NBA Draft Scouting Report: Lithuania’s Marek Blazevic

Scouting Report: Marek Blazevic

Contents

1. Prospect Profile 
2. Highlights 
3. Draft Projection 
4. 2024 Big Board

Marek Blazevic 

Center | Lithuania

Height: 6’11” | Weight: 205 lbs

2024 Draft Age: 22.81 

FIBA.com Media Photos

Prospect Profile 

When it comes to international prospects, there are a few examples in recent history in which players selected late in the second round who break that mold. Generally older, medium-floor/low-ceiling players who are drafted after having at least one full season of solid production under their belt, while playing major minutes in a top-tier international league. The common thread between those players is generally their consistency at one specific basketball skill which could turn them into specialists down the line.

One prospect who is starting to play his way into that conversation is Marek Blazevic, a 6-foot-11 Lithuanian center who most recently played for Obradoiro in the Spanish ACB.

He was productive during the course of the season, scoring and rebounding at a solid rate while being efficient from the floor.

Blazevic plays as a traditional offensive center who is extremely polished at making shots around the basket. He shows a combination of size, footwork, coordination and touch below the rim which makes him a scoring threat in the paint both in post-ups and in easy catch-and-finish situations despite not being especially explosive as a finisher at the rim.

Despite his productivity, Blazevic’s case as an NBA prospect begins to turn flimsy when looking at his defensive profile. His impact when defending away from the rim ranges from non-existent to negative, as he is not really switchable in space, and even his rim protection is limited given his lack of explosiveness off a standstill.

The bottom line is that Blazevic does one thing really well, which is scoring at the rim, and NBA teams have shown they value older international specialists (like 2017 Draft pick Sasha Vezenkov or 2019 pick Vanja Marinkovic) enough to draft them in the late second round. It sounds like a stretch, but at the end of the day, it just takes one team who values Blazevic and his interior self-creation enough to overlook the defensive limitations.

He's been eyeing the NBA since declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft, but the 2024 NBA Draft could be the time to make the jump for Blazevic.

Highlights 

Draft Projection 

Potential Second-Round Pick in 2024 NBA Draft.

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2024 Big Board

Want to know more about other potential 2024 NBA Draft prospects and where they might get selected? Check out our Draft Digest Big Board.

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