Evaluating the G League Ignite’s Upcoming NBA Talent
There’s no doubt the G League Ignite have been a success in the NBA Draft hemisphere.
Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Dyson Daniels, Scoot Henderson and more in just the last three drafts are proof enough. And it seems incoming prospects are starting to take notice.
As many as four top prospects signed on to play for the Ignite this year. And while they won’t all be able to boost their stock, they’ll undoubtedly pepper the upper ranks of the draft, and its certainly a feather in the team’s cap.
To start, the Ignite are set to have two of the players contending to be the No. 1 overall pick, which is still very wide open to this point.
Forwards Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis, both of whom have been deemed No. 1-level talents by various draft experts, will both look to make their case alongside one another.
Holland is a shifty, two-way slasher who is sure to make a huge impact on the defensive end. If his offense — which is highlighted by poke-and-prod dribble-driving — can come around, he’ll make an intriguing case.
Buzelis is a 6-foot-10 essential wing with innate feel, touch and basketball IQ for his size. He’ll have to tighten up various aspects that make lengthy players good: defense, interior scoring and finishing at the rim. But he’s sure to garner attention with his perimeter skillset and size.
The other two high-ranking prospects include sharpshooter Thierry Darlan and Izan Almansa, a center with a powerful yet mobile skillset.
Darlan, at 6-foot-6, is a quick-fire shooting guard with a knack for finding his spots and hitting tough shots. He’s got fine athleticism, leading to a decent scoring package overall, but could use some general polish to his game overall.
Almansa is incredibly coordinated for his size at 6-foot-10, has good run-and-jump ability for a big, is a great interior scorer, has good defensive timing and should be mobile enough to be versatile on defense. He’s also got great positional passing chops.
It could be tricky in getting all four prospects to reach their highest available potential at once. But the G League has thrived in getting prospects to the league so far, and all four should be fun to watch ahead of the 2024 draft.
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