Sergio De Larrea Could Be Spain’s Next Starting Point Guard

Spanish point guard Sergio De Larrea is beginning to feature more regularly in Valencia’s backcourt, giving a better look at the player he might one day become. With a floor general profile and decent size at 6-foot-5 he could have a bright future.

Sergio De Larrea / fiba.basketbal

The latest young prospect to start making a name for himself in Spain’s Liga ACB is 6-foot-5 18-year-old floor general, Sergio De Larrea. De Larrea has been a part of Valencia’s youth system for most of his development, and with the club taking a step down from EuroLeague to EuroCup this season he’s seen a greater opportunity for playing time. New head coach Pedro Martinez - who is back for a second stint at the club after helping them lift the ACB title in 2017 - has regularly featured De Larrea in their starting lineup. 

Professional European clubs are mostly drifting away from being an ideal spot for player development but as always, players themselves can make the difference. De Larrea being a 6-foot-5 floor general makes it easier to put him into a professional rotation. It’s rare that he’ll be in a matchup where he’s physically overmatched due to the size and strength of his position. He leans on these physical attributes over speed and burst, making him comparable to many recent European NBA guards such as Vasilije Micic, and even Ratiopharm Ulm prospect Ben Saraf. 

De Larrea is a good, not great, passer so far. He has decent command of the pick-and-roll and has shown the ability to hit bigs with pocket passes that set them up well for finishes at the rim. Playing with a center who has soft hands like Matt Costello - who is both a roll and pop threat - also helps. Another quality passing skill De Larrea has is he’s great at finding his teammates' shooters' pockets. His passes out to beyond the arc have exceptional accuracy, making it easier for teammates to get shots up before defenders can deter the attempt with a closeout. 

However, De Larrea is still prone to some carelessness with the basketball. Errant passes occur a little more than you’d like, and he gets loose with his handle. These are things that should tighten up with experience and development. More repetitions at the professional level will force him to gain a greater appreciation for the value of possessions and give them away less easily. 

De Larrea has shown scoring prowess as well, particularly from beyond the arc and at the rim, with very little in between. He’s 7-for-16 from deep to start the season and has mostly impressed with the fluidity of his off-the-dribble pull-up three-point shot. The sample is small, but the shot looks good and goes in smoothly. There’s reason to believe it will continue to be a weapon for him. 

When attacking the rim, De Larrea often uses his size - both laterally and vertically - to help get himself in position to finish. He likes using his left hand on layup attempts and uses long strides to get to the left side of the rim and also make the rim a defender that helps shield chasing defenders. There is no in-between game for De Larrea at the moment. Zero midrange attempts and his floater attempts would be hard to clearly define as floaters. Due to his lack of burst and speed, De Larrea doesn’t create a ton of separation, only a little bit due to his size and strength. With that physical skill set, you’d like to see the in-between game improve. Those will be shots he depends on as teams rush him off the three-point line and keep him from getting to the rim. 

As a point guard, De Larrea’s off-ball game is mostly nonexistent at this stage but it’s too early to conclude if it’s something he can develop or not. With more repetitions this season, we’ll keep an eye out for it. It’s not uncommon for young point guards to be mostly stationary without the ball in their hands. 

Defensively De Larrea seems average for his position. His size and length help him deter opposing guards, but struggles with lateral speed against quicker guards occasionally. He does show solid help principles, and also contests shots with his left and right hand adequately. 

De Larrea’s combination of size and skill for an 18-year-old point guard makes him a quality prospect to monitor closely for the rest of the season. To take his game to the next level, the three-point shooting needs to stay at an elite mark. As teams adjust and close him off the line, he’ll need to show more variety as a scorer inside the arc and before getting to the rim. Improvement there, while continuing to prove himself a capable defender on the other end would provide reasons to be optimistic for his NBA future.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.