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23 - Nik Slavica

6-8, 200 Small Forward
Croatia International
Birthday
02/07/97 (27.1 yrs)
Hometown
Sibenik, Croatia
International Team
Cibona Zagreb
ABA Liga Statistics
A1 Liga Statistics
Athleticism
9
Size
8
Defense
8
Strength
7
Quickness
8
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
7
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
7
Potential
8
Passing
7
Intangibles
7
91 Overall:

NBA Comparison: Quincy Pondexter

Strengths: Great size for a wing … Skilled and explosive wing player … His long arms help him on defense … His frame suggests that he can add muscle in the future… A bouncy athlete … Great first step… Very good leaper off of one foot … Plays with good energy on both ends of the floor … Can do just about everything on the court at an acceptable level … Versatile player, who could play either SG or SF at the next level … Can finish above the rim … He is deadly in transition … Likes to run the open floor and does a lot of coast to coasts when he has the chance … Improving at creating his own shot … Has shown glimpses that he can be good in Catch and Shoot situations … His quick first step helps him to attack closeouts … Can post up smaller opponents efficiently … A great slasher, he really knows how to move without the ball … Very good passer … Unselfish player, looks to find the open teammate … Exceptional rebounder for a wing, especially on the offensive end … Tremendous defender … Good low stance and active hands … Has good lateral quickness and can stay in front of his man … Can guard multiple positions … An impressive shot blocker for a wing due to his athleticism …

Weaknesses: Seems to lose confidence at times … Still growing and learning his body … Has a lot of ups and downs, but that’s something to be expected at this stage … Drives almost exclusively in a straight line, which makes him too predicable … Has the tendency to change shooting mechanics … Slow shot release … At times he forces things on offense and takes bad shots … His pull-up jumper needs polishing … Decision making is still growing … Below average 3-point shooter for the time being, although he is improving in that area … He must improve his FT% , which is unacceptable for a wing (below 70% in 2015/16 season) … Finds it difficult to be effective in the half court if he doesn’t have space … Has problems finishing through contact … Not equally good at finishing at the rim with his left hand … Ball handling needs work, especially his left hand … Depends too much on his dominant (right) hand … Not effective on Pick And Roll situations as the ball handler … His off the ball defense needs work and the same applies for his low post defense, especially against strong defenders …

Notes: Slavica was considered a great talent since he was 15 years old, but for years he was shadowed by Dragan Bender… He turned a lot of heads in the U19 World Championship though, because he lead the (minus Bender) Croatia team to the Final, where the Croatians lost to Team USA in overtime, with Slavica having his best game of the tournament with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 block …

Stefanos Makris 10/1/16

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