2023!!

Let me introduce you to the next great European prospect. Okeke is a big bodied forward, with a smooth touch around the rim. He is playing for Casale Monferrato and is averaging a shade over 10 PPG. He is a good rim protector and rebounder. He sees openings that other players don’t see. He takes good use of his size on defense. He has a good feel for the game. He has an extremely powerful frame, with broad shoulders and a lot of muscle. On offense, he plays under control. Even though his shot is unpolished, he has a silky touch around the rim. He’s a great scorer in the low post. He finishes through contact and works his way past defenses. He can obviously post up, but can also drive to the hoop. His soft hands give him a tool to score the ball with. He has a great handle for his size which gives him good potential as a floor spacer. Unfortunately, he isn’t a great shooter. His free throw shooting needs to improve if he is going to succeed. His soft touch gives me hope that he will improve. His shot can sometimes take a bit too long to get off. Still, he is a great athlete. He isn’t necessarily an explosive leaper, but he is well conditioned. The encouraging thing with Okeke is his age. He will only be 18 at the time of the draft. Okeke has extreme upside, and has starter potential.

Comparison: Poor Man's Giannis

Projected Draft Range: 55-Undrafted

Player analysis

Leonardo Okeke is a prospect I feel has been underrated in the international scene, the main intrigue I have with him is largely based on an upside that scouts are interested in but clearly haven’t fully explored. He is an italian forward who played in a more unknown and not as highly regarded league, even with his club he was not a big producer and it's clear he does not yet possess the skill to play in the league. He is a great athlete with Giannis' type size at 6’11 with a 7’3 wingspan, he can really leap and get to the basket in just a few steps. He already has a nice frame with a decent amount of size, I would like him to be a little more toned but in terms of body he is ready to play. He mainly just scores through slashing and doesn’t really shoot, teams that draft/sign him will keep him overseas or in the G-League. Okeke probably needs more of a sample size for most teams to consider him but I can see a team taking a chance on him in the late second round, I would definitely draft a player like him over an okay proven college talent just so I can secure that I have his upside on my team and in the later parts of the draft there is little to no risk at all for a pick like this. You just don’t see size and athleticism for forwards like this and if I were a front office I would be thankful that this year's draft has been so cluttered that Leonardo has been able to fly under the radar for many draft experts completely.

Projection

Draft range: [ 46 - undrafted ]

Comp: [ Rookie year Giannis ]