2023 NBA Draft: Evaluating Max Lewis’ Season at Pepperdine

Is scoring wing, Max Lewis, still strongly in the first-round conversation for the 2023 NBA Draft?

An extremely disappointing season for the Pepperdine Waves has lessened the spotlight on the NBA Draft stock of sophomore, Max Lewis, but his individual play has kept him strongly in first-round discussions.

The Las Vegas, NV native had a solid freshman season in the WCC but came back in his second year and improved in almost every statistical category. Lewis used his fluid athleticism to score over 17 points per game on an impressive 47% from the field, 36% from behind the 3-point line and 79% from the free throw line on over four attempts.

The silky smooth 6-foot-7 wing also continued to show a more well-rounded game as he almost doubled his rebounding and assist numbers in year number two.

According to Cerebro Sports, Lewis was the only freshman or sophomore in the country to have played 30+ minutes and 30 games with a usage of at least 28% and individual Cerebro scores all above 63. This again speaks to the all around versatility that he possesses that NBA teams seem to covet.

One area that saw a spike, in a less positive manner, is Lewis’ turnovers. Even though he was able to show off some passing and creation flashes, the 20-year-old still ended the season with a negative assist to turnover ratio and must look to improve his ability to take care of the ball.

Looking at the Synergy profile for Lewis the thing that immediately sticks out is the distribution of offensive play types he was used in this past season and his ability to be “good” or “very good” in almost all of them.

Even more impressive are the shooting numbers when you take a closer look. Lewis was asked to, and capable of, doing a lot with the ball in his hands but when looking strictly as a shooter off the ball things really start to pop.

His 3-point shooting percentage jumps to 41% when looking strictly at spot up attempts and sky rockets even higher, 56%, when looking at only unguarded catch-and-shoot attempts.

The perimeter shooting, combined with potential (emphasis on potential due to his athletic profile) defensive upside, seem to be the floor for Lewis as a prototypical 3-and-D wing at the next level but he also provides a higher ceiling than some players within this archetype due to the amount of on ball usage and all around impact we have seen from him.

The 9-22 season for the Waves, after coming into the season with high expectations, may have slowed the hype train for Lewis but it would not be surprising to hear him as riser the further we get away from the season and continue through the pre draft process, team workouts and the NBA Draft Combine.

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