The search for the next Kristaps Porzingis is already on.
Props to Porzingis for being so good, so soon, that such a search is already happening, just one season into his NBA career. Said search, however, has led NBA scouts to Croatia’s Dragan Bender, a projected top-five pick in this June’s draft.
How good is the sweet-shooting 7’1″ 18-year-old? One NBA scout thinks he’s better now than Kristaps Porzingis was at the same age, according to Lars Anderson of Bleacher Report:
Dragan is more advanced at his age than Kristaps Porzingis was when he was 18,” a longtime NBA scout said. “Dragan has great length, and he can block shots. He can run the floor, and his ability to finish at the rim is exceptional. His shot is getting better all the time. On defense, he has the ability to guard the 4 or the 5. He needs to gain weight and strength, but his potential is jaw-dropping.”
To be clear, the scout is not saying Dragan Bender will unequivocally be better than Porzingis. He’s saying that Bender at 18 is better than Porzingis at 18. What happens from there is up to Bender. He needs to progress and grow as Porzingis did, as Porzingis is. We can’t have the bigger conversation until he has been in the league a few years.
Then, and only then, will we know for sure if Bender is better than Porzingis, or if he’s the next Porzingis, or whether he’s worthy of being compared to the real Porzingis at all.
