Checking In On James Nnaji's Development

Nnaji is spending the 2023-24 season playing for Euroleague powerhouse FC Barcelona Basketball

It's been six months since Hornets fans had their first glimpse of James Nnaji at Summer League. It's time to check in on his development and see how has he performed this season at Barcelona.

In ACB (Spanish League) play Nnaji is averaging 2.1pts 2.2reb 0ast 0.5blk 0.1stl per game while shooting 60% from the field and 55% from the FT line. To gain a better understanding of the context behind Nnaji's season averages I reached out to Spanish Basketball journalist Gerard Solé of DAZN Espana who is as plugged in as anyone on James Nnaji and FC Barcelona Basketball.

"James Nnaji's is having a season far away from what he expected after his emergence last year. Last summer Barcelona signed Willy Hernangómez and Head Coach Roger Grimau is using him and Jan Vesely as the main centers on the team. Nnaji suffered some minor injuries and health problems earlier in the season, but despite that was not part of the team in their 10 Euroleague games (Highest level of competition). He is playing more minutes in ACB ), especially when Hernangomez or Vesely are not playing (rest or minor injuries). Recently, Nnaji played his best game of the season in the ACB, scoring 7 points in a blowout win against Granada. In Euroleague, he had a great game against Maccabi (11 points and 4 rebounds) with Jan Vesely out injured."

"When Nnaji is on the court, he's trying to be a dominant presence in the zone, but he hasn't had the same level of impact as last year. He's struggling to get good offensive opportunities (fewer alley-oops this year) and he's committing more fouls. I think that opponents now know him more are putting him in a more difficult defensive situations."

Could James Nnaji Make an Unexpected Return to Charlotte This Season?

With such underwhelming numbers it's hard to feel any real sense of progress. But by looking into the film via Synergy we can see Nnaji is still showing flashes of talent in the few minutes he does receive.

Nnaji Weakside Help Defense

Let's start with Nnaji's bread and butter, rim protection. This play is particularly impressive as Nnaji anticipates the offensive play and covers a good amount of ground to get the block.

Nnaji PnR Communication + Post Defense

Defense is about organisation. In this possession you can see Nnaji and guard Dario Brizuela communicate well to keep the ball in front despite several re-screen actions. Eventually Nnaji finds himself defending a post up where he uses his strength and size well to force the miss without fouling.

Nnaji Switching Defense

Perhaps Nnaji's most exciting skill is his ability to switch and guard on the perimeter, this is one of his most impressive plays of the season.

Nnaji Offensive Post Footwork and Finish

He only has 8 post up attempts on the season, but Nnaji is shooting 75% in the post and shows flashes of advanced footwork like this. Finding counters will be key as at the moment his moves often feel premeditated. 

Nnaji Good Hands + Rim Dive

Acting as the PnR roll man is Nnaji's most frequent offensive play accounting for 33% of possessions. Synergy has Nnaji rated as "Below Average" in terms of frequency, but still has moments where he shows to have good hands and explosive rim finishing.

Unfortunately, Nnaji simply hasn't received the requisite playing time to show any real level of progress. With both Vesley and Hernangomez signed for next season, it seems Nnaji's path to regular playing time remains blocked. Nnaji's Barcelona contract runs until 2027, so moving to another team with more playing time appears unlikely. However, it's important to understand than in Europe teams practice much more frequently than the NBA. Although Nnaji might not be receiving as much playing time, he will continue to develop as he is practising almost every day with some of the best players in Europe. 

As a former second round pick whenever Nnaji does eventually join the NBA Charlotte will be able to negotiate the terms of his contract. However, it is still too early at this stage to know if the Hornets and Nnaji would consider a buyout to enable him to join the Hornets for the 2024-25 season. With his continued lack of rotation minutes at European level, jumping to the NBA level and starting the clock on his rookie contract already could be too much at this stage. For now fans will have to keep looking forward to the 2024 Summer League to see Nnaji on US soil.