NBA Comparison: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk/Bojan Bogdanovic

Strengths: Playmaking wing with great size… Very good athlete … Has NBA level athleticism… Fairly good leaper off one foot … Has a quick first step … Possesses a very good basketball IQ … At his best on the open floor, loves to run in transition either as the ball handler, or filling the wings … Very comfortable with the ball in his hands … An ideal secondary creator … Can play the Pick and Roll at a very good level as the ball handler, can either create his own shot or for his teammates … Good passer in the Pick and Roll, has nice court vision, can find the rolling big, a 3rd player in the perimeter or spot a cutter with ease … Has already played against almost every coverage in Pick and Roll actions as the ball handler and has shown the potential to become a good playmaking wing at the next level … Has shown potential in Pull Ups from mid-range … Has improved considerably as a 3-point shooter in Spot Up actions… His good first step helps him blow by closeouts and attack the basket  … Moves well without the ball and makes smart cuts to the basket … Skilled finisher at the rim, doesn’t just depend on his athleticism and size to finish plays in the paint … Draws a lot of fouls due to playing style and has improved as a free throw shooter… Size and athleticism help him on defense … Jumps tp passing lanes and make steals … Has the potential to become a good closeout defender… Can support switch defense, has played in a switch heavy system for years … Fairly good help defender …

Weaknesses: Body still needs to fill up… Average length for his size (wingspan measured at 6-8)… Quick, not explosive for the next level… Not an equally good leaper off two feet… Decision making is not completely there yet… At times he rushes things on offense when he has the ball, committing bad turnovers, which lead to transition opportunities… He tries to find passes that aren’t there, or he is the only one that sees them, he should improve his timing … Has a bad assist/turnover ratio … Needs the ball in his hands to be effective, has had problems adjusting when he had a ball dominant guard on his side … He is still kind of a streaky Pull Up shooter for now … Can’t really create his own shot from stand still against elite defenses, needs to polish his ball handling and shooting to do that consistently… Has made strides as a Spot Up shooter, but he is still not considered a real threat from the 3-point line, he will need to prove he can knock down shots at the next level … If he doesn’t become a consistent Pull Up threat, then his game will be limited and opponents will just dare him to shoot… Lateral quickness is just OK … He can lose focus on defense … Closeout defense is still a work in progress, has the tendency to be too aggressive and jump to pump fakes …

Overall: Nikola Djurisic is one of the most intriguing prospects of his generation in Europe  …A playmaking wing with great size, acceptable athleticism, good basketball I.Q and the ability to create for himself and his teammates, he has all the tools to become a really interesting player at the NBA level … The fact that he made a leap as a 3-point shooter (going from 22% to 33% within a year) is really encouraging, but his shooting is still considered a question mark … At the end of the day, it is his shooting that will be a deciding factor with regard to his ceiling and how effective he can become …

Notes: Measured 6′ 7.00″ barefoot, 8′ 6.00” standing reach, 217.6 lbs and a 6′ 8.25” wingspan at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine … Measured: 6′ 7.00” barefoot, 208.8 lbs, 6′ 8.00” wingspan, 8′ 6.50” standing reach, 27.5 standing vert, 34.5 max vert at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine …

Stefanos Makris 6/19/24