So You Think You Can Be an NBA Role Player: Guard Edition
Our own Nathan Grubel examines NBA guards from the pre-draft process to their current teams to better determine what kinds of prospects succeed as role players in the league.
This phrase gets thrown around quite a bit in the NBA scouting community.
“He might not have the framework of a star, BUT he could come off the bench for an NBA team as a role player.”
This has made me wonder for quite some time… what do fans and observers consider a “role player” to be in the NBA?
There are several ways to answer that question, but I’ve been taught by those who have spent their careers in basketball that role players are those who fill the gaps and make the lives of stars easier. Those players can come in all shapes and sizes, even in terms of minutes within a rotation. There are role players who start, come off the bench, etc.
For this exercise, it was important to examine current role players in the NBA making impacts for playoff teams. Where did those players come from? What did they accomplish before making it to the NBA? How involved were they in their pre-NBA team’s success?
When evaluating players for the NBA, I’ve concluded that success, reps, and experience doing anything on the court matter. Rarely do players scale their games UP in the NBA as opposed to the other way around.
Playing in the league is all about problem-solving at a high level. Without experience solving problems in real time at volume, how are players expected to translate up against competition? When the ball gets swung to Player X, are they able to make the right decision at the drop of a hat? Are they comfortable handling the ball? Do they know how to utilize ball screens? Can they create in isolation?
Those who are considered “role players” in the league today have been able to mold their games and fill specific gaps within a team’s offensive and defensive structures. But what if I were to tell you they accomplished much more than that before they set foot in the NBA?
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to dive deep into a few player examples from each positional category: guards, wings, forwards, and centers. The goal here is to establish the high-level criteria I utilize when grading players out as a whole by position, and then highlight my retrospective research on current NBA examples while showcasing their roles on their current teams. Finally, I’ll try to tie some common threads together between every example—regardless of player archetype—and provide some prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft that project well when stacking their current resumes up against selected examples.
First up, this week, are the guards!
*All statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference, Synergy Sports, Dunks and Threes, and Cleaning the Glass*
Evaluation Outline: Guards
Positional characteristics/responsibilities I evaluate in guard prospects are as follows:
Is proficient in bringing the ball up the floor, orchestrating the offense, and playing out of ball-screen actions
Must be able to generate paint touches, finish at a high(-enough) level around the basket, and have the passing vision to kick out and find the open man
Ideally understands how to run high or side PnR by manipulating defenders with their ball-handling, eyes, change of gears, and angles; can score in the midrange off runners and pull-up looks
Threatens defenders who go under screens by projecting to shoot above average from three-point range
Puts pressure on opposing ball-handlers at the point of attack; has enough strength to at least body up bigger matchups depending on the type of switching scheme deployed; has quick hands and feet to read opposing offensive players, jump lanes, and get their hands on the ball
SEPARATOR: Can defend multiple positions on the perimeter depending on switches/rotations
SEPARATOR: Can operate away from the ball moving off screens and setting screens to take advantage of movement shooting opportunities
Now: not every player checks every single one of these boxes. The unique ones that do are the best of the best in the NBA, and rarely do we find prospects in EVERY class who sniff the upper tier of the league. But it is important to share how I try to evaluate players by position and what I’m looking for on the court.
Let’s dig into some NBA examples of guard role players that have significantly impacted their respective teams. As I stated above, I want to highlight players who were part of play-in and/or playoff teams this season to provide relevant and timely commentary, as well as case studies of who’s making rotations of some of the best teams in the league.
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics: 6’1”, 195 lbs
Pre-Draft College: Oregon
Drafted: 26th Overall in 2020 NBA Draft
Player Archetype: Scoring Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
20.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.7 TOV, .468/.415/.821 Shooting Splits
24.6 FGA Per 100, 11.3 3PA Per 100, 7.5 FTA Per 100
1,135 MP, 60.1 TS%, 7.1 REB%, 31.5 AST%, 2.5 STL%, 28.2 USG%, 11.1 BPM
88th Percentile in Total Offense, 45th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Sixth Man Scoring Guard
Current NBA Stats:
14.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 TOV, .472/.407/.845 Shooting Splits
24.6 FGA Per 100, 11.3 3PA Per 100, 7.5 FTA Per 100
2,271 MP, 63.3 TS%, 7.3 REB%, 18.1 AST%, 1.5 STL%, 19.0 USG%, 3.5 BPM
93rd Percentile in Total Offense, 87th in Total Defense
When I wanted to put this piece together, Pritchard was one of the first players I thought of as an example.
Not every player who finds success in the NBA is properly valued before entering college. Despite winning four consecutive Oregon state championships in high school, Pritchard was a four-star recruit, likely due to his perceived size limitations.
Yet, Pritchard doesn’t measure incredibly far off from some of his best peers in the league. Guards that weigh 190-plus pounds can stack up against other backcourt competition. As I’ve written before, the guard position is one where positional size doesn’t cap one’s ceiling like other positions up the ladder.
