Alex Condon is The Fixer
If you've got a problem on either end of the court, Alex Condon will "take care" of it. At least, that's what Rowan Kent thinks of Florida's do-it-all 2025 NBA Draft prospect!
On a basketball team, each player has their role. Some are the stars, capable of carrying the offensive load every night. Others are defensive stalwarts, adept at walling off the paint and making life terrible for the opposing offense. Most players have specific roles catered to their talents and weaknesses, meant to insulate them from hurting their team and maximizing what they can do for their squad.
In a way, the roles of players are just like jobs that each member of a bank heist has in a movie. There’s a “mastermind” in charge of the entire operation, a “driver” who can glide down the streets, a “muscle” who can take a punch before dishing one out, and a “hacker” ready to unlock the heist, to name a few. Admittedly, roles like this have me thinking of which draft prospects would be best for a heist, but that’s for another article.
Instead, there’s a role that has an overlap between the disparate sectors of basketball and bank heists. That would be the fixer. The dictionary definition of a fixer is someone who acts outside of the law to achieve illicit purposes, but most importantly, they’re a person in a heist who gets things done. Need more muscle? That’s them. Have a window for a hacker? The fixer is there to get things done.
In that way, that role is the one that has the most transferability to a basketball context. A player who can fill roles and holes on a team’s offense or defense is an extremely valuable asset. While rarely a star, a fixer on the basketball court simply makes their team better and opens up new heights to reach. In this year’s draft, one player that’s stood out as a potential fixer at the next level, given what he did to help spring his team to a title win: Perth native and Florida Gator Alex Condon.
Fix-ating on Condon’s Offense
What makes Alex Condon a fixer on offense? That question is difficult to answer because knowing where to start is hard. As a 6’11” starting center who was exclusively a bench big last season, the idea that Condon was his team’s fixer seems a bit disingenuous initially. However, when you look at how Florida’s team was constructed, the picture of Condon as an all-around fixer comes into focus quickly.
This year’s Florida Gators team won the NCAA title through excellence and a commitment to playing one’s role. To grossly simplify, Walter Clayton Jr. bore the brunt of ball-handling and creation for his team. Alijah Martin attacked the rim hard from the wing and picked up tough perimeter assignments. Will Richard did the same on defense and sprayed perimeter shots. Thomas Haugh served as a do-it-all super sub alongside Denzel Aberdeen, while Rueben Chinyelu was a bruiser in the paint on both ends.
Alex Condon, though? He served a multifaceted role on both ends of the floor. He and Haugh were the only players on Florida’s roster to rank in the team’s top five in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game, with the important distinction that Condon did so while starting 35 games. While playing as many minutes per game as Haugh, Condon arguably had the more important role given his status on both ends of the floor for the Gators.
An important distinction, too, is that Condon was never relied upon to carry the load on offense for the Gators. From a scoring perspective, the trio of Clayton Jr., Martin, and Richard were the engines of the offense, with Condon’s place in most of their highlights serving as a bruising screen setter. Still, without being the focal point of Todd Golden’s game plan from a scoring perspective, Condon was key to Florida, ranking second in BartTorvik’s adjusted offensive efficiency.
So, what did Condon “fix” to help Florida win the title? A lot, actually. The first area where Condon helped to grease the wheels for the Gators was transition. Being a rim runner as a big is a clearly defined role, as not every center can labor down the floor before trudging back. Condon’s athleticism at center isn’t in the top percentile for his position, but he does have some athletic advantages that few other players his size have.
When watching back Florida’s transition offense, it’s commonplace to see a large blur fly down the court in the form of Alex Condon. His speed is one of his rare traits as a center, and he even beat wings and springy forwards down the court regularly. Once down the floor, Condon’s great catch radius and finishing touch shone, along with his body positioning to wedge himself under the hoop with a deep seal. It’s no wonder, per Synergy, that Condon shot a sterling 78.8% on his transition twos when you tune into the tape.
As a pure finisher, I like Condon’s skills a lot. His gargantuan size is a big part, alongside his surprisingly springy leaping ability, but he also brings a soft touch and has great hands to catch lobs and bounce passes. Per Synergy, Condon shot 63.5% at the rim this season, with a “Very Good” rating. Whether off screens, dives to the rim, cuts, or putbacks, there weren’t many looks that Condon couldn’t put into the basket when he got the ball.
