NBA Draft Scouting Report: Oregon's N'Faly Dante

Scouting Report: N'Faly Dante

Mar 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante (1) shoots the ball against / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

1. Player Info
2. Prospect Profile
3. Highlights
4. Draft Projection
5. 2024 Big Board

Player Info

N'Faly Dante

Center | Oregon 

Height: 6'11” | Weight: 265 lbs 

2024 Draft Age: 22.69

Mar 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante (1) during practice before / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Prospect Profile

With an incredibly physical build, Dante has the height and strength to dominate the paint on both ends. He’s double-double machine who is ready to take the leap to the NBA after five college seasons at Oregon. 

More of a traditional center, he embraces contact and physicality, but is also fluid for his size. Dante is a good athlete and very coordinated for his size and frame. Most of his shots were at the rim, but he did convert on nearly 70% of his attempts from the floor last season. 

Dante didn’t shoot a single 3-pointer in college and is also a poor free throw shooter. There isn’t much reason to be convinced that he’ll ever have the touch to space the floor moving forward. He has a pretty clear offensive role as a lob threat and glass cleaner at the next level. There’s always room for players like that in the league, especially those like him who give great effort, set solid screens and are effective rim runners. While he is turnover prone at times, Dante is an underrated positional passer.

Most of Dante’s best traits are on the defensive end. He’s a great shot blocker who also generates a ton of steals. He’s just extremely long and physically imposing. That end of the floor is what NBA teams will value most in his game given he’s a very good defender. 

Dante did face a knee injury in the recent season, but was great upon his return to action. He also finished his collegiate campaign strong with a career-high 28 points and 20 rebounds in his final game of the NCAA Tournament. 

Originally from Mali, Dante is a Sunrise Christian product and former five-star recruit who reclassified up. He has played plenty of high-caliber basketball against great competition for years. To cap off his college career, he earned his second-straight  All-Pac-12 First Team nod. 

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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