Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin, & Oscar Tshiebwe: 2023 NBA Draft Scouting Reports
Three Wildcats with draft hopes and incredibly different pathways to get here. Who is best suited to last in the NBA?
Now that we’re in the late part of the draft cycle, I’m going to start to transition to shorter scouting report videos. Every player in this draft who is in my top 40 already has a video done in full length. With these prospects who I have outside of my top 40 (and therefore project more as G-League guys, even if they get drafted), I’ll do shorter videos — and hopefully more of them!
To keep up with the rest of the prospects (and to try to not clutter your inbox with multiple posts a day), I’m going to be sending out some combo platters: two prospects at the same time with less depth but some to-the-point analysis on each. The idea is to group these prospects together based on some overlap or comparison point.
Today’s edition focuses on the Kentucky boys, three players with drastically different paths up to this point. One is a one-and-done wing who had a disappointing season but still seems to be in contention for a late-first or early second-round pick. Another is a former National Player of the Year whose game doesn’t seem to translate cleanly to the pros. The other is a hyperathletic forward with unique skills that flash on occasion and a pedigree that indicates he might belong in the NBA.
Are any or all of them going to make it into the league and going to provide a positive impact? Whose names should be called on draft night?
Chris Livingston - W, Kentucky
Heading into the final version of a watch-through (and a last-minute cram to get a video out thanks to news about Livingston shutting down workouts getting out), I was pretty low on Livingston. I didn’t see the appeal — he’s a big, physical wing driver without much playmaking for others, a poor pull-up, and questionable impact as a spot-up guy. The raw athletic tools were there, but as I wrote about earlier this week, I struggle to see those non-shooting wings really being able to make an impact.
The more I watched Livingston, the more I started to get it in theory. The theory behind him is pretty simple. Big wing and plus defender with all the physical tools, plus one of the more aesthetically-pleasing and workable jump shots of all the big, athletic wings in this class. If you were to argue that Livingston is the one wing of that group who does learn how to shoot it, I could see the argument for it.
But that’s still a lot of theory. In reality, Livingston strikes me as a highly-touted 5-star recruit who struggles to find his impact on the offensive end when he cannot simply overpower defenders with his raw strength and athleticism anymore. It caught up to him this year at Kentucky, and without major overhauls to his skill set and understanding of counter-moves or craftiness, I have a difficult time seeing him overcome those challenges at the NBA level.
Let’s start with the defense, an area of major positivity from Livingston. He buys into his role and has really good technique, which allows him to maximize his tools.
I can buy into Livingston being a good, strong, versatile point-of-attack defender. He does well against bigger wings thanks to his natural strength, both in the post and on the perimeter. He showed some ability to get through screens and contest shots from behind against smaller players, giving upside to cross-match. I can see the vision for what Livingston can turn into, while also recognizing those are only small flashes.
Offensively is where things fall apart for Livingston. I am not a believer in the jump shot right now. I don’t think there’s a lot of touch, as evidenced by some of his misses inside the arc and when backpedaling. The stroke and form are a little slow and a tad stiff, even though the mechanics are compact. He’s fine when left alone and unguarded (not great, but passable) and really poor if that space is gone away. The corner upside is there, but not much beyond it in my eyes.