One of the most crucial ways that Condon provided fixes for the Florida offense was by cleaning the offensive glass. While he didn’t shoot the best percentage on his putbacks, at only 48.3%, Condon often grabbed his own misses and missed putbacks to stick with the play. Condon’s immense size, leaping skills, and ability to track the ball made him an invasive rebounder on the offensive glass, with a 12.5% offensive rebounding percentage, 2.0 offensive rebounds per game, and multiple great finds off his passes after a carom.
Whether on the break or off a miss, Condon is great on the interior on offense. He’s just as good at passing on the inside, alongside his outside looks—which added a new dishing dimension to the Gators. Condon’s stifling screens played a big part, as he would hand off to shooters before walling off their pursuing defenders, but Condon was also great at big-to-big passing and spraying shots out to the perimeter off rebounds. His 1.44 assist-to-turnover ratio, with just a 12.6% turnover percentage, also highlights how careful of a distributor Condon was in the Florida offense.
You shouldn’t confuse Condon as a center-initiator in the vein of Nikola Jokic or Domantas Sabonis. Still, he does show enough verve and vision on his passes that comparisons to a player like, say, Alperen Sengun are a bit more apt. Condon has the size advantage to see over a defense; although he lacks the passing reads to create windows, he’s quite suited to keeping an offense flowing and opening up a few new creases on the court.
While never the focal point, Condon was a key piece of what made Florida’s offense elite this season. He did the dirty work on screens, hit shooters and cutters with his passes, and was lethal from inside the paint. It’s easy to imagine Condon playing this role and “fixing” some of the latent issues an NBA offense has without a well-rounded offensive center like himself.
The Fix is In on Defense
Alex Condon’s offense is important in its own right, but where Condon truly was a fixer for the Gators was on the defensive end. Florida’s defense, which ranked 14th in BartTorvik’s adjusted defensive efficiency, was the true differentiator in their title conquest all season. To have a good defense requires a team effort, but it also requires a player of Condon’s caliber to anchor the middle and clean up the areas of improvement and weakness.
As a unit, the Gators had a mixture of average-to-great defenders. Alijah Martin was a dogged perimeter stopper, with Will Richard a bit farther behind him. Although Walter Clayton Jr. held his own, his offensive load hampered all but his effort defense. The frontcourt of Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, and Thomas Haugh was a Cerberus of hard-nosed players with size. Still, Condon mixed Chinyelu's rugged athletic interior D with Haugh's heady reflexive positioning.
Condon’s defensive aptitude starts and ends with his behemoth size. At the combine, he measured just over 6’11” without shoes with a seven-foot wingspan; he weighed in at 221 pounds. While his lack of plus wingspan is a bit concerning, his presence as a mobile seven-footer is most important. The same great athleticism from a running and jumping perspective that helped Condon in transition and on the offensive glass is apparent in everything he does on defense.
Like on offense, Condon’s best work is done near the rim. Per Synergy, opponents only shot 41.5% at the basket with Condon as the primary defender, which earned a “Very Good” grade. In his two seasons at Florida, Condon had a 5.8% block percentage in his freshman season and a 5.5% block percentage in his sophomore campaign this past year. Combined with his rim defense percentage, those numbers form the statistical picture of a terrifying monolith inside.
On tape, it’s exhilarating to watch how Condon gets his blocks. He’s just as imposing with his verticality and long reach as a primary defender as he is coming off the weakside for a surprising swat. Condon is also notable for his chase-down expertise and ability to stay stuck to driving perimeter players before knocking away their would-be attempts. Condon’s most important “fix” for the Florida defense was that even when he didn’t contest the shot, Condon’s long arm of the law could dissuade and disrupt attempts at the rim.
Condon’s ability to absorb contact at the rim without fouling is another major feather in his defensive cap. He only averaged 2.3 fouls committed per game this season despite serving as the last line of defense for the Gators. Condon’s body control and physicality without fouling also helped him to back-to-back seasons with a 22.5% defensive rebounding percentage and a 19.3% defensive rebounding percentage, each representing dominance over the defensive glass.
