Player Analysis: RJ Hampton
By: Ramin Baiat- Follow him on Twitter @raminoid2
RJ Hampton
New Zealand Breakers
Height: 6’5
Weight: 188lbs
Wingspan: 6’7
Age: 19.23
Position: Shooting Guard/Combo Guard
Intro/Offense
RJ Hampton the basketball player is a rather unusual culmination of tools and skills. Easy to see the potential, yet hard to understand how it all comes together. I’ll attempt to bring some clarity to who he is on the court and how he fits the Orlando Magic at pick 15. Coming out of Little Elm High School in Texas, and seen as a top recruit, RJ decided to skip college and take his talents to the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL. Here the slender 6’5 188lbs Hampton took on the challenges of a smaller role while putting his abilities to the test against grown men in a professional league. The results were mixed:
RJ showcased blazing speed in transition, excelling both as finisher and decision-maker. He also was a blur in the half-court when given any bit of daylight. In theory, RJs value comes as a volume slasher. Where he gets to the rim frequently and uses his length to finish fairly well, or uses his nice drive and dish ability to hit open teammates as defenses collapse the paint. While he is a good decision-maker and flexes nice one-handed live dribble passes and cross-court whip passes, he’s not to be confused with a high IQ visionary playmaker. RJs role comes as a bit of a do-all shooting guard or combo guard. Here Hampton can also make an impact as a Pick n’ Roll ball-handler, where his speed, decent but loose handle, passing and finishing play well. RJs biggest concern undoubtedly is his pull up jump shooting. This is rather important because the advantages his speed allow could easily be neutralized by a defender not respecting the jumper and instead sagging off, taking away would be driving lanes. Yet this makes projecting RJs higher-end outcome tough because making leaps as a pull-up jump shooter isn’t common or easy to do, especially when you don’t show much of a starting baseline. This is where the concept of RJ the impactful slasher and playmaker possibly collapses on itself. It is imperative RJ become an adequate jump shooter or chances are we are not talking about a starting-caliber player in the NBA. Or at least not one on a competitive team. The specifics of the issue are RJs lack of comfort off the dribble and his form often falling apart when taking these shots. On the bright side, Hampton’s value as on-off the catch shooter seems fairly good. Here, on the contrary, we see a nice form, follow-through, comfort and footwork. In addition, RJ is a good free-throw shooter for a 19-year old (76.6% on 249 attempts from what I could find) which we know bodes well for shooting in general. He hasn’t actually displayed consistency here yet, but it’s easy to see the indicators of future success shooting off the catch. If the pull-up never develops, RJ still brings a floor of an ok catch and shoot guy, who can attack closeouts & thrive in transition. This could still be a decent bench guy. If the pull-up does develop we’re most likely looking at a decent do all 3rd option on a good team.
Defense
Defensively RJ is a solid on-ball defender. He should be able to guard 1 and 2s. He excels at keeping his man in front oh him. Minor technique refinement is needed though, as he uses speed, quick hips, and length well. His effort and motor seem good also. He gets outmuscled by bigger players, but nothing I’d worry about at this point considering his age. His pick and roll defense is inconsistent but showed signs of growth and potential through NBL season. Already he can cover a ball-handler well but is pretty meh navigating on-ball screens currently, yet shows potential chasing down roll men & cutting off passing lanes. Off-ball defense is a different story, where he lacks the know-how and cerebral attributes that good positional and help defenders have. Rarely does he know where both his man and the ball are at the same time. Struggles mightily chasing players around off-ball screens and lacks the knowledge of when and how to help. Already a decent defensive playmaker with his good recovery speed allowing him to surprise people, leading to some steals & blocks. His IQ and feel here are a major work in progress. Not terribly unusual for players RJs age but the lowly starting point, as an off-ball defender, indicates he’ll probably never be above average here. In his favor, his effort level indicates someone who wants to excel. Seems like something that can be developed to an extent by a good coaching staff, organization, and a lot of time. All in all, I’d say RJ has decent, yet raw, potential as a defender. He probably won’t bring much value off-ball but at the guard spot his point of attack defense should be useful, plus the added benefit of some playmaking skills for such a good transition player is tantalizing. If trained properly and utilized correctly RJ should bring some impact to this side of the ball.
Intangibles
RJ is a solid, yet unspectacular, decision-maker with the ball in his hand. Won’t blow anyone’s mind with his IQ, but pretty consistently makes the right reads and plays to his strengths. A very active player. Didn’t seem fazed at all by big moments in NBL games, keeping his composure and still contributing. His improvement and comfort as the season went along were pretty notable, which shows he probably has good work ethic. He also gained a fair amount of muscle in his time in the NBL, another indicator of hard work. This might seem trivial, but I was happy to see how engaged and supportive of his teammates he was on the bench this year. For a guy who was always the man, to be limited to 20 minutes a game and still be a good teammate was encouraging to see. He found ways to play within the offense and impact the game without scoring, and was active and vocal in timeout huddles.
Fit with the Magic
Something I believe to be absolutely crucial for RJ, is the team that takes him and how they decide to develop him. Throw him in the fire too early and he’ll be forced to practice bad and undeveloped habits. This will greatly hinder his development. However, incubate him behind vets, NBA coaching, skill, and strength training while practicing his growth vs G League teams, will go along way in getting RJ as close as possible to his highest possible outcome. This is why I think the Orlando Magic are a good fit for him. Not only do the Magic lack a shooting guard of the future, they have the organizational philosophies tailor-made for raw guys like RJ Hampton. We know Weltman won’t rush his youngsters, instead opting to let them develop at their own pace. We know Clifford is a very good teacher, especially of fundamentals and high IQ play. They have good developmental staff in general. He isn’t my favorite guy for Orlando by any means but I can see the case for him here. All in all, RJ doesn’t seem like great value at 15, in a vacuum, but there is a decent chance his value will exceed that of guys taken at or above 15 under the tutelage of an organization like the Orlando Magic.
Here’s some clips showing some of RJs abilities.
Player Comparisons
RJ is admittedly not an easy comp.
Without a pull-up jumper - Dante Exum or Antonio Daniels.
With pull up Jumper - something like pre-injury Reggie Jackson