Offense/Intro
Coming off a very solid freshman year, Kira Lewis Jr was disappointed recruiting coach, Avery Johnson, had been fired. He entered his name in the transfer portal ready to move on. New hire, Nate Oats, made it his prerogative to keep the star PG, offering a a high volume system that would heavily optimize Lewis Jr. Too enticing an offer, Kira decided to stay put and roll it back with his Alabama teammates. This turned out to be a great decision. Kira put up great numbers across the board, showed an improvement, and saw hype build around his name as an NBA prospect. Let’s take a dive into the prospectus value of Kira Lewis Jr. Kira’s offense is centered on his electric speed. He uses it to create transitions out of nothing, excels in said transitions & crumble defenses in the half-court as a scorer and passer. In all, Kira creates many advantages for his offenses with his blistering pace and rapid first step. Yet this wouldn’t matter much if he didn’t also bring the skill and IQ to allow his tools to play out optimally. Kira can shoot. Off the catch (40.3%), off the bounce (35.6%), from range (36.6%), from the line (80.2%), he knows how to put the ball in the hoop in a variety of ways. Kira has solid ball control. While not an advanced dribbler, his handle is tight and functionally allows his blazing speed to play up, creating regular rim pressure. His passing style is tailor-made for a frequent downhill player, flexing quick one-handed live dribble passing ability. Coupled with his quick and good decision making, he makes defenses pay for trying to crash the paint. Teams struggle guarding Kira. He can shoot it if you give him space, run past you if you get to close & hit open teammates if you send help. Doing all this as the youngest sophomore in the country, who’s actually younger than most freshman in this draft, while also clearly improving each month point to a capable and potent NBA prospect. His floor already seems fairly good. He consistently brought good offense in a variety of ways: PnR, ISO, transition & off-ball. The tougher aspect of understanding Kira is where his realizable potential lay. His scoring efficiency around the hoop was pedestrian (57.6%). He didn’t get to the line often (4.2 FTA) relative to his shot volume at the hoop (203 attempts). And, to a lesser extent, he lacked higher-end volume on shooting both from 3 and pull-ups. This are the areas that will determine how good Kira will become. If none of these scoring traits were to improve much we’re probably talking about a useful borderline starter in the NBA. Though, he will improve. The perimeter scoring issue seems easiest to fix. Playing in a less aggressively downhill-style should help encourage more perimeter play and pull-up shooting. Also, NBA skill training should enhance his confidence as a shooter and the ability to turn his perimeter space creation flashes into a more regular aspect of his repertoire. Making a solid amount of progression here seems reasonable, though I wouldn’t expect anything elite. The tougher areas for projection are Kira’s at the rim efficiency and foul drawing ability. These issues both stem from a seemingly deeply ingrained habit of avoiding contact near the hoop. Interestingly enough, Kira is both aggressive and physical as a defender and rebounder. He doesn’t fear contact. He’s just learned to avoid it as a scorer. Adding weight to his slender 165 lbs. frame will help some. Though, Kira will need tons of repetitions with NBA skill trainers to break this habit. Working from an information deficit, I would guess Kira is a hard worker pointing to his progressions through his college career. I believe Kira can become solid in both aspects in the NBA, over time. Though, probably never very good. All in all, Kira seems like a very versatile and well rounded PG, one who could carry a good amount of offensive burden (probably 3rd option on a competitive team) yet also very effectively slot next to other primary initiators.
