2021 NBA Draft Profile: Usman Garuba

A defensive mastermind in the EuroLeague, will Usman Garuba’s offense come around and help him find his way in the NBA as a stretch big or wing?

Position: Big? Wing? Basketball player, Real Madrid

Age: 19 (3/9/2002)

Height: 6 ft 8 in

Wingspan: 7 ft 3 in

Weight: 230 lbs.

Strickland 2021 Big Board Rank: 20

Usman defies fitting into existing boxes, so we have a mini-feature profile on him courtesy of @OscarrNBA. Fun up top, the regularly scheduled quick-format profile below!

Usman Garuba is a 6-foot-8, 230-lb. defensive specialist who played for Real Madrid, one of the premier teams of the EuroLeague. He’s been on their roster since he was 16, and started getting real rotation minutes at only 17 years old. This is no small feat for any player, but especially a big; they usually have the steepest learning curve adjusting to pro ball, as the different coverages and schemes can be a bit overwhelming for players who probably relied on outlier physical skills to get by at lower levels. Not only did Garuba survive on that side of the ball, he excelled.

Garuba is the closest thing to a playoff defender built in a lab. He has the size and strength to hang with most 5s, but can also consistently blow up pick-and-rolls (while guarding either the ball handler or the screen setter!). He’s a true switch big, with elite lateral quickness and perimeter instincts for a 6-foot-8-plus player, rivaled only by the likes of Bam Adebayo (he even clamped up OAKAAK Shane Larkin in a clip that went semi-viral earlier this season). He’s so good at suffocating smaller players on the perimeter that some have even floated the idea of playing him at the wing. And although deploying him as a traditional rim protector probably isn’t his ideal fit (we’ll get to that in a minute), his length and ground coverage should theoretically allow him to be pretty solid there too. He’s an elite defensive prospect, and If the NBA had designated defenders, he’d easily be a top 10 pick, if not higher. 

But, it doesn’t. Garuba’s going to have to survive on offense if he wants to stay on the floor during crunch time, and right now he’s not equipped to do so. At Real Madrid, he wasn’t given the freedom and responsibility to create for himself and others; after all, he was only a bench big. He was limited to rim running and taking the occasional wide open three, and because of this, it’s hard to reliably project his offense. However, I still see a path to value for him on this side of the ball as a rim runner, short roll passer, and league-average catch-and-shooter. He’s already a pretty good passer for his position, and his high processing speed suggests he has even more room to improve in this area. And while he probably doesn’t have the ideal height for a rim runner, his catch radius (7-foot-3 wingspan) and athleticism should make up for that. 

So, that leaves the shooting. Shooting off the catch is probably his “swing skill”; if he can’t shoot, he’ll be forced to play the 5, and his elite perimeter skills will be somewhat wasted (while he’ll definitely play some small-ball center minutes, that’s not his ideal long-term position). His full season shooting stats don’t look pretty, but he steadily improved as the campaign went on (since April 1 he shot 36% from three and 84% from the line). If Garuba can continue this upward shooting trajectory, he’ll be a flawed but valuable offensive player, which will be more than enough to allow him to stay on the floor and stop his defensive prowess from being wasted. 

While Garuba’s archetype is valuable, he needs a fairly specific team around him to maximize his talents. If he’s playing the 4 (his ideal position, in my opinion), he needs a significant amount of shot creation in the rest of the lineup to offset his deficiencies in that area. He also probably requires shooting at the 5 next to him, as while I believe in Garuba as a stationary catch-and-shooter, he probably still won’t provide a ton of spacing, so a non-shooting 5 next to him could provide some spacing issues.

Usman is truly an elite defensive prospect. You can stick him on the opposing team's best 1-4 scorer and get good results, which is invaluable in the playoffs. He has the potential to be both the best guard-defending big and the best pick-and-roll defending big in the league one day, and that alone warrants a lottery selection. If he can make moderate strides on offense, something that shouldn’t be too difficult for a 19 year old, Garuba will be a special player and a key cog for a contender one day.

The Sales Pitch: Defensive Swiss army knife who has the potential to swing a playoff series by locking down the opponent’s best scorer regardless of position. 

Elite Traits/Skills: Point of attack defense and pick-and-roll defense

The Devil’s Advocate argument: If Garuba’s shooting never comes around, he goes from an already tricky fit to a player who limits your lineup construction so much that he might not be worth the trouble.

The Misconceptions: That Garuba is a non-shooter. This was a popular narrative early in the draft cycle, before his strong close to the season behind the arc. His bump in attempts and accuracy from three provide much more room for optimism than even his biggest fans could hold a few months ago.

Important numbers:

• 31.5% on 1.5 3pt attempts per game: Garuba’s combined shooting splits last season from both Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Even with his hot streak to close the year, he’s got some work to do

• 62% on twos in the EuroLeague last season: Shows his potential as roller and finisher

• 19 years, 4 months, 20 days: Garuba’s age on draft night. He’s got plenty of time to develop his secondary skills like shooting and passing

Knicks Fit: Garuba doesn’t fill any of the Knicks’ pressing needs (rim pressure, self creation, and half court playmaking). And they don’t particularly need another big, especially another 4/5 hybrid (hello, Obi). But his versatility and Day 1 defensive polish would allow for much more bench lineup experimentation. Many wanted Thibs to try Randle at the 5 last season, but the truth is, there wasn’t really a 4 who could both space the floor and defend at a passable level on roster (sans Obi’s late season/playoff development). Garuba would fit perfectly into the lineup next to Randle: Usman would limit paint touches to protect Julius’ lack of rim protection, and be a bouncy rim runner and finisher than Randle isn’t. 

Now, will Thibs actually try something like this? We don’t know for sure. My guess is that if Garuba was the pick at 19 or 21, the front office would communicate to Thibodeau their ideal role for Usman. Nevertheless, it’s always a slippery slope when drafting a position-less player to play under a coach with rigid lineup tendencies.