Jabari Walker: 2022 NBA Draft Scouting Report
Walker had some hype entering the season, but an inconsistent year revealed some long-term question marks
After an efficient run as a role player on Colorado’s 2021 run to the NCAA Tournament, Jabari Walker caught a great deal of attention. He’s a 6’8” fluid mover who shot over 50% from 3 as a freshman, could defend multiple positions and made the game look effortless. Next to former Buffaloes point guard (and current NBA player) McKinley Wright, Samaki Walker’s son got plenty of open shots gift-wrapped and was able to only play a very simple role.
Walker’s sophomore year was solid but not excellent. He stepped into a bit of a larger role, finished the season averaging nearly 15 and 10, and lead Colorado to a 20-win season and the NIT. All eyes were going to be on the shooting of Walker. Freshmen don’t make 52.3% of their triples all too often. Would that be a real number on higher volume? Could he prove he’s an elite shooter? Would he regress to the mean?
Right out of the gates, Walker regressed. Through his first ten games, Walker was shooting 24.2% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game. As the volume went up, the effective nature of his shot went way down. The next ten were barely any better: 28% from 3 on 2.5 attempts. By late January, Walker was someone we assumed would return to school altogether, as the game simply wouldn’t translate to the NBA without a jumper.
We’ve started to rethink that approach. Since February 1st, Walker shot 45.7% from deep on 3.8 attempts. Other than a dud in the first round of the NIT, he made a trey in 11 consecutive games: through those eleven, he averaged 17 points, 11.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks.
After two years of watching Walker, we still aren’t sure how much we buy the jumper. It needs work in smaller areas, is prone to its form being slightly interrupted and needs a ton of space to get off. If the shot falls and he can be a sturdy floor spacer, there’s real NBA hope for him. A smart help defender and toolsy guy on-ball, Walker could stick for a franchise who values size and defensive upside at the 3, 4 and even smaller 5 spots.
A few items didn’t make it into the scouting report video that are really important. Walker is a fantastic pound-for-pound rebounder. Per 40 minutes, he hauls in 13.4 rebounds. That number should be higher than it is: he gets his paws on a fair amount of balls but doesn’t complete the secure. His hands are a tad questionable. His lower body needs to add strength, and he can get himself into foul trouble. While he didn’t foul out of any contests this year, he had four more fouls in a quarter of their contests: he played fewer than 30 minutes in five of them.
The ideal role for a guy like Walker is as Grant Williams-lite or a Dorian Finney-Smith. He needs to take almost all his shots from deep (and ideally the corners), improve his shooting to make that a valuable role for him, and buy into being versatile defensively. A really good athlete in some ways and poor in others, we have a tough time envisioning Walker being able to create his own shot at the NBA level and worry a good deal about his finishing.
Some have Walker as a trendy first-round prospect. He’s certainly going to get looks after a solid statistical season while possessing the idea frame for the modern NBA. We have him as more of a late-second-round candidate, with concerns around the finishing and shooting consistency really dragging him out of the top-40.
Below are some statistical profiles and outlooks on Walker