NBA G League: Tips For Scouting And Analyzing Pro Personnel

Our own Nathan Grubel jumps head first into the NBA G League and offers some tips on a scouting process for evaluating pro personnel in another professional league.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: scouting any area of basketball is DAMN HARD.

When it comes to the public perception of scouting and talent evaluation, most come to the idea that “scouting” refers to the NBA Draft or even pro personnel or advanced scouting. Essentially, NBA scouting all comes back to who is next in the pipeline, or who can be traded for or signed in the offseason.

While those are all important means of talent evaluation and roster construction, there are players in other professional leagues worthy of a scout’s eye when it comes to finding needles in the haystack (my favorite metaphor for what scouting actually is and means).

International scouting is a different topic for a different day, but it is also quite challenging and comes with its own set of unique circumstances in evaluation (we at No Ceilings are lucky to have one of the best, Ignacio Rissotto, who offers insights on that and more for the website).

But to me, one of the most difficult challenges in my scouting career has come from learning what the hell to make of the NBA’s G League.

For those who aren’t as familiar with the G League, the once aptly-named Developmental League (or D League for short), it is the NBA’s version of a minor league-style system, so to speak.

In Major League Baseball, there are multiple developmental pipelines that teams have in order to evaluate and elevate talent. From Class A through Triple A and up to the big leagues, baseball prospects have an established system to play through in order to improve and break through to the majors.

The G League is a similar idea, though up until this very season, it wasn’t fully fleshed out in practice. The Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers just recently implemented G League franchises in the Valley Suns and Rip City Remix, respectively, bringing the NBA to a full 30-for-30 in terms of teams in both leagues—not to mention there’s also the Mexico City Capitanes, another G League franchise providing opportunities for both players looking to make an NBA comeback and young prospects to play outside of college or other international avenues such as Dink Pate.

With more NBA franchises embracing the concept of creating a G League hub in or close enough to their own practice facilities, it’s become easier than ever to oversee talent development and evaluate players for contract opportunities such as an Exhibit 10 (10-day contract), Two-Way Contract (deal where a player is eligible to play a specific number of games with the NBA club), or even a standard NBA deal and guaranteed roster spot.

So what does this mean for the NBA and its fans? Well, G League call-ups have proven beneficial in finding players who just needed another opportunity to prove themselves. Now that all teams have a minor league system to assign players to, it’s a chance for young talents to get run and play minutes in a professional environment rather than sit at the end of the bench if they’re on a more experienced team with crowded rotations.

What’s become sobering to me in my time scouting is just how much talent exists both in the NBA deep on benches and in other pipelines such as the G League.

When scouting for the NBA Draft and examining the performances and statistical profiles of potential prospects in college basketball and beyond, one should hopefully arrive at answering the question of whether or not said player can actually take a roster spot away from a proven veteran. Are they actually THAT good to command a guaranteed contract and one of 15 roster spots?

If that answer isn’t a clear and resounding YES, one other way to attack that question from a different angle is how many players of a similar archetype are waiting in the wings of a G League team to compete and battle for that guaranteed or Two-Way spot as well?

Now in one’s evaluation of a prospect, it’s easy to shrug off the idea of a player from the G League or even another club overseas competing with the potential of a young talent who could have a number of pathways to starting or even becoming a star should everything break right.

In reality, only about 15 players on average in each draft class actually become meaningful rotation players who get 20-plus minutes a night. That number can fluctuate in either direction depending on the depth of a class, but something to certainly keep in mind.

And if a player who is drafted in the first or even the second round doesn’t break out within a couple of seasons, how likely is it that they’re able to get a second chance over someone of a similar positional archetype who has grown, improved, and adapted their game to what the NBA is looking for out of them?

I’ve opened up quite a few cans of worms by asking some of these questions, but they’re all valid. All of these questions come back to a point made earlier: scouting the G League has been a difficult challenge because of the depth of talent to be found.

This is why this is as good of a time as ever to break down some statistical models and scouting processes on what has actually worked in terms of finding NBA talent playing in the G League. Throughout this piece, I’m going to examine some research based around players who have actually been called up from the G League over the last few seasons, and what were some commonalities that can be had in order to create a baseline statistical profile for evaluating such talent.

