2022 International Prospects – Sleepers

With this list I want to mention 5 players not currently on the NBADraft.net 2022 Mock Draft that I think will get drafted should they enter this year. I also tried not to mention players in the recent article written by Stefanos Makris which I will leave the link to below although I had to speak on some of the NBL players since I’ve been binge watching games in that league. Very easy to find NBL games online and since these are prerecorded you can skim through them as well. Anything that isn’t an opinion is information I got from watching games, game footage, interviews, listening to podcasts or reading articles online.

https://www.nbadraft.net/international-stock-watch-5/
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Leonardo Okeke

The ‘Italian Giannis Antetokounmpo’ Leonardo is an intriguing prospect. Currently signed to Italian first league team Bertram Tortona but on loan to Italian 2nd league team JB Casale Monferrato ‘Okeke is averaging 9 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block at 50% and starting to get some attention. Former DraftExpress analyst Mike Schmitz of ESPN tweeted the 18 year old is now 6’11 and mentioned his ‘impressive physical profile and budding skillset’. Okeke has a long wingspan. Its not measured so I don’t wanna speculate but its gotta be at least 7’3.

On the court Okeke has a very strong base for an 18 year old. He has good finishing skill and footwork to go along with his physical and athletic attributes. His go to move is a turn around jumpshot and he already has a few counters developed into his skillset. He has not been able to consistently earn big minutes although in the 1 game he got more than 30 minutes (35) he got 26 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, and in the 11 games he played 20 or more minutes he averaged 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks. Needs to become a more consistent shooter from three and the free throw line but his touch on the mid range jumpers suggests he can.

Leonardo has one major red flag though and that would be his playmaking. In 20 games he has only 3 assists. Those are very bad numbers considering how much he touches the ball. I am also not certain on his draft eligibility although there should be suitors if he enters the 2022 draft. Also not clear on his age although he has grown considerably in the last few years which would suggest his listed age is correct.

Theres a few reasons why noone has heard of Okeke. He currently does not have an Italian passport, therefore he has not been able to participate for Italy’s National Teams like Gabriele Procida or Matteo Spagnolo. My source for this information is scout Rafael Barlowe. Italy was devastated by covid and was hit as hard as any nation in the world and this has really slowed things down in that country and prevented alot of people to travel in and out until just recently.
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Kai Sotto

Kai recently tweeted he is 7’3 with a 7’5 wingspan despite last being measured in 2020 at 7’2 with a 7’1 wingspan. He has excellent mobility for his size and moves laterally with ease. He has very good skill and touch and his footwork and coordination should have teams very interested whenever he declares. His agent and coach both say NBA teams mentioned they were interested in drafting him in 2021 however he was not eligible for the draft because he was not one year removed from graduation, this is why he dropped out of the G League Ignite program.

Kai eventually signed a 2 yr deal (heard this from a play by play guy during a game) with the Adelaide 36er’s where he is averaging 9 points and 4 rebounds per game showing a complete skillset and NBA athleticism. His struggles with turnovers and fouls are not that concerning considering the team he is playing with which leads to a very important factor.

Kai’s team is terrible. A disaster of a fit and while it is a plausible excuse for some of his productivity issues some of the blame should also fall on his shoulders for not being the solution, but its hard to stop a derailed train… The team does not look to pass him the ball at all, its extremely frustrating watching them play because you will see Sotto get deep post position on every other Adelaide possession and just get completely ignored in blatant and disrespectful fashion. Its the first thing you will notice watching a full 36’ers game. Kai, his coach and teammates are all incohesive and there is obvious tension. His team is 3rd last in the league to only to Cairns and the New Zealand Breakers the team with Besson and Dieng. All signs point towards him entering the 2022 draft. Its just way more money and exposure, average NBL player makes 100k.

Sotto has an insane following by the Filipino faithful sportsfans and has extremely large international marketability especially for a rebuilding team that can offer him big minutes. Another 1st round pick for the 2021 Draft. I’m all in on Kai Sotta, he’s the complete package for an NBA big and should be picked early in the 2022 draft.
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Yoan Makoundo

Makoundo is an explosive 6’9 forward playing at Cholet in the French 1st league the same team that developed Rudy Gobert, Roddy Beaubois, Nando De Colo and Yaon’s former teammate Killian Hayes. He currently averages 9 points and rebounds shooting 50% and 40% from 3pt on limited attempts. He tested the waters in the 2021 NBA draft before pulling his name out which has proved to be a very smart decision with the way he is playing this year.

