Dragan Bender's Best NBA Comparison

[max215]

NBAdraft has nailed it

Mirotic

They're both white Euros. Name one other similarity.

[Tr1boy]

NBAdraft has nailed it

Mirotic

They're both white Euros. Name one other similarity.

both get pushed around, especially underneath the basket. Miss out on boxing out assignments.  More on the "soft" side for frontcourt players

have no post game to speak of.   No mid range game . Either set jump shots or drive to the basket.   

Both don't do one thing at an elite level.   Versatile but can't defend one position at a high level

[PhoSita]

I'd be thrilled to have Mirotic on the Celts.

Mirotic is also 23. If Bender is that sort of player at 18, with much better measurables giving him a chance to become a far superior defender down the road, that would be remarkable.

[footey]

I'd be thrilled to have Mirotic on the Celts.

Mirotic is also 23. If Bender is that sort of player at 18, with much better measurables giving him a chance to become a far superior defender down the road, that would be remarkable.

Agreed.

Nice endorsement, Triboy.

[Yenohb]

Andrei Kirilenko.

Similiraties: slim frame but tough, lateral quickness on defense, motor, above average passing skills, offense( Set shooter with no midrange and post moves.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBpAoeVFoI0

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I suggest that people who find themselves doubting Bender but open to considering his strengths go and watch some of the game tape of his teams on YouTube. There are complete games on there if you search in Hebrew.

I spent some time doing that, and what I saw is that on offense, Bender is used basically as a corner three specialist, rarely entrusted with the ball except when open in the corner, and rarely involved in the action.

On defense, he gets pushed around a lot and has some trouble getting through screens due to strength, but has the length and agility to contest on the perimeter, recover, and bother shots inside.

His jumper looks fluid, reasonably quick, and reliable, at least from the corner. You can tell he's got a long way to go physically but could do more than they ask him to do. It appears to me that there just hasn't been much of an effort to integrate him into the offense, or give him more than a one on one role in the defense, probably due to the fact that his team knows he was never likely to stick around beyond this season.

This is encouraging to me because I know that he has done really well playing with players closer to his age, when presumably he has been given more freedom and responsibility on both ends.

The fact that a 7'1'' 18 year old is versatile enough for the team to stick him on the wing in the "3 and D" off the bench role is pretty impressive too.

[PhoSita]

Good point.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

NBAdraft has nailed it

Mirotic

I think he is a better passer than Mirotic and it seems like he has the potential to be a much better defender. I'm not in love with the comparison, and if that is what he becomes, I don't think he is worth the 3rd. If he is more like GiAnt, then I'm in.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Andrei Kirilenko.

Similiraties: slim frame but tough, lateral quickness on defense, motor, above average passing skills, offense( Set shooter with no midrange and post moves.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBpAoeVFoI0

I don't love the Kirilenko comparison for two reasons: 1) Kirilenko was a great defender and I don't know if Bender will ever be that good. 2) Many of Bender's points will come from the three point line and the team will get a lot of spacing when he is on the court. That was never true of Kirilenko.

I also think that, at his prime, a lot of the offense will run through Bender and he will end up being a great distributor. Kirilenko always seemed to play in the corner on the weakside and get points through hustle plays.

[Tr1boy]

Andrei Kirilenko.

Similiraties: slim frame but tough, lateral quickness on defense, motor, above average passing skills, offense( Set shooter with no midrange and post moves.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBpAoeVFoI0

you must be jokin...

Kirilenko is tough as nails.  He will battle anyone underneath the basket, regardless of how skinny he was

this is what separates him from Bender, Mirotic

Kirilenko, Joakim Noah are warriors

[Smartacus]

Andrei Kirilenko.

Similiraties: slim frame but tough, lateral quickness on defense, motor, above average passing skills, offense( Set shooter with no midrange and post moves.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBpAoeVFoI0

you must be jokin...