One VERY IMPORTANT caveat to all of this before we get started, though. While there are certainly some excellent takeaways to note here, everything I’m showing cannot be taken for Gospel when it comes to scouting the G League, or any other basketball system for that matter.

We can all submit as many statistical queries as we like, but in the end, a player’s success still comes down to how that player approaches the game and a professional career both on and off the court. Does a player put everything into not only improving but maintaining their health and relationships? Do they have a set routine? Are they committed to the sacrifices necessary to become a key piece to an NBA franchise? Is a player willing to actually put others first and play team basketball to win?

I could go on and on and on about the characteristics of some of the most impactful NBA greats we’ve ever seen; the intangibles matter, though, and few if any can actually be quantified. Statistics and measurements are crucial to paint the picture of how a player can impact the game and what comparisons can be drawn to point to specific examples of that player type succeeding at a high level. Watching film provides context not seen at a surface level of spreadsheet scouting and is also crucial to determining HOW a player arrives at the numbers laid out on paper. But physical talent and skill only get a player so far in today’s game. All of the other stuff matters a great deal; anyone who has been around the game of basketball for far longer than I have will tell you that.

SO… without further ado, let’s get into some research and data on the G League, and build a framework on things to look for in players across multiple positions!

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NBA and G League Data Comparisons

Before one scouts and goes down rabbit holes of player profiles, it’s as important for one to understand how the league they’re evaluating for differs from the one being evaluated.

While I’m not going to get into different rule sets and modifications in the G League game from the NBA one (the G League having a free throw system in place where it’s one shot regardless of two or three free throws is a great example), I do want to just compare both leagues across the board and see what’s similar and what’s different.

For this, as well as other examples throughout, I’m going to use data from the last three G League seasons through this year’s Winter Showcase period. A massive reason why I’m not looking to dig further back is due to what I outlilned above. The G League actually only just started a 30-for-30 era. There were once fewer teams, fewer games, and therefore fewer players to actually bridge certain gaps together.

I also have excluded the G League Ignite program from this big-picture data set because that team is no longer in existence, and its purpose was not always to play a full G League season from Tip-Off Tournament through to the playoffs.

In taking a look at both leagues from a 10,000 foot view, here’s where both fall across a number of statistical categories.

There are a few important notes to take here when it comes to how the G League differs from the NBA:

• The NBA, as expected, is a much more efficient scoring league across the board in terms of overall field goal percentage, as well as from each area on the floor, including the free-throw line.

• NBA players also have much more significant turnover rates compared to those in the G League, not to mention higher assist rates, given the shot-making success of their peers.

• NBA players are far more successful at getting to the free throw line, and that gap has only widened, examining data from this current season.

• Where the G League numbers shine comes from an elevated pace by default to balance out the lack of similar quality shot-making in the NBA. This means more opportunities for rebounds, as well as opportunities to make plays on the defensive end and force turnovers.

• Three-point attempt rates have significantly increased across both leagues, only enhancing opportunities for other filler stats such as long rebounds, etc.

This paints a pretty clear picture of what to expect when turning on a G League game: elevated pace, more shot attempts from distance, less probing from guards and wings into the teeth of the defense, and plenty of transition opportunities.

Where this gives me an opportunity to push back on a few narratives about the G League is that I do think there’s real effort given on the defensive effort both from a player performance perspective and from coaching staffs scheming to put players in position to succeed.

Not as many of these shots being missed are as wide open as someone may think they are if they aren’t a regular observer of G League basketball. Players close out and contest looks, and still take pride in giving effort guarding in one-on-one situations. The reality is more of the guards and wings in the G League (positions that dominante roster spaces for teams, more on that later) are excellent at getting buckets one-on-one coming from isolations or switch opportunities out of pick-and-roll.

Ball movement isn’t the same in the G League as it is in the NBA, highlighted by fewer assists and higher turnover rates. There are a lot of guys who can get buckets in short order, but it’s not all coming from finding spot-up shooters for 20-25 made threes a game.

Given this big-picture view of differences across both leagues, it makes players in the G League who can actually break down defenses that much more valuable, reliably play make out of those situations, and score effectively from all three levels on the floor. Bonus points if those players can also hold their own defensively.

Sounds simple enough, right? Sure, it does on paper. In practice, though, the NBA sets a very, very high bar for actually earning a shot at a roster spot, let alone securing a guaranteed contract.

