2020 NBA Draft: Desmond Bane is the ultimate draft sleeper

NBA Draft prospect Desmond Bane (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
NBA Draft prospect Desmond Bane (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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NBA Draft
NBA Draft prospect Desmond Bane (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Shooting

Bane is a Pitbull of a guard, possessing a stalky and stout frame at six-foot-six, 215 pounds. His teammates called him “Honey Bun” when he arrived with 16 percent body fat at TCU as a freshman. But now at only six percent body fat, he has an NBA ready body and the strength to bully most point guards in the league.

Bane can score at all of the three main levels and has no problem creating his own shot off the dribble. He’s one of the best shooters in the draft, Bane shot 43 percent for his career from beyond the arc at TCU and has incredible versatility as a shooter.

As I mentioned previously, Bane can create his own shot with ease and his best skill offensively, might be his effortless ability to shoot off the dribble. He has pretty textbook form and a quick release, making it hard to defend his shot. Plus he not only can shoot it with great efficiency off the bounce from the three-point line, but Bane also has a phenomenal mid-range game.

Something of a lost art in today’s “let’s shoot three’s from Mars” driven league, this is what makes Bane a standout in this class for me and separates him from some of the other top guards.

Bane comes of high screen/PnR, fadeaway jumper
Bane comes of high screen/PnR, fadeaway jumper
Bane off dribble, stepback 3, quick release, contest does nothing to him
Bane off dribble, stepback 3, quick release, contest does nothing to him

He’s also great at creating open shots with his movement off the ball and is deadly in catch and shoot situations. Bane is great moving without the ball, cutting, and making defenders chase him off of screens. This diversity with his shot creation is going to allow whatever team that selects Bane, to have confidence to put the ball in his hands early and draw actions for him off of the ball.

With the way he can shoot it, there’s no reason not to believe that Bane won’t find a place within an NBA offense and contribute. He doesn’t need the ball to be effective and has the ability to play with pretty much any other guard.

Bane corner 3 off handoff, tough shot fading away/out of bounds
Bane corner 3 off handoff, tough shot fading away/out of bounds
Bane catch and shoot 3, weak side corner 3, clutch shot
Bane catch and shoot 3, weak side corner 3, clutch shot