It’s all good to be a solid rim protector, but in the modern NBA game, centers must also be lithe on the perimeter. Luckily, although he isn’t the mega-athlete needed to be a true switch defender, Condon holds his own on defense outside of the paint. It won’t be his role at the next level, but based upon his athleticism, technique, and reflexes, Condon is built to switch pick-and-rolls before getting back to wall off the paint.
The first part of what makes Condon a suitable perimeter defender is his active hands. He’s as disciplined foul-wise on the outside as on the inside; while his wingspan isn’t massive, he still does cover a large area of the court with his presence. Condon’s stance is hard to drive right by, and even when he’s beaten, his hips are fluid enough to whip around. Then, he uses his hands to disrupt passes and jar the ball loose on drives and dishes.
It wasn’t a big part of his game before, but Condon got his mitts in the cookie jar more often this year and ended up with a 2.0% steals percentage. That’s high enough for me to project him as a multifaceted defensive playmaker, as he often forces turnovers and keeps his blocks inbound. Condon’s primary defensive responsibility will always be protecting the rim, but he has the same pesky nature as other great defensive centers with their hands on defense.
From a true perimeter standpoint, Condon is firmly average in his defense on guards and wings. He’s often a step slow on his contests, which comes partially due to his positioning near the paint, but his massive size and quick first steps let him contest shots he shouldn’t have the right to get to. Condon also usually closes out under control, letting his reach do the talking, and he never flies by far enough for a defender to shake him out for an open shot. He gets blown by on the outside, but his lateral movement and hips flip fast enough to stay attached to drives and pull-up attempts.
On pure switches, although fewer in number, Condon’s combined ability to stay disciplined and stick with perimeter defenders paid major dividends for Florida. Per Synergy, Alex Condon had some of the most eye-popping defensive numbers this season on spot-ups, isos, and against pick-and-roll ball handlers. Against spot-ups, Condon held opponents to an “Excellent” rating of 30.5% on 82 attempts. Against isolations,he put up a “Very Good” mark of just 25.0% on 36 shots. Finally, although it was on just 15 possessions, Condon gave up a minuscule 6.7% from the field against pick-and-roll ball-handlers.
It would be unfair to put Condon on an elite pedestal based on his purported inside-out defensive numbers, as I don’t think he can be a true DPOY-level rim anchor. He’s got a bit of a short reach and isn’t a top percentile athlete, but other than that, Condon’s got most of the other important bases covered. The extremely polished nature of Condon’s defense made him Florida’s clear fixer on that end and shows how pro-ready his interior defense is, which, as a 20-year-old player, should entice many NBA teams.
What Condon Can Still Fix
If Alex Condon never improves a single aspect of his game again, he’s still a likely multi-year NBA player. A seven-footer with real defensive chops inside and out, who can also rim-run and play well within the flow of an offense, is the exact type of backup big man that plays for a decade in the NBA. Given Condon's limited mistakes, he’s also the type of player who can be relied upon to play a share of minutes in the playoffs.
It would be foolish, however, to think that Condon can’t fix a few areas of his game and see his ceiling rise. He’ll have just turned 21 before the NBA season, which, given his current developmental trajectory at Florida, portends further improvement as an athlete and basketball player. Most crucially, all of what Alex Condon could improve upon in his game would make him a likely starter-level NBA player and the same type of fixer that helped his team win a championship this season.
The first place to nitpick Condon’s game for fixes is how often he turns the ball over. Critiquing a big man with a 12.6% turnover percentage may feel asinine, but there’s room for improvement for a guy who will never be a high-usage offensive player. Condon’s turnovers fall into two major buckets: errant passes and clumsy stumbles. I can live with the passes, as he hits those reads more often than he misses, but improving his balance and footwork could make Condon’s turnover percentage go from great to spectacular quickly.
From a scoring perspective, there are a few places that Condon is either leaving behind scraps or could be picking up more buckets. Despite his great finishing at the rim, per Synergy, Condon only hit 53.3% of his two-point attempts as the roll man in screening situations. Given Condon’s stiff screen game and likely future uptick as a roller, this is an essential area for him to fix. If he can show more finishes like in the flashes below, it’s hard to find fault in his interior offensive scoring arsenal.
