NBA Draft Scouting Report: Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Center | Creighton
Height: 7'1” | Weight: 260 lbs
2024 Draft Age: 22.43
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Prospect Profile
After taking a huge leap as a sophomore at Creighton, Kalkbrenner continued to refine his game during his junior season. He still doesn’t project to be a first-round talent as of today, but could be worth a later pick as a backup big prospect. He moves well for a guy of his size, showcasing speed and fluidity.
One of the things that’s been most impressive about the 7-footer this season is his willingness to step out and take triples. The sample size is small, but he’s converted from deep at a respectable rate which forces defenses to stay honest.
His form is solid relative to other bigs at the college level, which should only get better as he makes the leap to the NBA. Given he’s a solid positional free throw shooter, the upside for Kalkbrenner to continue emerging as a shooter is there.
With that in mind, he’s not the best at generating his own shot. He’s great at using his size to score with touch near the rim, but he’s certainly not the type of center to catch in the mid-post and make a play on his own every time down.
While he does score at a high rate for a center, it’s a lot of put backs, lobs and easy layups. However, you do see the occasional possession in which he single-handedly generates his own bucket. When Kalkbrenner catches in the post, he's good about surveying the floor to kick out to an open shooter.
To this point, Kalkbrenner hasn’t been as dominant of a rebounder as we’d like to see. Given he’s almost always the biggest guy on the floor, the expectation is that he’d clean the glass a bit more. That said, he is effective on the offensive boards.
Defensively, the Creighton big is a fantastic shot blocker. He’s good good mobility for his size, but certainly isn’t known as a great perimeter defender or someone that can contain a smaller player in space.
Regardless, he does have 3-and-D upside as a rotational center in the league, which is interesting. Kalkbrenner is certainly worth a look in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. He participated in the combine ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft before deciding to go back to school for another year.
Highlights
Draft Projection
Second-Round Pick in 2024 NBA Draft.
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