All of this to say: In order to evaluate potential players for the next level, it’s more important to focus on efficiency and effectiveness rather than pure box score results such as points scored and rebounds secured. Which players are able to play a specific role, make shots, and help raise the floor of those around them on both ends of the floor?

It’s not just about scoring at a huge rate or filling up the box score in the G League. Given the opportunities present based on style of play, there are certainly guys taking advantage and thinking if they score more than anyone else, that they’ll get their shot at the pros.

That’s not exactly how it works, though—and that’s even more prevalent when evaluating those who have ACTUALLY earned call-ups from the G League over the last few seasons.

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Evaluating G League Call-Ups

Over the last four seasons, there have been 206 unique players called up out of the G League, meaning they signed an E10, Two-Way, or NBA standard contract.

Some quick averages across the board of that population of players:

• Average Age: 24.8

• Average Height: 6’6”

• Average Weight: 208 pounds

When someone quibbles about a player’s measurements in relation to their respective professional peers, the NBA tells us what it’s looking for in prospects pretty clearly throughout the data.

It’s not the entire story, nor does it always limit higher-level outcomes in certain positions like guards for example, but there are certain physical and athletic thresholds to keep in mind when evaluating for the NBA. And that holds true in the G League as well.

Looking at these players through positional lenses, and then comparing across the board to the players who have been on NBA rosters this season, there are some pretty distinct physical profiles to take note of.

*Positional Categorizations stem from my personal system, which slots players as Guards, Wings, Forwards, or Centers primarily focused around which positions they’re best suited to guard as well as where on the floor they’re most often operating from within the offense*

NBA G League Call-Ups Positional Breakdown (2021-Present)

• 206 Total Players

  • 96 Guards (47%)

    • Average Height: 6’3”

    • Average Weight: 194 pounds

  • 52 Wings (25%)

    • Average Height: 6’6”

    • Average Weight: 211 pounds

  • 40 Forwards (19%)

    • Average Height: 6’8”

    • Average Weight: 221 pounds

  • 18 Centers (9%)

    • Average Height: 6’11”

    • Average Weight: 242 pounds

NBA Average Positional Comparisons

• 602 players on NBA rosters at some point through this 2024-25 season

  • Guards (32%)

    • Average Height: 6’3”

    • Average Weight: 195 pounds

  • Wings (26%)

    • Average Height: 6’6”

    • Average Weight: 208 pounds

  • Forwards (27%)

    • Average Height: 6’8”

    • Average Weight: 226 pounds

  • Centers (15%)

    • Average Height: 6’11”

    • Average Weight: 245 pounds

It’s pretty freaking interesting how those positional comps trend essentially across the board from the G League to the NBA. As I said earlier, it’s almost as if the league tells us what it’s looking for in the data!

Outliers exist at every position, and not every star player meets those physical thresholds (different topic for a different day, but a lot of incredible guards are below 6’3”, and not every star center is 6’11” or taller). However, these are some pretty good guidelines for evaluating the majority of players best suited for the NBA.

Diving even deeper within positions in terms of on-court performance, a lot of what was talked about from an NBA perspective earlier in the league comparisons takes shape in more player-specific data for those who were actually called up.

Pretty consistently across the board by position, there’s a lot more overlap than one would expect, given each plays a different role within the flow of the game:

• There’s a strong correlation between scoring efficiency inside the arc as well as rates of shot attempts from the midrange and in across all positions. If a player can create paint touches and display soft touch around the rim and on floaters or pull-up jumpers, they have a better shot at succeeding at the NBA level, especially if they’re at their best with the ball in their hands.

• Whether you’re a fan of using assist-to-turnover ratios as a means to evaluate playmaking capacity and efficiency, there’s no denying from the data that the vast majority of NBA players and prospects do well in taking care of the ball and making correct decisions off reads for themselves or others. Positive assist-to-turnover ratios are present across the board, even from big men!

• Each position takes advantage of leveraging physicality not just on made shots from two-point range, but from free throw attempts earned on drives and post-ups. Being able to get to the line and convert has always been an efficient way to increase scoring averages, and it’s present here in the data.

• A lot of these players across positions aren’t usage rate All-Stars, BUT they’re all factors within the offense to a degree and are capable of shouldering the burden on that side of the ball on a given possession.