The last bit to add to Condon’s inside-the-arc offense would be evolving as a driver and cutter. He’s already great at ducking into the dunker’s spot, but he shot just 61.0% on his cuts. That number should be higher for a player of his size. As a driver, although it was few and far between, Condon did show off a great pump-and-drive from the perimeter. His handle is too stiff and robotic to earn him any ball-handling roles, but having the occasional drive in his back pocket would round out his game and raise his offensive ceiling.
Of course, for that pump fake to be effective, Condon has to be a threatening-enough shooter from the perimeter for other bigs to believe it. He’s not that right now, but is just good enough as a shooter that it’s impossible to conclude how he’ll end up. Being a reliable shooter at his size isn’t necessary, given all of the other good in his game, but it would take Condon from potential high-level back-up to potential high-level starter.
So, how is Condon’s shooting at this juncture? It’s limited. He’s a judicious shooter, only taking 58 threes this year and 38 last year for a career 31.3% percentage from deep. From a mechanical perspective, Condon’s not a great shooter, as he has a slow release that starts lower and passes a bit too much in front of his field of vision. He does keep his feet set, however; that, alongside his towering height, makes release issues surmountable in the long run.
It was a tale of two types of possessions for Condon this year as a shooter, which gives him a good baseline to work with at the next level. Per Synergy, as a spot-up shooter, Alex Condon shot 16/35, or 45.7%, on these attempts. When he could fire from a standstill, Condon could keep his feet set and bomb with aplomb. That’s enough accuracy to open up driving lanes for him and keep defenses from cheating to the nail.
As a screener, however, it was a different story. Condon only hit 2/18, or 11.1%, of his shots as a pick-and-roll roll man. These possessions are where Condon gets off-balance, can’t square his base, and thus puts up some of the uglier shot attempts that Florida had all season. The dipping motion of his shot, combined with the tighter windows in pick situations, made him not much of a pick-and-pop player. The pick-and-pop game, however, is the next step that Condon will need to take if he wants to reach his ceiling.
There’s not enough on tape as a shooter for me to claim whether Condon can fix his shot, but his slow growth and willingness to take these shots are positive signs. Although it’s not a perfect predictor, Condon does fit into a potent modern BartTorvik of players who have an offensive rebounding percentage over 10.0%, a >5.0% blocks percentage, a >2.0 steals percentage, and more than 50 three-point attempts in a season.
Some players, like Juwan Morgan, Aric Holman, and Dedric Lawson, never stuck in the league. Others like Zion Williamson, Michael Beasley, and Tari Eason had different roles and builds. Still, only Johni Broome, Walker Kessler, Viktor Lahkin, Holman, and Jordan Heath hit these marks as players over 6’9”. That indicates that this player archetype is newer, but it’s also a good enough sign that Condon ranked 18th in three-point shooting percentage from this bunch.
By extending his range, Condon has put himself in valuable standing as a draft prospect. He isn’t quite the elusive “unicorn” that every team would love to have, but Condon is certainly a modern big man who can do almost everything his team asks of him on either end. That’s a strong case for his future team, as he’s in line to be the same type of player that helped Florida win their first title in twenty years.
As Florida’s Fixer, Alex Condon showed off the type of offensive efficiency and defensive dominance that makes it look like a matter of if, not when, he makes it to the NBA. The call of NIL and increased opportunities will certainly call, and Condon would benefit from more touches from the perimeter in college, but he’s ready right now to play NBA minutes on a good team. That’s not something you can say about other similar big men in this draft, who could use a few more seasons of seasoning to develop.
With a few more improvements, Condon would be the same jack-of-all-trades fixer he expertly was for the Gators this season. It would be a case of outlier development for Condon to improve as a shooter and a ball-handler, but the shooting and some touching up of his rolling and footwork would make him a clear starting NBA center. That player, who can fix mistakes on offense and defense while raising the team’s ceiling, is the type that every team in the league covets for filling out and fixing their roster.