As a junior and senior, Pritchard found real success helping his team make runs to the Sweet 16. Oregon also won the Pac-12 Championship in Pritchard’s junior year. As a senior, he was a consensus All-American and Bob Cousy Award winner.
Pritchard’s collegiate success culminated in a 26th-overall selection by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft. He’s spent his entire playing career up to this point with Boston and has improved each season. This year, Pritchard has posted career-high statistical marks and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
To put it simply, Pritchard is on the floor to score. Even his teammates have commented on how resilient he is and what he’s capable of as a player. At the worst, he’s one of the league’s best microwave scoring options who can play alongside any combination of backcourt/wing players because of his lethality as a shooter.
There isn’t a spot on the floor that Pritchard can’t knock a shot down from. That much was evident in his game at Oregon, but he’s translated incredibly well as a three-level scorer.
From distance, Pritchard posted a career 37.9% mark from deep in college and shoots it at nearly 40% in the NBA. Regardless of one’s size, anyone who can shoot the basketball like that will find a home within an NBA rotation.
But it’s not just his marksmanship from three-point range that puts him on the radars of scouting reports across the league.
Pritchard came into the league with high-volume pick-and-roll experience, which you’ll see me highlight throughout this piece as a measuring stick I use in evaluating perimeter-oriented players. There’s no hard cap I want to see in terms of registered possessions pre-college, but the play type is important for me as an evaluator because it’s one of the best ways I can filter down to possessions where a player is put in a position to solve problems in a myriad of ways.
Reading defensive coverages in ball screen situations puts the ball handler in potentially difficult spots to navigate. How does the ball handler navigate the screen? Do they accept or reject? How are they reacting to any help from defenders? Can they split a defense to get downhill? Are they playing the possession too fast and crashing into a wall after taking the screen? Can they read where their teammates are and make the correct passes out? Do they have the touch and pass placement to perfectly hit a roll man in stride for a layup or on a lob?
I can go on and on about the decision trees that branch off this play type, which is why I value a player’s approach as a pick-and-roll ball handler.
Pritchard makes defenses react to what he does because of his ability to rise and fire from anywhere on the floor. You can’t go under on Pritchard, as he’ll lace a jumper from deep. If you play too aggressively, he has the passing chops to hit the roll man. Give him too much space in a drop coverage, and he has the touch to connect on a mid-range pull-up jumper or floater. And should Pritchard get to the rim, he can connect around the basket and inside the paint. He’s a career 55.6% on two-point looks.
And that two-point separator is massive when evaluating if a guard can translate to the NBA game. If a player can’t get to the basket and create looks for themselves, they’re much easier to guard. Pritchard isn’t an above-the-rim finisher, but he’s comfortable amongst the trees due to his ability to absorb contact and finish with exquisite touch.
Even if the offense doesn’t run completely through Pritchard when he’s on the floor, he’s active in moving without the basketball to make his teammates’ lives easier as an outlet. Pritchard is a tremendous spot-up shooter, and is the type of conditioned athlete who can run off screens, catch at full speed, and re-position for a lightning-quick jumper even over defenders that are closing out hard to contest the look.
Guards need the ability to initiate offense, bring the ball up the floor, and make decisions for their teammates. But when the ball is in someone else’s hands, what other value do they provide? Are they active in searching for extra rebounding opportunities? Do they make plays defensively on the ball? Pritchard is tough and aggressive on both sides of the ball and does all of those little things to win basketball games.
Speaking of making decisions, rarely do NBA guards who find high levels of success in the league commit turnovers at an alarming rate. Matter of fact, most have assist-to-turnover ratios better than 2:1. Assists aren’t the perfect metric, as there are excellent passes made that don’t lead to an assist because someone on the other end of that feed has to make the shot. But it’s a great way to gauge if a player is routinely able to make additional plays while limiting his own mistakes on the floor. In other words, how much value is a player adding when his shot isn’t falling? That’s one aspect that can be quantified.
Even through college, Pritchard had no seasons where he registered less than a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s a skilled ball handler who knows when to attack, when to pull up, and when to pass out without killing the flow of the offense.
Pritchard’s primary weakness as a player is that he isn’t a plus NBA-level defender by any means. He’s competitive for sure. He can fight through an initial screen up top and plays heads-up ball with quick hands. But he doesn’t have the physical stature to switch onto bigger wings and routinely get a stop.
But what Pritchard does bring to the table is a defined role as a scorer, whether he’s coming off the bench or slotting into the starting lineup as a substitute guard. Pritchard came into the league as a shooter first, but continued to develop as a scorer because of his prior experience as a trustworthy ball handler in college. He’s won at multiple levels and has contributed to winning a championship in the NBA.
Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers: 6’5”, 195 lbs
Pre-Draft College: Virginia
Drafted: 24th Overall in 2019 NBA Draft
Player Archetype: Scoring Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
13.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.6 TOV, .435/.399/.736 Shooting Splits
21.4 FGA Per 100, 10.4 3PA Per 100, 4.8 FTA Per 100
1,256 MP, 55.5 TS%, 7.8 REB%, 32.6 AST%, 3.0 STL%, 23.4 USG%, 11.5 BPM
73rd Percentile in Total Offense, 85th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Sixth Man Scoring Guard
Current NBA Stats:
12.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.3 TOV, .516/.439/.872 Shooting Splits
21.4 FGA Per 100, 8.7 3PA Per 100, 5.1 FTA Per 100
1,392 MP, 64.3 TS%, 6.7 REB%, 24.5 AST%, 2.7 STL%, 23.6 USG%, 4.3 BPM
91st Percentile in Total Offense, 43rd in Total Defense
Ty Jerome was viewed as a better potential prospect than Pritchard was in his respective high school class. Jerome ranked as the 46th best player in his grouping, and ultimately committed to the University of Virginia after a short senior campaign due to injury. Over his last full season of varsity ball in high school, Jerome racked up numerous honors as he rounded out his game.
At Virginia, Jerome enjoyed massive success in helping the Cavaliers win an NCAA Championship during the 2018-19 season. He was a two-time All-ACC winner and was on the NCAA All-Tournament team the year Virginia won the title.
For the Cavaliers under coach Tony Bennett, Jerome played a steady role as a key facilitator and lead decision-maker between two other NBA-caliber prospects in Kyle Guy and, most notably, De’Andre Hunter. Jerome didn’t take every single shot that was available, but rather set the table for others first and foremost, while he feasted on opportunities that were afforded to him off spot-up looks and open lanes off screen-and-roll actions.
In college, Jerome shot no less than 37.9% from three, and improved drastically as a decision-maker during his last few years in school. Add those elements together with his plus positional size at 6’5” as a guard, and Jerome had a winning formula that was elevated by his cerebral play defensively.
Jerome communicated well on defense with his teammates, as he rotated in different coverages, held his own against bigger matchups, played passing lanes, and disrupted opposing offenses as a nasty playmaker up top. Virginia schemed their zones well against opponents, but Jerome knew how to use his size and strength against other perimeter matchups to shut off driving lanes and force tough angles for opposing ball handlers.
Jerome wasn’t, and still isn’t, a dynamic athlete, but his stature and competitive will have made up for any shortcomings in that area throughout his career. And his commitment to winning while playing additive, low-mistake basketball earned him the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Throughout the last six seasons, Jerome has played for four different teams, but has found a home with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was under consideration for both the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards.
Jerome asserted himself this season in particular as a prolific shot-maker at times. Jerome shot the ball better than 51% from the field and 43% from three-point range, all while finding gaps in the defense to dish the ball to his teammates and keeping his turnovers to a minimum.
His size in pick-and-roll actions gives him an edge against other backcourt defenders who try and chase over those screens. Jerome is too good to leave open by going under, but should a defender get over top the pick, Jerome is strong enough to hold someone on his hip and create space in the lane for his patented floater. He’s never been a high-level finisher at the rim, but Jerome’s touch from 10 feet and out has been the secret sauce to Jerome getting hot as a scorer.
And as a spot-up shooter, Jerome can work off other ball handlers and play off movement, as well as cut into space and make the most of his opportunities moving towards the basket either as a scorer or facilitator. Jerome doesn’t put himself in a position to commit many mistakes, and knows the types of shots he’s most efficient on.
Jerome’s prior college experience as a lead guard has helped him take over that role as a primary backup in the NBA. He’s attempted nearly double his total shots in pick-and-roll possessions as opposed to spot-ups, meaning he isn’t thrown off balance when he has to do a little more for his team offensively. He creates looks for himself as much as he does for other players.
But should he be in a position to play off the ball, he’s lethal enough as a shooter to pull defenders out to the perimeter and make them guard him, which is enough to open up lanes and opportunities for his teammates.
Jerome is an excellent NBA role player because of his ability to score, on top of the fact that he’s a respectable enough defender to not stand out as an incredibly “huntable” matchup.
Miles McBride, New York Knicks: 6’2”, 200 lbs
Pre-Draft College: West Virginia
Drafted: 36th Overall in 2021 NBA Draft
Player Archetype: Defense-First Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
15.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.8 TOV, .431/.414/.813 Shooting Splits
20.8 FGA Per 100, 6.3 3PA Per 100, 7.0 FTA Per 100
991 MP, 54.4 TS%, 6.3 REB%, 28.5 AST%, 3.1 STL%, 22.9 USG%, 9.5 BPM
74th Percentile in Total Offense, 67th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Sixth Man Defensive Guard
Current NBA Stats:
9.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.6 TOV, .406/.369/.813 Shooting Splits
17.0 FGA Per 100, 9.7 3PA Per 100, 2.0 FTA Per 100
1,593 MP, 53.1 TS%, 5.8 REB%, 15.6 AST%, 2.1 STL%, 16.8 USG%, 0.0 BPM
46th Percentile in Total Offense, 52nd in Total Defense
Miles McBride was another guard who wasn’t the most highly regarded coming out of high school, yet was successful in terms of winning in the state of Ohio.
