Baba Miller's Case for the NBA Draft Lottery
If you're not yet familiar with Baba Miller, you soon will be.
Miller is a 6-foot-11, 18-year-old from Spain that is set to play for Leonard Hamilton and Florida St. this upcoming season. Miller, a guard-wing hybrid who grew up playing on the perimeter, recently underwent a growth spurt.
Miller is not a post player who is trying to translate his game to the perimeter, he's a prospect who grew up living on the perimeter and just happened to sprout up to being almost 7-feet tall.
Those perimeters skills and movements jump off the film immediately when you watch Miller play. He moves fluidly on the perimeter and flashes really nice ball handling and passing abilities. At his size and strength he is not a player that is going to win in isolations, but he is comfortable attacking closeouts and playing in transition.
Possibly, more impressive, was his movement patterns and ability to defend on the perimeter at that size as well.
The idea of what Baba Miller could be at his size and foundational skill set is very exciting, but is still more theoretical and not practical, for now. You can pinpoint a few areas of his game, both offensive and defensive, that will ultimately decide whether he vaults into the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery or settles into the end of the 1st round, possibly even the second round.
The first, and maybe most important, aspect of Miller's game that will decide his lottery chances is his shooting.
You could make this all encompassing with his entire scoring package where there is room for growth, but the jump shot is the focus. Right now he has a very low dip on his catch and shoot which should improve to help him get his shot off faster.
The mechanical issue that is most concerning, is that he brings the ball from one side of his body and face to the other when he shoots. Think back to the early years of Lonzo Ball. Even if the jump shot is not Miller’s go-to skill, showing the ability to be an average shooter will unlock the rest of his game.
The second area for growth is Miller continuing to figure out how to use his new 6-foot-11 body to his advantage in any and all situations.
With that size he should be able to get a shot off any time he wants. He is already very good going backdoor on defenders, but seeing as he will be utilized most often as an off-the-ball player ,he still needs to improve his all around off ball movements.
Showing an ability to be a lob-threat in ball screens to go along with picking and popping, and already being able to be the handler in this play-type would continue to add to a versatile scoring package to his game. He can also improve in his activity when a shot goes up and make more of an impact on the offensive boards.
This may seem like a lot of offensive improvement in a variety of areas to ask from a young player but versatility will ultimately be the key to Miller’s ceiling. Developing this type of all around offensive package would be vital in team's valuing him as a top-14 selection.
To finish, we will continue to look at Baba Miller’s versatility but on the defensive end of the floor.
It is very impressive how well he's able to navigate screens at his size which will allow him to continue to guard bigger guards and wings. Where the versatility can really come into play is when Miller figures out how to use his size and length to be disruptive at the rim.
He can also stand to put on some weight and muscle that would allow him to scale up and guard true bigs around the basket. As mentioned with his offense, the activity and impact on the defensive boards could stand to improve as well.
Baba Miller is a prospect to be excited about and will be intriguing to watch during the upcoming 2022-2023 college basketball season. The potential is there, the raw skillset is there, and he is in a program that should help highlight his talents should they develop and become reality.