• EVERYONE REBOUNDS! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself thinking about teams like the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder that have positional rebounders in abundance, and it helps to both create and end possessions at rates other teams don’t because the personnel isn’t present. The stronger one is at recognizing gaps to crash the glass on both ends and box out, the more of a chance they give to help their team win basketball games!

The TL;DR summary of those bullet points is that the dribble, pass, shoot philosophy that’s discussed a lot when evaluating draft prospects is on full display in those who have succeeded out of the G League.

NBA defenses can take a lot away in the halfcourt, and even force the ball out of the hands of higher-usage offensive players. If the ball is swung around, can a prospect actually make something happen in terms of a made shot, or pass out? Can they be trusted to put the ball on the deck and not cough it up possession after possession, even if they aren’t tasked with spamming back-to-back-to-back pick-and-rolls?

We’re starting to get a better idea of what works in pro personnel prospects and what doesn’t. One category I didn’t include above would be defensive statistics, which truthfully can be a mixed bag from player to player, and I’ve evaluated prospects at lower levels who haven’t necessarily jumped off the page in terms of indicators such as steal and block rates but have operated well enough within a team construct on tape to hold their own defensively.

I always encourage studying the defensive film to get a better idea of how a player performs on that side of the ball, BUT positive steal and block rate indicators only enhance the profiles of those looking to succeed in the league!

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Big Picture Evaluation Takeaways

With all of that data put together, here’s a pretty rough profile of what to look for in a G League prospect, with of course there being a few other positional caveats:

• Average to Above Average Positional Size and Length

• Efficiency From Each Area on the Floor

• POSITIVE DECISION MAKING INDICATORS

• Rebounding Efforts

• Defensive Playmaking Indicators

• Does the player’s G League role scale well to that of an NBA role player? Or are they best suited to play a style that they are unlikely to play if given an NBA opportunity?

If a G League prospect can check off most, if not all, of these boxes, they’ve somehow flown well under the radar and are worthy of a shot to prove themselves at the NBA level.

Two other points I want to focus on with G League prospect evaluation—the first in regards to skilled size.

Out of 468 current G League players as of 12/24/24, I would only categorize 10% as centers. And truthfully, that makes sense. There are far more guards and wings in the NBA than big men, so those who are skilled and mobile are likely in the NBA already, or are in line to be rostered. It’s much more difficult to scout big men in the G League because there aren’t as many to be found.

This feeds into a lot of the league trends as a whole. Without top-level centers, it’s more difficult for defenses to game plan and for other players to keep opposing teams off the offensive glass—not to mention more defenses try to switch in order to make up for a definitive backline presence in certain drop coverages, leading to more of those crafty isolation bucket getters cooking individual defenders.

The other important point I’d like to make really quickly is in regard to the success of players who are called up and earn NBA opportunities.

Out of the 206 call-ups we’ve looked at in this data segment, only 42 are currently on an NBA roster. This would mean that should that average hold up over a larger sample size (could be even less of a hit rate), only one of every five can actually keep a roster spot for one or multiple NBA seasons.

NBA success is far from guaranteed for anyone, even those who actually meet a lot of the statistical thresholds outlined above. No evaluation metric is perfect, which is why I personally never understand why the general public is quick to frown upon those in the league whose jobs are to evaluate and sign the best talent to compete at the highest level.

NBA teams aren’t perfect when it comes to the front offices’ hit rates on draft prospects and signings out of other leagues, but this is a pretty good data point to suggest a lot of the players capable of impacting an NBA game, ARE ALREADY IN THE NBA!

It’s important to go down every avenue when looking to build out a roster from the first player to the last, but even being able to fill those gaps at the back end of a bench down to Two-Way spots is easier said than done.

NBA organizations are in as great of a position as ever to find talent through a number of means. Even if a team doesn’t have a plethora of draft picks or cap space, it is possible to find some diamonds in the G League or other leagues overseas.

That being said, just because the options are present doesn’t make the task at hand any easier. Even when trying to build out an evaluation system to scout potential prospects, there are always those who shatter through perceived ceilings or disappoint in terms of relative expectations.

It’s paramount to craft and build a system that works, something a scout can lean on when trying to narrow the field and determine who is actually a prospect and who isn’t. Just always be prepared to find a player whom you least expected who’s outside of a box or two!