A two-sport athlete in grade school, McBride won two state titles in Ohio and ultimately decided to commit to basketball as a three-star recruit.
McBride played two seasons at West Virginia under Coach Bob Huggins and waited his turn to take over the starting point guard job until his sophomore season.
Even as a freshman primarily coming off the bench, McBride earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, and in an elevated role during his sophomore season, won a selection on the All-Big 12 team.
McBride had moments as an offensive talent in college, but he committed to the defensive end of the floor first and foremost. Matter of fact, he embraced being a pest at the point of attack. McBride has a near 6’9” wingspan, which helped him to star alongside other guards in the backcourt defensively. He could take on bigger matchups and wasn’t an easy player to deal with, even if he was up against wings or forwards.
He was exceptional in creating deflections and forcing turnovers to get his team out in transition. Even when he got beat on the perimeter or lost on a switch, McBride could recover and get his hand on a shot to prevent an easy bucket. I’m a firm believer in effort and will powering players to become the best defenders they can be, but having legitimate physical advantages also raises one’s ceiling on that end of the floor.
During his sophomore season, McBride took a massive leap in shooting the basketball from deep. That jump shooting has carried over since he’s been in the pros, but it really helped him offer some offensive versatility in college. McBride shot 41.4% from three as opposed to under 31% during his freshman year, all while taking 32 more attempts.
And as McBride got more opportunities on the ball, he proved to be a valuable passer as he made the most of any chance he got to pass out of a pick-and-roll possession, or catch a defender sleeping on a re-directed pass.
McBride earned the NBA looks he got because of his defined role as a shooter and point-of-attack defender. He could handle the ball, take care of it, and knock down shots at an efficient clip.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, McBride was taken 36th overall by the New York Knicks. McBride has spent his entire career with New York up to this point, and has even earned himself a prime rotational role as an off-ball guard with the Knicks.
While he’s not a high-usage starter like he was in college, McBride has steadily gained minutes and looks within the offense because of his steady shooting, length, and motor on the defensive end.
Those prior experiences as a decision-maker have carried over within the Knicks’ offensive structure, and he’s earned the trust of coach Tom Thibodeau because he sees the floor well and anticipates ball and player movement on both ends.
On 237 pick-and-roll possessions (including passes) this season in the NBA, McBride has rated “Very Good” while limiting his turnover rates.
McBride’s rim finishing hasn’t improved in the NBA, given the fact that he’s a below-the-rim scorer, and that’s certainly limited his upside as a higher usage offensive player. But he’s consistently found a role in New York because he plays to his strengths and does whatever his team needs him to on either end of the floor to win games.
Not to mention, this guy has been a CLUTCH shot maker at different points this season for the Knicks. Consistency is key, and McBride knows who he is as a player.
T.J. McConnell, Indiana Pacers: 6’1”, 190 lbs
Pre-Draft College: Arizona
Drafted: UDFA in 2015 NBA Draft Class
Player Archetype: Pass-First Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
10.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.2 SPG, 2.1 TOV, .498/.321/.829 Shooting Splits
16.2 FGA Per 100, 4.0 3PA Per 100, 3.6 FTA Per 100
1,158 MP, .570 TS%, 7.8 REB%, 39.0 AST%, 4.3 STL%, 18.9 USG%, 12.1 BPM
69th Percentile in Total Offense, 59th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Sixth Man Lead Guard
Current NBA Stats:
9.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.4 TOV, .519/.306/.740 Shooting Splits
21.2 FGA Per 100, 1.7 3PA Per 100, 2.6 FTA Per 100
1,415 MP, 54.7 TS%, 7.6 REB%, 37.0 AST%, 2.8 STL%, 23.4 USG%, 1.2 BPM
36th Percentile in Total Offense, 38th in Total Defense
T.J. McConnell follows a similar path to those guards I’ve written about before him in that he, too, wasn’t a highly regarded prospect out of high school.
McConnell was a three-star recruit just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. He played for his father all four years in high school and helped his team get to the Class 3A championship game during his senior year, in which he averaged over 34 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 9.1 APG.
McConnell did quite literally everything one could do on the basketball court during his high school years. He brought that same do-it-all energy to Duquesne for his first few college seasons, and transferred to Arizona in the Pac-12, where he popped on NBA radars.
Through all four years of college, he racked up All-Conference honors and was consistently among the top names on All-Defense Teams. He helped Arizona capture back-to-back Elite 8 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. His scoring, decision making, and defensive tenacity were pillars of those Wildcat teams, not to mention his leadership at the point guard position.
McConnell wasn’t viewed as a plus athlete. He wasn’t a shooter by any means, and still isn’t today. Those were a few reasons why he went undrafted in 2015, but he found a home with the tanktastic Philadelphia 76ers and immediately broke out as one of the better young point guards in the league.
