The University of Duke had an up and down year. Plenty of highs and lows, but one thing was constant all season long. When Jayson Tatum was dominating, Duke was dominating.
Tatum started the season off slow, but gradually got more comfortable as it went on and by the time conference play started; he was dominating his competition. Tatum has top-5 potential and has a very real chance of being the best player out of this draft.
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 205 pounds
College averages: 16.8 ppg, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG
Strengths
Jayson Tatum's strengths come in his offensive build.
His form on his shot is quality, he's got post-up moves and can bring it outside. A lot of his work is done in isolation. At times it seemed that Tatum needed more space to go to work on offense really, and luckily for him, the NBA has larger gaps that he can go to work in.
One of his best qualities is his ability to get to the rim. He can take you off the dribble or catch a lob, but his ability to put the ball in the hoop is top notch. He can find the open man if he gets doubled and can be effective at leading an offense.
Weaknesses
While Tatum does have a nice form on his shot, his mechanics are a bit inconsistent. This leads to inconsistency in his shooting as a whole, and he'll go through slumps where he can't make anything.
It's hard to tell whether this will be fixed in a short time or long time, but when he's consistent on his form, it makes him a whole new player. He can hit step-backs and dribble pull-ups, but it's all determined on that inconsistent mechanic.
His defensive issues are a bit of a concern. He's got a good build to be a defensive beast, but he tends to either misread the situation or get beat laterally.
This isn't as big of a concern as anything else, though, because Tatum's 6'8" frame has a lot that can be built upon. He'll get bigger and stronger when he gets into the league, and a lot of film work can help his IQ when it comes to defense.
Tatum isn't as NBA ready currently as Josh Jackson is, so most mock drafts expect Jackson to go before Tatum, but a few teams could be intriguing for him.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks could make good use of him.
Both those teams primarily need a point guard, but in Philadelphia's case, if Ben Simmons plays more of that point-forward role, Tatum can fill in at the three spot. The Mavericks need a bit of everything, but if they don't mind surviving one more year without a dominant point guard, Tatum is an impressive grab for them as well.
