Rayan Rupert: 2023 NBA Draft Scouting Report
A toolsy French athlete with modern 3-and-D trajectory, Rupert is simultaneously very raw and understanding of his role as a complementary piece
Getting on an NBA radar is about having talent. Staying on the radar is about fitting in well in a certain, winning role. Lasting in the league is about embracing that role.
Despite being a teenager, all reports out of New Zealand are that 19-year-old prospect Rayan Rupert is hell-bent on embracing the roles that he’s given. Rupert joined the New Zealand Breakers this year from France and grew into a starting position on a team that made the NBL Championship. Rupert earned that spot by embracing an off-ball position on offense, playing with energy on defense, and fitting into a winning environment.
Push all the skills aside for a moment: that in itself is wildly attractive. Few teenagers — especially in the modern era with team-jumpers, transfer portals, and such pressure on these kids to live up to their recruiting hype — are able to approach a season with such maturity and team-centric views. Rupert joined the NBL to give himself an advantage on other prospects by playing in a physical professional league. The advantage he got wasn’t from evolving into a lead role and showing scouts how impressive he can be as a toolsy guard playing against grown men. It was in his mental approach to helping a team win.
At 6’7” with a 7’3” wingspan and some fluid athleticism, those raw tools are very appealing on their own. They are what got him on scout radars in the first place.
The film does reveal that, at this point, the offensive game is driven solely by those tools and is incredibly unrefined. What Rupert was able to emerge as this year — a backcourt defensive specialist who uses his physical gifts as a disruptor — has clearly-translatable benefits to the modern NBA. That’s allowed him to stay on first-round radars.
Despite how he embraces his role, Rupert is far from a sure thing. He is coming off a rough series in the NBL Finals against the Sydney Kings, where he was basically removed from the rotation due to the ways his lack of offensive impact was exposed in a competitive playoff environment. There is a ton of work to be done for Rupert on that end, and massive strides must be taken to even have him become playable in an NBA postseason series.
What scouts (myself included) keep coming back to is the rare ability to disrupt on defense that Rupert clearly possesses. That alone could make him investable as a first-round or even top-20 pick.