Jack Kayil Is the Future of German Basketball

The young point guard has looked sharp in the early days of his debut senior season with KK Mega Basket. The high quality of play he regularly churned out at youth competitions the past couple of seasons is transferring over to his current play.

Jack Kayil / fiba.basketbal

German basketball captured their first gold medal in over 20 years when they beat Serbia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Final. The triumph was glorious but to those who had been tracking the program, far from a surprise. The generation preceding legend Dirk Nowitzki had been coming together over the past couple of seasons: Dennis Schroder, Franz and Mo Wagner, Daniel Theis, Andreas Obst, and others had the perfect blend of chemistry and talent to be able to beat anyone. On their path to gold in 2023, they defeated Team USA in the semifinals. 

The Germans hoped to carry that strong play into an Olympic medal. They felt they could grab gold, or at least silver, but they came up short against hosts France in the semifinal and suffered defeat against Serbia in the bronze medal game. It was a disappointing summer after what they had accomplished only a year ago. Head coach Gordon Herbert departed, taking over FC Bayern Munich. Questions began to loom about what the squad would look like for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, especially at point guard. Schroder, would be 35 then. 

Schroder’s replacement is waiting in the wings, and may very well be ready by 2028. Jack Kayil, now playing for KK Mega Basket, looks ready to be a starting NBA point guard one day. Kayil spent time with ALBA Berlin and Rasta Vechta development programs. His strong play earned him a spot on the Next Generation Podgorica team where he posted averages of roughly 15 points and seven assists per game. 

Shortly after that, Kayil was represented by Misko Raznatovic. The most powerful agent in European basketball, Raznatovic discovered Nikola Jokic at 17 years old and also represents other names recognizable to NBA fans such as Nikola Topic, Nikola Jovic, and Vasilije Micic to name a few. Raznatovic bringing Kayil under his BeoBasket umbrella and into his KK Mega Basket squad shows his belief in the 18-year-olds talent and potential. 

Kayil pops when you watch him. Even for a guard, his burst and shiftiness are exquisite. Professionals are already struggling to stay in front of him. Like many great guard prospects, Kayil controls his speed excellently. He’s mastering stop-and-go and knows when to slow down and read the game. 

His court vision is impressive, and he knows how to create out of the pick-and-roll. He’s yet to show the vision and execution that Topic did early last season but Kayil could get there based on what he’s already displaying. 

He’s knocking down threes and getting to the rim and finishing against bigger and older players too. We’re only three games into the season, but Kayil is already turning heads in the Adriatic League. 

Kayil will be draft-eligible in 2025, he turns 19 in January, but he’s not currently appearing in mocks or big boards as he’s not expected to enter this already-loaded draft class where he’d also be competing with French point guard Nolan Traore and Ratiopharm Ulm’s Ben Saraf, two point guard prospects who currently have better resumes and are impressing more at higher levels of play.

Expect Kayil to wait until 2026 at the earliest. Whenever he enters, he looks ready to be a first-round pick and maybe go in the lottery if he stays on his current path.

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