With the 76ers, McConnell truly perfected his mid-range craft as a scorer. His patented paint touch, pull the ball out, and hit a fading jumper along the baseline is a move McConnell still relies on today, and it was quite the weapon during his first few years in the league as well.
For a rebuilding team, McConnell was an unquestioned leader and floor general. He helped multiple units navigate tough stretches while providing exceptional pressure as an on-ball defender on the other end of the floor.
Even though he’s never been a three-point shooter in his career, McConnell has carved out a career by just playing harder than anyone else around him. He relentlessly attacks defenders in transition, knows how to play without the ball and use screens to his advantage, and has superb touch at the basket. He fights through contact and finishes through bigger defenders. McConnell’s toughness is some of the best I’ve seen in my time evaluating players.
McConnell is as reliable as they come in terms of making decisions and holding onto the ball. Another low-mistake player in the backcourt, McConnell rarely turns the ball over on sloppy possessions and isn’t afraid to slow down the offense and hunt for the best shot.
An ELITE guard inside the arc, tenacious defender, energetic rebounder, and overall energizer. McConnell personifies what it means to play a role for his team as a defense-first, pass-heavy point guard who can score when called upon. He knows how to get to his spots and outwit opposing defenders. McConnell has been a great addition to the Indiana Pacers, the organization he was traded to during the 2019-20 season.
McConnell has won high-leverage games at every stop in his basketball career and has done so by outworking everyone around him. He is the personification of leadership.
Jevon Carter, Chicago Bulls: 6’1”, 200 lbs
Pre-Draft College: West Virginia
Drafted: 32nd Overall in 2018 NBA Draft
Player Archetype: Defense-First Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
17.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.6 APG, 3.0 SPG, 2.6 TOV, .422/.393/.858 Shooting Splits
22.5 FGA Per 100, 8.7 3PA Per 100, 6.8 FTA Per 100
1,313 MP, 54.9 TS%, 7.5 REB%, 36.2 AST%, 4.9 STL%, 25.0 USG%, 12.0 BPM
64th Percentile in Total Offense, 46th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Deep Bench Defensive Guard
Current NBA Stats:
4.3 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.3 TOV, .377/.333/.800 Shooting Splits
21.2 FGA Per 100, 15.3 3PA Per 100, 1.5 FTA Per 100
321 MP, 50.9 TS%, 6.4 REB%, 17.2 AST%, 1.9 STL%, 21.0 USG%, -2.1 BPM
39th Percentile in Total Offense, 73rd in Total Defense
Another West Virginia guard? Don’t worry, there’s one more coming a little later, too!
Let’s focus on Jevon Carter, though, whom I was able to scout personally during his last season in college.
Carter is the definition of work horse. In high school, he was primarily an off-ball guard who made the transition to playing more on the ball in college under Bob Huggins. By his sophomore season, Carter took the reins of the starting point guard job and didn’t let go for the rest of his time in Morgantown.
Through his time playing for the Mountaineers, Carter racked up All-Big 12 appearances, All-Big 12 Defense appearances, won the conference and NCAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in his senior season, and was even an Academic All-American in that same year.
Carter didn’t win a championship in college, but was a highly impactful player during his time with West Virginia. Arguably the best on-ball defensive guard in the country, Carter was a bully in the backcourt. He bodied up opposing ball-handlers, and was a brick wall in terms of limiting penetration. You could feel it in your bones watching someone run into Carter.
Defense wins championships, and is valuable at every position. It’s important for guards to offer some sort of value, be it at the point of attack, or as a playmaker away from the ball. Carter was the entire package on that end, but his offensive game took multiple leaps throughout his college career.
Carter consistently got more reps as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, and made the most of them as a scorer and facilitator. Another guard who struggled to finish right at the basket, Carter honed in on his pull-up jumper and worked hard to find looks for his teammates passing out of those possessions. As a senior, Carter improved his ball handling and ability to navigate in tight spaces inside the arc.
One thing that propped up Carter’s professional case in a big way was his jump shooting. As a junior and senior, Carter shot better than 38% from three on considerable volume. He wasn’t afraid to let it fly from deep, and he made defenses pay more times than not. Carter even became a reliable scorer off the bounce, able to take on a defender one-on-one and score over them on a contested look.
Carter’s offensive improvements, along with his rock-steady ability as a defender, earned him an NBA job. He was drafted 32nd overall in the 2018 draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
While he never took off as a separator at the NBA level due to some athletic limitations, Carter has hung around for a decade as a backup guard who takes pride in his defense, playmaking, and spot-up shooting.
Carter wasn’t projected as a “star” out of college, but he was successful in his role and carved out a clear path for NBA-level success.