The 21 year old French athlete has been a part of many winning teams and slowly developed into the player he is today improving his shooting every year. He recently established himself as a starter in the French 1st League with Cholet and is coming off a career game 22 points and 11 rebounds a couple weeks ago in which he made 4 of his 5 attempts from three.

His agent Jeremy Medjana with Comsport has represented the who’s who of France Basketball including Gobert, Batum, Fournier, Doumbouya, and former NBA players like Ronny Turiaf and Ian Mahinmi. It would be very odd if he fails to get drafted with the improvements he’s shown this year and the team he has behind him.
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Ousmane Dieng

It seems people are not being patient enough with Ousmane Dieng. The breakers have had alot of injuries and covid related issues this year which has disrupted not only performance but development. The New Zealand Breakers are this years “Tampa Bay Raptors”. Instead of being based out of Auckland, New Zealand where they played out of multiple arena’s the Breakers were forced to start the season away from home for the 2nd straight year. Ousmane Dieng and his teammate, fellow French prospect Hugo Besson (who I am very high on as a shot creator in the mold of Steph Curry/Lou Williams/Jordan Clarkson) walked into a very odd professional debut.

Dieng is extremely talented and its just starting to show as the Breakers are beginning to find some continuity. This is a different situation than Lamelo Ball or Josh Giddey. Ball had already been playing basketball across the world, was the center of attention and lived through a media circus by the time he arrived to the NBL. He was given the green light usage wise and despite still struggling with efficiency earned himself a high draft selection. Giddey did not need to adapt to life in Australian having been a native like Dieng has coming from France as a teenager to a competitive mens league in an extremely dysfunctional situation.

Dieng was last measured at 6’9 with a 7’0.5 wingspan. He has a very strong guard skills for a player with his height and length. Silky smooth stepback jumpshots, great handles and shiftiness, great court vision. He struggles with physicality as you would expect from a player his age. Many instances where he is out of position for a rebound or rotation although the flashes he shows defensively are very exciting. He also struggles with consistency and has never shot over 40% from the field in any league competitions and his team is dead last in the league which is usually the case for high upside NBL prospects.

Dieng should not be mocked by anybody in the 2nd round with the flashes he has shown even if its just been in a handful of games. Theres too many teams with multiple picks and patience. Between the Spurs, Thunder, Grizzlies, Rockets etc. someone is bound to pick him in the 1st round and hope he has the work ethic to reach his potential.
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Ariel Hukporti

Ariel is an a complete opposite situation to rival NBL big man Kai Sotto. He is on a team led by former NBA Champion Matthew Dellavadova and they have utilized him to his strengths Hukporti is a legit 7 foot 250 pound rim running Center with a 9’4 standing reach and 7’3 wingspan which allows him to anchor his teams defense. He has very quick feet for his size and a bit of touch to play in the post along with great strength and vertical athleticism.

Hukporti has become extremely consistent in his limited role as an energy big man for the NBL’s best team the Melbourne United. Foul trouble and turnovers are concerns and have prevented him from playing more minutes. In his last 8 games he has scored in double figures 6 times and has 2 or 3 blocks in 5 of those games despite only averaging around 17 minutes played.

The foul concerns are legitimate though. In his last game against Lamelo Ball’s former team and the 2nd placed team in the NBL which was a big matchup he had 5 fouls in only 9 minutes played in a game his team got blown out. Alot of this can just be signs of a young player that is too aggressive and excited which is good when it works but bad when it doesn’t although he is also out of position on rotations alot of the time which just shows his lack of experience. His per 36 numbers during this stretch are absolutely ridiculous and have been throughout the season sitting at 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1.5 steals although he fouls out with 7.1 fouls and also has 4 turnovers so its really not projectable without fixing .

I don’t know where he gets drafted this year but he’s the typical “has all the tools just needs to stay out of foul trouble” big man for today’s modern playstyle. I think with the way he plays with his size and athleticism he should be able to immediately do what he is doing in the NBL in the NBA.