2025 NBA Draft: Malique Lewis Scouting Report

Let's take a look at how 2025 NBA Draft prospect Malique Lewis' game could project to the NBA.

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; General view in the second half between the Connecticut Huskies and the Purdue Boilermakers in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Breen/Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Sports / Patrick Breen-Arizona Republic

Malique Lewis played this past season in the G League for the Mexico City Capitanes, where the 19-year-old averaged nine points, six rebounds, and 2.3 stocks per game. The 6-foot-8 wing originally declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, but ultimately decided to withdraw his name from the class.

Lewis recently decided that he would be joining the NBL Next Stars program and join the South East Melbourne Phoenix for this upcoming season. The NBL Next Stars program is a path many prospects have taken recently, including players like Alex Sarr, Bobi Klintman, AJ Johnson, and Ariel Hukporti -- all four of whom were drafted this past June in the 2024 NBA Draft. Malique Lewis figures to be a potential NBA prospect in the 2025 draft. Let's dive into his game below.

Key Information

Height: 6-foot-8

Weight: 209 pounds

Wingspan: 7-foot-1

Offense

To start off, Malique Lewis has positional size at 6-foot-8 and a 7-foot-1 wingspan. He's a skilled shooter in catch-and-shoot situations, and Lewis converted 38.4% of his threes (112 attempts) this past season. While his free throw percentage was only at 69.2%, this was only on a small sample size of 26 attempts -- a likely confounding variable for the low percentage. His 3-point shot is likely to only improve as his game continues to grow.

The ability to attack closeouts and put the ball on the floor is a potential area of improvement for Lewis, but he progressed in this area as the season went on. This is a positive sign for his ability to potentially put the ball on the floor more this upcoming season. While Lewis seemed to drive more as the season went on, his handle can be loose at times as well. Additionally, Lewis only averaged 1.5 assists per game this past season.

Lewis can offer the shooting component of the "dribble-pass-shoot" archetype, and continuing to show on film that the dribble-pass component is continuously improving for him will be key to projecting him in an NBA role. Regardless, Lewis has the potential to begin more as a stationary shooter and continue to improve his ability to attack closeouts and playmaking as his game grows in the NBA.

Defense

Defensively, Lewis showed flashes of lateral quickness, the ability to use his length to deter drivers and contest shots, and some strength. Throughout the season, Lewis was listed at 195 pounds and it appeared that bulking up could help take his on-ball defense to the next level. Therefore, seeing him weigh in at 209 pounds at the G League Elite Combine was a very positive sign regarding him taking another leap on-ball defensively next season. Lewis' off-ball defense was another area that appeared to improve throughout the season. While he began as more of a neutral off-ball defender, with some flashes of stunts or tags but also missing an assignment at times, Lewis was a positive off-ball defender by the end of the season. Lewis showed flashes of defensive event creation, and ended up averaging 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game this past season.

Summary

Lewis can offer both positional size and the ability to hit threes to an NBA team, arguably two of the most important components of a player's game teams are looking for. An already clear strength, even continuing to improve his shooting could also help boost his stock for the 2025 NBA Draft -- especially if he can get into the early 40% range on a significant number of attempts and a higher free throw percentage (closer to the late 70%/early 80% range).

Offensively, his ball-handling and ability to attack closeouts and create for others off of these closeouts will continue to be areas of his game to watch for. This will allow him to fulfill more of a dribble-pass-shoot archetype rather than just being a stationary shooter. His on-ball defense is already solid, as his wingspan and fluidity bode well for his future on that end of the floor. Slightly improving his lateral quickness and foot speed, as well as bulking up (the latter of which appears to have happened based on the G League Elite Combine weigh-in) can help him become a great on-ball defender. Additionally, his off-ball defense grew throughout the season and it's become clear he has the potential to offer some event creation if his trajectory in this area continues. Lewis doesn't turn 20 years old until November and will be around 20.6 years old at the time of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Current Grade: Mid-Late Second Round (Two-Way Contract)

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