woo's breakdown: Doumbouya showed some real improvement over the course of his first season playing in France’s top league, and is trending in the right direction moving into the predraft process, particularly given how quickly this class moves into dart-throw territory. He’s still learning the game, but he has solid tools, a projectable body, legitimate shooting potential and a long-term role fit at power forward if all goes well. It’s key to remember that with his December birthday, he is expected to be the youngest player drafted. Teams who can afford to invest some time in a long-term project will continue to evaluate Doumbouya closely. He’s certainly not a mystery at this point, and offers appealing upside in the mid-to-late lottery.
Jeremy Woo's grade: A-
Doubouya took a tumble here, but he does have legitimate lottery upside if he puts it all together. Given where Detroit is as an organization, taking a big swing makes a lot of sense. There are concerns about his maturity level, but he’s still very young and has plenty of time to grow into a legitimate impact-caliber forward. This could end up going either way, but in concept, it’s a strong choice.