Jalen Pickett, Denver Nuggets: 6’4”, 209 lbs
Pre-Draft College: Penn State
Drafted: 32nd Overall in 2023 NBA Draft
Player Archetype: Scoring Guard
Pre-Draft Season College Stats:
17.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 2.3 TOV, .508/.381/.763 Shooting Splits
23.5 FGA Per 100, 5.4 3PA Per 100, 5.4 FTA Per 100
1,353 MP, 57.7 TS%, 12.2 REB%, 39.2 AST%, 1.6 STL%, 27.3 USG%, 10.9 BPM
79th Percentile in Total Offense, 58th in Total Defense
Current NBA Role: Primary Bench Pass-First Guard
Current NBA Stats:
4.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.5 TOV, .428/.396/.750 Shooting Splits
13.0 FGA Per 100, 7.3 3PA Per 100, 0.6 FTA Per 100
666 MP, 54.5 TS%, 5.9 REB%, 19.5 AST%, 1.4 STL%, 13.2 USG%, -1.5 BPM
33rd Percentile in Total Offense, 94th in Total Defense
Last but certainly not least, Jalen Pickett was one of my favorite second-round prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft.
His basketball career didn’t start out on the right foot, as he had to become academically eligible to be cleared by the NCAA coming out of high school. He prevailed and started his career at Siena, playing three years in the MAAC before transferring to Penn State and lighting up the Big Ten, particularly in his final season.
During his final year at Penn State, Pickett was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and was a consensus All-American Second Team winner.
Pickett even helped Penn State make it to the NCAA Tournament in the program’s most competitive season in quite some time alongside sharpshooting wing Seth Lundy.
What Pickett brought to the table nightly in college was his ability as a triple-double threat. Some have called his style of play “booty ball,” but boy was he effective as an all-around basketball player!
Pickett was great at playing the defensive glass and getting his team going in transition. Pickett could hit guys ahead of the break with the pass, or slow down the offense if the transition attack wasn’t there. And once Pickett got a screen up top, he put defenders in a bind the same way Ty Jerome did, as I outlined in his breakdown.
Pickett’s size and strength as a guard gave him an edge in ball screen offenses. Play too aggressively on him, and he could hold you on his hip and go to work in the mid-range. His footwork in getting to the basket and faking out defenders at the rim gave him numerous easy buckets. Pickett could post up other guard defenders, while knowing when to get rid of the ball if he was double-teamed or guarded by a bigger wing or forward.
Making plays consistently matters on the court. Pickett was always in the action at Penn State and did quite literally everything for his team. Even his main weaknesses as a shooter have improved since his time in the NBA after having been selected by the Denver Nuggets.
Pickett has shot better than 37% in the NBA, as it’s been more difficult for players to go under on screens when he’s the primary playmaker. Even when he’s played off the ball alongside Jamal Murray or Russell Westbrook, Pickett’s catch-and-shoot game has helped him stay on the floor, along with some competitive defense.
Having plus positional size is always a bonus, no matter the position. At 6’4” and over 200 pounds, Pickett is a bulky guard who knows how to throw his weight around in the backcourt. Even in the NBA, he can create an advantage with his combination of handle, strength, and footwork.
Pickett may not have the speed and overwhelming athleticism to break out as a star in the league, but he’s shown enough over the last few seasons that he can hang around as a backup guard for years to come because he can adapt to whatever role his team needs him to play. He has years of high-level experience as a lead facilitator, he can defend multiple backcourt positions, and has improved enough as a spot-up shooter and cutter to make plays away from the ball.
Versatility and adaptability are everything in the NBA. Most guys don’t get to do whatever they want with the ball and soak up high usage. But when those opportunities come around that are different than transition runouts or quick catch-and-shoot jumpers, do they know how to handle those situations? Pickett has the requisite experience and can step up when needed.
Common Threads Between NBA Role-Playing Guards
Pre-Draft Season Efficiency Metrics
Current 2024-25 NBA Efficiency Metrics
Taking a look at these examples, there are some common threads to pull out that align with a lot of the key principles I use in evaluating guard prospects:
Each player was incredibly productive in college and had far more substance to their games than flash; all were winners in some capacity and were viewed as players that excelled in key roles for their respective teams
All of these players were multi-year college point guards and spent time coming off the bench and learning behind another player before taking over the starting job
Every player but T.J. McConnell was a legitimate shooting threat from three-point range, and all had prior experience shooting from the mid-range and converting on those looks effectively
All had vast experience as pick-and-roll operators for their respective college teams and have carried their success over to their NBA roles in some capacity; all are legitimate low-mistake players that value taking care of the ball and making the right play
All were active in other areas of the game in terms of rebounding the basketball, forcing turnovers, diving for loose balls, and going out of their way to do the little things for the team
None of these players are without requisite effort on defense: they may not be the BEST backcourt defenders in basketball (although some of them are), but they are at least strong enough to fight through screens, be active with their hands, and play with a do-it-all attitude
All fought through different levels of adversity in their college and professional careers; all weren’t viewed as high-level prospects out of high school and some had to transfer schools and embrace new roles, while some had to earn upgrades to their contracts or justify that they were worth signing at all
Now. Who are the prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft class that personify most or all of these traits, and thereby should be viewed as potential steals given where they’re currently slotted on consensus draft boards?
