Keyontae Johnson: 2023 NBA Draft Scouting Report
An amazing comeback story has vaulted Johnson back onto draft radars. How legitimate is his trajectory to become an NBA role player?
Scouting is a little different with guys who were primary options in college and are going to serve more as role players in the NBA. Once I feel like the scoring isn’t going to translate as a top option (which can happen for various reasons), I tend to only use most of the plays where they’re serving as a top option to get an idea for tendencies and touch. I then use the off-ball plays much more intently to study where his game is going to operate more frequently.
With Kansas State athlete Keyontae Johnson, I struggle to see him becoming a primary option. His pull-up jumper (below 30% on the season) has never been a highlight of his game (only 2-19 back in 2019-20, his last full season) and the lack of lift on his jump shot doesn’t give much optimism that it will arrive. He’s not a quick twitch creator, takes far more runners in face-up situations than getting to the actual rim, and he isn’t a smooth, quick enough athlete to make up for it all.
As a result, I watched the off-ball possessions (non-ISOs or PNRs) a lot more for Johnson. While the full games showed a really high-IQ and versatile player who can shoot, the placement in an off-ball spot was a little more hit-or-miss.
Johnson is already 23, so his pro outlook is going to require an earlier acceptance of how he’ll impact games outside of being a more primary guy. There are areas he’s really impressive and others where he has some concerning habits. Johnson needs to sharpen those tools quickly to prove himself as an NBA player and more than just a Hollywood comeback story.