Sleeper Picks: Is Owen Foxwell Worth a Second-Round Pick?
Hype plays a large role in where a prospect gets drafted. Players can influence their hype, and they are primarily responsible for it to be clear. Some players get unearned hype that helps them get drafted higher than they deserve in nearly every draft, but for the most part, hype is marginally formed by narrative and largely informed by quality of play.
Australian point guard Owen Foxwell went into this season with zero hype.
For starters, even though he’s draft-eligible, he’s not an NBL Next Star. That immediately puts him behind Rocco Zikarsky, Alex Toohey, Karim Lopez, Izan Almansa, and even his own teammate Malique Lewis. Additionally, one non-Next Star prospect has already played his way into draft discussions this season in Ben Henshall. Finally, Foxwell is small. At 6-foot-2 and 178 pounds, he doesn’t quite look like an NBA player and plenty of NBA coaching staffs would likely shudder at the thought of figuring out how to hide him on defense.
Yet, in spite of all that, we’re here discussing Foxwell. Why?
Because he’s been playing well -- in 19 games and at nearly 15 minutes per game, Foxwell is averaging 6.2 points, 2.3 assists (0.5 turnovers), and 1.5 rebounds per game on 45/52/79 shooting splits. He’s managed to be a bright spot in what has been an otherwise grim season for South East Melbourne Phoenix. The 52 percent from beyond the arc, albeit on only 29 three-point attempts, has certainly caught scouts' attention.
Foxwell is left-handed, and the shot takes more time to load up than you would like especially for a player of his size, but the accuracy through almost 20 games far surpasses his 27 percent from last season and 32 percent from the season before that. He’s also converting as a spot-up shooter from all spots on the arc, and creating his own off-the-dribble attempts out of the pick-and-roll.
Foxwell’s best attribute though, is his speed. He’s got elite top-end speed, and might even be the fastest player in the NBL baseline to baseline. Even with the ball in his hands opponents struggle to keep up with him, and this helps him push the pace like some of the NBL’s best.
Foxwell’s speed helps him get to the rim but he’s still got plenty of room for improvement there. He’s only shooting 45 percent on layup attempts this season, per Synergy Sports, and he still gets his shot blocked regularly. He seems to prefer the Tyrese Maxey style of finishing, where he simply tries to beat his defender to the glass with speed, but he doesn’t get enough elevation to execute that craft well enough. Foxwell needs to develop a floater if he wants an NBA career.
One thing that stands out with Foxwell’s offensive game, especially as a driver, is his ability to draw fouls. Foxwell has shot 33 free throws this season, which isn’t a ton but it’s 0.39 free throws attempted per field goal attempt. That’s a notable notch below Bryce Cotton’s 0.5 free throws per field goal attempt but ahead of the likes of Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and Taran Armstrong. It’s a testament to his skill, and ability to beat defenders and embrace contact even as an undersized guard.
Foxwell is a solid passer. He’s not making any exceptional reads or pulling off passes that no one saw coming - if he was, he’d be in more draft discussions - but he is a good decision-maker and passes with exceptional accuracy. His passes hit his teammates in their shooting pocket, or set them up to finish at the rim with relative ease. The passes don’t blow your mind, but they help his teammates score, and that’s all you can really ask for at the end of the day.
While Foxwell is playing some great basketball so far this season, he will still be 22 years old come draft day and an undersized guard. There’s not a huge appetite for that in the modern NBA so even a late second-round pick might be a reach for him. A summer league deal does seem likely, though, and quality play there could lead to a two-way opportunity where, if he keeps up his current level of play, it might eventually lead to a full contract. Foxwell didn’t have any hype coming into this season, but he’s created just enough to be a name we will likely hear somewhere this summer.
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