NBA Draft Board: Auburn’s JT Thor

Ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft, we’re breaking down 20 of the best prospects in the class.

In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder own two picks just outside the lottery at No. 16 and No. 18 overall. One of the prospects who could fall in that range is JT Thor who most recently played at Auburn.

Profile:

One of the most intriguing prospects in the entire class, Thor is a smooth left-handed forward who stands at 6-foot-10. The recent combine was excellent for him as he skyrocketed his draft stock over the week and now looks to get selected late in the lottery or just outside.

---

READ MORE:

Mannix on Presti taking Celtics job

SI Thunder Big Board 3.0

NBA Draft: Thunder must be proactive when drafting bigs

---

Strengths:

With over a 7-foot wingspan, Thor will bring versatility on defense to whoever drafts him. He’s active on that end of the floor and uses his quickness and leaping ability to be an energetic defender.

On offense, he showed the ability to shoot effectively both in the catch-and-shoot and off the dribble. Still a pretty raw prospect relative to where his ceiling could be, Thor could easily become the rare type of player that does it all at the next level.

Weaknesses:

Like many draft prospects, Thor will have to gain quite a bit of weight to become the player teams want him to be. At 203 pounds, he will have problems early in his career on both ends of the floor against bigger, stronger NBA players.

While he seems to be a great floor spacer, Thor needs to improve upon his interior finishing and shot selection. Luckily for him, there’s nothing that seems out of reach in terms of improving his game.