Christopher will likely make his way up the board for a little while. He has a really solid frame, and some solid bounce. He’s a scorer through and through, but has more potential defensively than some of these other “score first pass never” guys that we’ve seen so far. His offball game is nonexistent, but i trust his defensive development enough. Boom or bust kinda guy.

Comparison: Kelly Oubre

Ceiling: Wesley Matthews with some POP

Floor: Romeo Langford

Josh Christopher is a 6-5 guard who, like Bagley, missed a lot of time. He played just 12 games before bein ruled out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. He''s unproven; his three-point percentage was meh, but he showed some promise as s guy who can get his own shot and makes some tough ones. Let''s hope he keeps the injury bug away. He was figured to thrive in a scrimmage setting thanks to his ability to adjust and make shots with some sharp self creation, and he did showing off some nice scoring ability.

I think my main goal in this pre-draft process was to just get back where I needed to be. This season was rough, you could say, not really winning games and starting the season as a lottery pick and having those expectations and not living up to them.

Josh Christopher

Projected draft range: 20-35

Height 6'4 Weight 215 lbs Wingspan 6'9

Offense

• Capable attacker with nice touch, shiftiness, deceptiveness. Creates some space, and has a nice handle.

• Can settle for bad jumpers, finding consistency in his shooting mechanics, but should come.

• A really nice pullup game.

• Sometimes tunnel vision attacking, but is excellent in transition - can switch gears or get downhill.

• Blend of features- size, speed, strength, touch.

• Is he explosive enough? Verticality is nice, but burst is a question for the style of play.

• Averages 5 FTA per 40, can still improve more here.

• Highly confident

• Playmaking ability remains a question, he was used as a wing at ASU, may have some untapped potential here.

Defense

• There is upside on this part of the floor, but it's more theoretical.

• 2 STL per 40. Plays the passing lanes well.

• Fouls entirely too much. 4.3 Fouls per 40.

• Defensively out of sync far too often.

• Defensive footwork and instincts are not there right now.

Swing Factors

• Shooting Consistency - If he doesn't sure up mechanics, and shot selection it will severely limit his effectiveness as a player.

• Defense - Needs to be more consistently engaged and aware or his defensive upside could go south.

Role

• A potential emerging three-level scorer with the upside to possess two-way skills.

• LOW: Christopher's confidence turns to a negative and his shot selection is a problem. His attack style doesn't generate enough free throws, and his defensive technique is bbq chicken. Christopher fails to latch on to anything more than an end of the bench heat check guy.

• HIGH: Three-level scoring becomes evident early, Christopher is a great transition player and his shooting mechanics come along. Defensively his upside manifests making him a legitimate two-way guy who fills as a high-level sixth man/starter.

Tier 8 Floor - G league Bullseye - rotation player Ceiling - high-end rotation player

Dynamic, athletic 2-way wing who thrives in transition and isolation

Comparisons: Malik Monk, Cam Reddish, Shake Milton

Christopher is a star waiting to happen and be a stud. He is one of the dynamic shooting guards in this draft. He is a combo mix and match type of guard and the NBA loves new talent like that.

Positives

-Very athletic player, especially off two feet, exciting player to watch, had some ridiculous one-handed dunks, plays a physical style

-Good shot creating upside, has a good handle and creates separation, pullback into a crossover was his favorite move, most comfortable making mid range shots off the dribble, including on PnRs, or after pump fakes and lean-in's, gets to his spot well, uses his size to overpower defenders on drives and was a crafty finisher, especially dominant in transition

-Potential to become a good shooter, despite a bad shooting year overall, shows nice touch from the FT line and had stretches of elite shotmaking, has a smooth form and can get the shot off over defenders, always confident, even shooting some in transition

-Showed some flashes of solid playmaking upside, especially to bigs in the dunker's spot, his team didn't ask him to do much of it

-Has some great defensive potential, when locked in, he used his physicality and quick and strong hands to bother opponents, good feel for help-side blocks and in transition

Negatives

-Needs to improve his shot selection and decision making in general, has tunnel vision at times and can overdribble a bit, settled for some tough jumpers instead of easier passes, definitely a scorer's mentality but needs to make things simpler

-Was an inconsistent shooter last season, while most of the indicators are good, he needs to knock down the shots he gets, his catch and shoot mechanics are a bit long, brings ball to the left him and to the left side of his face

-Should be a bit more focused on defense, was caught ball watching, out of position or gambling on some plays, overall needs to have some more awareness, especially in transition, work on his footwork on closeouts, and just improve his effort on this end

Likely range: 14-25

Pro Comparison: Norman Powell

Stats: 14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 spg, 52.9% TS, 30.5%(3.9A) 3pt

19 yrs old, 6''5", SG, 215 lbs

Recruit(2020): 5 star recruit, Rank: 11, Rank SG: 2

Tier 5 Prospect