A scouting report on NBA draft prospect Allen Graves:
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot-7.75 (without shoes)
Weight: 226 pounds
College: Santa Clara
Strengths
As a redshirt freshman, Graves had a massive March Madness moment when he sunk a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in Santa Clara’s first-round matchup with Kentucky. Unfortunately, Otega Oweh then banked in a buzzer-beater from near half court and the Broncos lost in overtime. Graves finished with a 17-point, seven-rebound day.
The 19-year-old shoots a simple, fundamentally solid three-ball. He’s an adept pick-and-popper and went 41.3 percent from long range in his lone college season. Graves played 22.6 minutes per game as Santa Clara’s sixth man and averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks.
Even as a bench player, there was a lot to like about Graves’ college stats. According to Basketball Reference, Graves ranked fifth in the country in box plus-minus (behind four projected draft picks in Cameron Boozer, Yaxel Lendeborg, Zuby Ejiofor and Aday Mara). He was seventh in steal percentage and grabbed an excellent 5.0 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes.
Beyond the numbers, it’s clear Graves has active, aggressive hands on defense and anticipates well. At his core, Graves was a possession-winning player with his high steal and offensive rebounding rates. And it doesn’t hurt that he had a strong assist-to-turnover ratio for a freshman forward, dishing out 63 assists over 35 games and committing just 25 giveaways.
Graves also showed plenty of offensive abilities inside the arc, including as a post scorer and passer. He plays with patience and uses bumps, spins and fakes in a mature way.
“As far as what an NBA team’s getting, just a guy who’s going to impact winning,” Graves said on “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, where he announced that he’s staying in the draft. “I want to make the dirty play. … I want to be that key guy, that glue guy, the connector piece on offense.
“Knock down a shot, go get an offensive rebound, get extra possessions. Win the possession battles on both ends, whether that’s me getting deflections on the defensive end, getting steals, blocks, anything like that. Just being that winning player and impacting winning at a high level.”
Weaknesses
By NBA standards, Graves appears to lack both burst and bounce.
That impression was backed up by his athletic testing at the draft combine. Graves’ times ranked in the bottom five for lane agility, shuttle run and three-quarter court sprint. He had a 27.5-inch standing vertical leap and a 34-inch maximum vertical.
One of Graves’ only statistical weak spots was fouling. He was whistled for 5.5 fouls per 40 minutes. While Graves comes across as a smart player who will listen to coaching and likely tweak his approach in the NBA, it’s natural to wonder how much of his defensive playmaking will carry over against better athletes.
Graves likes to line up his jumpers and doesn’t shoot with much lift. He took under 100 threes and wasn’t an exceptional foul shooter, going 84 for 112 (75 percent) at the charity stripe. His outside shooting looks to be a strength, but it’s certainly not a lock that he’ll be tremendous in the NBA.
Though Santa Clara earned an at-large NCAA tournament bid with a 26-win season, Graves did not regularly face elite college competition. Of course, good NBA players can come from anywhere. Steve Nash, Jalen Williams and Brandin Podziemski are among Santa Clara’s NBA products.
Fit
If the Sixers believe in Graves’ unique blend of skills and standout statistical profile, he’d be a logical name to have on the radar with the 22nd pick.
The hope would be that he meshes savvily with the Sixers’ in-house stars, helps in the possession game, and shoots as well as he did in college.
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NBA mock draft roundup: Looking at some of Sixers' options with 22nd pick | 0 | 5 | 20-05-2026 |
| 2 | NBA mock draft roundup: Recent projections for Sixers at No. 22 with draft nearing | 0 | 5 | 17-06-2026 |
| 3 | Final mock draft roundup for Sixers with 22nd pick | 0 | 5 | 23-06-2026 |
| 4 | Sixers draft profile: Dailyn Swain has a knack for driving | 0 | 7 | 20-06-2026 |
| 5 | Sixers draft profile: Christian Anderson has big-time offensive talent | 5 | 7 | 05-06-2026 |
| 6 | Sixers draft profile: Isaiah Evans fires away from long range | 5 | 7 | 09-06-2026 |
| 7 | Sixers draft profile: Morez Johnson Jr. brings tons of defensive tools to the table | 5 | 6 | 26-05-2026 |
| 8 | Sixers draft profile: Will Chris Cenac Jr. put it all together in the NBA? | 0 | 6 | 12-06-2026 |
| 9 | Sixers draft profile: Bennett Stirtz is a polished, battle-tested guard | 2 | 6 | 02-06-2026 |
| 10 | Santa Clara's head coach believes the NBA franchise that selects Allen Graves is getting 'a winner' | 0 | 0 | 23-06-2026 |