Kirilenko is tough as nails.  He will battle anyone underneath the basket, regardless of how skinny he was

this is what separates him from Bender, Mirotic

Kirilenko, Joakim Noah are warriors

Probably going to need to see him play in the league before getting a real accurate gauge on his ability to battle under the boards. The Iraeli league may not be talented but it's full of old bangers who's best chance of exposure is doing everything in their power to stop the 18 year old top NBA prospect.

He will have much more space to operate and talent play off of in The NBA.

[Yenohb]

From J. Givony of Draft Express:
   

Bender's most underrated quality is his toughness. Some may look at his lanky frame and assume he's just another soft European 7-footer who only wants to hide on the perimeter and jack up 3-pointers, but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

    Bender is a competitor who has a relentless motor. He was forced to sit out the initial part of a recent practice we attended to continue to rehab his foot injury (causing most of the dozen NBA scouts in attendance to leave), but begged his way back onto the floor. He proceeded to throw his body around with reckless abandon in five-on-five action. Maccabi's staff urged him to take it easy, but Bender simply doesn't know how to do that at this point in his career. He ended up tweaking his ankle after pursuing a rebound, which finally put him back on the sidelines.

    "The kid is simply special," a member of Maccabi's coaching told The Vertical. "I've never been around someone that age with that kind of character. He's not afraid of anything or anyone."

[DefenseWinsChamps]

From J. Givony of Draft Express:
   

Bender's most underrated quality is his toughness. Some may look at his lanky frame and assume he's just another soft European 7-footer who only wants to hide on the perimeter and jack up 3-pointers, but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

    Bender is a competitor who has a relentless motor. He was forced to sit out the initial part of a recent practice we attended to continue to rehab his foot injury (causing most of the dozen NBA scouts in attendance to leave), but begged his way back onto the floor. He proceeded to throw his body around with reckless abandon in five-on-five action. Maccabi's staff urged him to take it easy, but Bender simply doesn't know how to do that at this point in his career. He ended up tweaking his ankle after pursuing a rebound, which finally put him back on the sidelines.

    "The kid is simply special," a member of Maccabi's coaching told The Vertical. "I've never been around someone that age with that kind of character. He's not afraid of anything or anyone."

Hmm. It sounds like a bit of hype, but even in games its obvious he works hard. You can't say he is lazy or lacks character.

Combine hard work, scrappiness, 7'1'' frame, and 20 more pounds of muscle, and we got something.

[Yenohb]

From J. Givony of Draft Express:
   

Bender's most underrated quality is his toughness. Some may look at his lanky frame and assume he's just another soft European 7-footer who only wants to hide on the perimeter and jack up 3-pointers, but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

    Bender is a competitor who has a relentless motor. He was forced to sit out the initial part of a recent practice we attended to continue to rehab his foot injury (causing most of the dozen NBA scouts in attendance to leave), but begged his way back onto the floor. He proceeded to throw his body around with reckless abandon in five-on-five action. Maccabi's staff urged him to take it easy, but Bender simply doesn't know how to do that at this point in his career. He ended up tweaking his ankle after pursuing a rebound, which finally put him back on the sidelines.

    "The kid is simply special," a member of Maccabi's coaching told The Vertical. "I've never been around someone that age with that kind of character. He's not afraid of anything or anyone."

Hmm. It sounds like a bit of hype, but even in games its obvious he works hard. You can't say he is lazy or lacks character.

Combine hard work, scrappiness, 7'1'' frame, and 20 more pounds of muscle, and we got something.

Marc Stein also approves:

"He wants to be a defender. We haven't always seen that from guys in Europe."

https://youtu.be/ZO-2M2XkP4k?t=31

[loco_91]

Good comp, TP. Bender is definitely a better prospect than Giannis was. But Giannis developed unexpectedly well, in large part because he actually grew, from 6'9 to 6'11. Bender is already 7'1, but his other physical attributes (athleticism, length) aren't as outlier-y as Giannis's were. Giannis also developed legit PG skills including a great handle for a SF, which would have been hard to predict at the time that he was drafted.

The biggest similarity between these guys is youth, and people who are already labeling Bender a bust are WAY too confident in their assessment. Bender has a large range of potential outcomes, but many of them are very very good.