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida: 6’2”, 195 lbs
Player Archetype: Scoring Guard
Pre-Draft Season Stats:
18.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 2.4 TOV, .448/.386/.875 Shooting Splits
23.4 FGA Per 100, 13.5 3PA Per 100, 6.4 FTA Per 100
1,271 MP, 60.2 TS%, 6.0 REB%, 23.2 AST%, 2.1 STL%, 25.6 USG%, 11.2 BPM
Walter Clayton Jr. has easily been the best story to come out of last college basketball season, primarily because he just helped his Florida Gators win a freaking NCAA title.
Clayton started his college career at Iona after committing to basketball despite being a higher-touted football recruit. He did help his Bartow HS team win a Florida Class 6A state championship, but had also some great collegiate offers from top-shelf football programs coming out of high school.
Given his successes this past season, I’d say he made a pretty good choice in sticking to basketball.
As a sophomore at Iona, Clayton won the MAAC Player of the Year award and cemented himself as a top prospect in the transfer portal. He decided to come back home and play for the Gators, and he immediately brought his winning mentality to Gainesville.
Florida has had one of its more successful runs as a program over the past few seasons, with Clayton at the head of the snake as the team’s most valuable player. He had the chance to go pro after his junior season, but he withdrew from last year’s draft process in hopes of winning it all.
As a senior, Clayton was First Team All-SEC and First Team All-SEC, and was also this year’s Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament after making every clutch play imaginable for his squad down the stretch.
Don’t let Clayton’s stature fool you. He’s a legitimate two-way guard prospect, and he proved it on the biggest stage in college basketball. He was responsible for the final closeout that forced Sharp to think twice about shooting at the last second. What Clayton did in running all the way over for a long contest helped seal a championship for Florida, on top of all of the other key shots he hit in the second half.
Clayton does anything and everything it takes for his team to win. He will hound opposing players on the ball, force steals, rotate, and crash the glass. He’s a much better athlete than advertised, both in transition and in the halfcourt.
But what makes Clayton such a dynamic guard prospect is his shooting ability. Clayton has parking lot range as a long-distance shooter, and is as comfortable hitting contested looks as he is open spot-up jumpers.
I couldn’t believe some of the shots Clayton was able to hit in the tournament, but truthfully, he’s been that type of shot-maker his entire college career dating back to Iona. Our own Maxwell Baumbach told me about Clayton years ago, and was high on him as a sophomore.
Boy, was this an incredible scout by one of my best friends in the business.
Clayton’s experience as an on- and off-ball shooter, pick-and-roll shot maker, point-of-attack defender, and leader/winner at the highest level has him in a prime position to come in and make an impact in the NBA. He’s the closest prospect I’ve seen to Payton Pritchard—no, he didn’t win four championships in high school, but he’s been pretty damn successful wherever he’s gone.
Whether it’s working off a ball screen in the middle of the floor, coming off a screen from the wings, or making plays for others, Clayton has a mature offensive package that an NBA team will love. At worst, he fills the role of shooting specialist who can also hold his own defensively. But at his best, he could blossom into a star, similarly to what Pritchard has done off the bench for the Boston Celtics.
Kam Jones, Marquette: 6’4”, 185 lbs
Player Archetype: Two-Way Guard
Pre-Draft Season Stats:
19.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.9 TOV, .483/.311/.648 Shooting Splits
28.2 FGA Per 100, 10.5 3PA Per 100, 4.5 FTA Per 100
1,149 MP, 55.1 TS%, 7.6 REB%, 38.1 AST%, 2.4 STL%, 28.9 USG%, 10.6 BPM
Kam Jones isn’t the same level of efficient outside shot-maker as Clayton, but he is every bit the same bombastic scorer downhill off of screens.
Jones wasn’t at the top of everyone’s recruiting lists as a guard out of high school in Memphis, but he committed to Marquette to play for Shaka Smart and learned how to take the reigns as a point guard. In his sophomore season, Jones lept to a starting role for a prominent Golden Eagles squad in the Big East. He earned Big East All-Freshman honors coming off the bench, but his game soared in the right direction with more volume and opportunity in year two.
Jones is crafty when getting a screen at the top of the floor. He plays with great pace and doesn’t speed himself up in offensive actions. He knows how to operate at different speeds, takes appropriate angles, and can make any pass he needs out of those actions. His assist rate as a playmaker this year was through the roof, as he was the offensive engine that made Marquette go during his senior season.
Jones was rewarded for his all-around play as a point guard, as he was named First Team All-Big East and Second Team All-American.
Few guards were as productive as Jones in terms of scoring and setting up teammates. Marquette did become too reliant on Kam down the stretch, but he took his lumps and still found ways to convert on tough looks despite having nearly all of every defense’s attention on a possession-to-possession basis.
