7 Prospects Kings should target with 13th overall pick in 2024 NBA Draft
By Mat Issa
Tristan da Silva
2023-24 Stats: 16.0 PPG/5.1 RPG/2.4 APG/1.1 SPG/0.6 BPG on 60.6% True Shooting (34 Games)
A common theme with a lot of these suggestions is that we are looking for players who offer size, shooting, and positional rim protection, and few players exemplify that blend the way that Tristan da Silva does.
At 6'8.25 with a 6'10.25 wingspan, da Silva sports the length necessary to slot in at forward in between Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. As for rim protection, he finished in the 62nd percentile in block rate in the Pac-12 last season (per KenPom). That may not seem like an impressive output, but given his physical tools, da Silva could post an even higher block rate if he's placed in a system that gives non-centers a lot of opportunities to contest shots at the rim (like the scheme the Kings deploy).
The best part about da Silva is that unlike most wings/forwards you see in the draft, he's already a knockdown shooter. Last season, da Silva shot 39.5% from three on 4.8 3-point attempts per game. That was after shooting 39.4% on 3.9 attempts per game the year before. The jumper is very, very real.
Here's a fun query from Bart Torvik. Of all 2023-24 Division I NCAA Players standing 80 inches (6'8) or taller who played at least 20 games and attempted at least 150 threes last season, only da Silva and Dubar Darlinstone averaged at least 39% from three and a steal rate of 2%. That's a rarified combination of size, shooting, and defensive playmaking.
