NBA Draft Prospects: How Would Achiuwa Fit With Kings?

There are many options for the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft, and one of them is drafting Precious Achiuwa from Memphis.

While the schedule for the upcoming year for the NBA is still unknown, we know that there will be a draft at some point. We’re going to help you be prepared when that day comes, as we’ll be breaking down potential prospects for the Sacramento Kings in the first and second rounds of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Today’s prospect is Precious Achiuwa, a six-foot nine-inch forward from the University of Memphis.

Achiuwa was a part of an outstanding recruiting class for Memphis and head coach Penny Hardaway. He was a five-star recruit who had offers from schools such as Kansas, Syracuse, and UCLA, but ultimately joined fellow big-time recruit James Wiseman in Memphis.

The Tigers’ season didn’t exactly go as planned due to NCAA violations made by Wiseman and the cancellation of the March Madness tournament. But Achiuwa was able to put his talents on display in the 31 games that he did play. We take a look at his strengths, weaknesses, and potential fit with the Sacramento Kings.

Strengths

Many of Achiuwa’s strengths are just that: strength.

Every scouting report on Achiuwa, and every eye test for that matter, will tell you that he has “elite level athletic ability” or that he is an “explosive leaper“.  He has a big frame and a lot of length, both of which are two of his best attributes. He moves well for his size and can create matchup problems depending on what position he is placed in.

Shooting is certainly not his strength, but his jumper has become more fluid as his game has developed, and shooting is one of the more teachable traits at the next level. He is an above-average ball-handler for his size and finishes well in traffic.

Achiuwa is a solid rebounder for his size, averaging nearly 11 rebounds in just over thirty minutes per game. Three of those rebounds were offensive. His length benefits him in this category as well, as he is able to outreach many of his opponents at his position.

On defense, his switchability is his greatest asset. In college, he could guard 2 through 5, and should be able to do something similar in the NBA especially against small-ball lineups. Achiuwa averaged just a hair under two blocks per game, though those numbers could potentially see a slight decline in a bigger and faster league.