His jump shooting statistics took a dip this year, particularly on pull-up looks. But his percentages on those shots rated out well prior to this season per Synergy, so I’m not going to act overly concerned about where his jumper is at this point in his career despite what the raw three-point number is.
As a catch-and-shoot threat, Jones has rated well enough on spot-up looks through his entire college career, and he has the ability to hit his fair share of stand-still shots if he’s ever away from the ball. He has the body control and strength to cut off movement and make shots in the paint, meaning he has some versatility in his game as a shot-maker.
High-volume playmakers who don’t turn the ball over at a high rate are the types of guards that find success in the NBA. Jones rates out solidly when making plays defensively and defending at the point of attack. He has the scoring chops and playmaking instincts to make an impact within an NBA rotation off the bench.
One fun thing to note about Jones this year, per Synergy: he still rated out as “Very Good” in terms of making low-quality looks. So even as a tough shot maker, Jones still found it in him to come up big for his Golden Eagles time and time again.
Jones has found ways to lead on both ends of the floor in college. I’d bet on him finding a way to be impactful in the NBA.
Javon Small, West Virginia: 6’2”, 180 lbs
Player Archetype: Scoring Guard
Pre-Draft Season Stats:
18.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 2.7 TOV, .418/.353/.880 Shooting Splits
23.2 FGA Per 100, 12.5 3PA Per 100, 8.8 FTA Per 100
1,156 MP, 57.6 TS%, 6.6 REB%, 35.1 AST%, 2.6 STL%, 28.2 USG%, 10.6 BPM
Javon Small, admittedly, has eluded me up to this point in the NBA Draft process.
I’ve known about him for quite some time, but didn’t get around to as much West Virginia tape as I would’ve liked to during the season.
Told you there would be one more Mountaineer!
Nevertheless, as I look back on the season Small had as West Virginia’s lead guard, I’m actually perplexed how I didn’t highlight his play sooner.
I mean, this kid is a freaking DAWG. Small gets it out of the mud and is the perfect fit for a Mountaineer program harking back to what the school has been known for in terms of defense and crafty point guard play.
Small has been a do-it-all guard dating back to his early days in college. He was a three-star recruit out of high school who averaged 16, 5, and 5 as a sophomore at East Carolina before transferring to Oklahoma State.
As a Cowboy, Small carried over similar production in the Big 12, which warranted looks from a school on the opposite side of the conference: West Virginia.
Despite the Mountaineers losing key wing player Tucker DeVries early in the season, Small put on a show for West Virginia as the team’s highest-usage scorer and facilitator.
No other player on the team came close to Small in terms of total minutes played and overall usage. He was quite literally the straw that stirred the drink, and did so in a myriad of ways even when his shot wasn’t falling.
Small knows how to use a screen up top to his advantage. He’s another guard who doesn’t get sped up by the opposing defense, and instead lets the game come to him. He knows when to accept or reject screens and has great awareness for where his teammates are when he comes off said action. He can deliver passes with either hand and knows where to place it in the shooting pocket of his teammates.
Small can get a tad aggressive on some passes, and he’s not “mistake-free” as a lead guard. But when you factor in how tight defenses chose to play him, especially down the stretch, you see how many brilliant plays he made—way more than those he’d like to have back.
As a scorer, Small has every tool you’d want in a pull-up shot maker. Again, his raw percentages took a hit in terms of effectiveness with more defensive attention on a nightly basis, but the types of looks he connected on were impressive. He was still “Good” to “Very Good” on most key shot types per Synergy.
Small is balanced as a shooter and can hit shots off the bounce as much as he can on catch-and-shoot shots. Even when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, Small was 47.6% on unguarded catch-and-shoot looks, meaning he has the type of complementary jump shooting that could boost an NBA lineup off the bench.
When including passes, Small handled the most pick-and-roll reps of any of these three guards, and did so at a high level.
The biggest knock on Small going up to the next level outside of consistency as a shot maker will be the fact that he is undersized as a guard. There will be teams and coverages that can take advantage of Small as a defender, but he’s so damn competitive that I’d bet on him to do enough to stay on the floor when he gets his opportunities. And if he continues to trend upwards on the offensive end, he could become a steal in this year’s draft—especially if he falls into the undrafted two-way market.
Conclusion
By now, you probably have a good idea of what works for role-playing guards in the NBA.
Role players in the league have come from all sorts of pre-NBA situations and have performed at exceptionally high levels. Those that succeed in the league are statistical darlings in their own right, but are more than just what the numbers say.
As you’ll see from other positions in the coming weeks, those who we think of when it comes to role players often had way more on their plates before they set foot in the league. They were able to scale their games down because of their understanding, awareness, and commitment to doing whatever it takes to win basketball games. Because of that, they’ve been able to carve out areas of their games that can adapt and mold around some of the league’s best players.
I’m firmly in the camp that all of Walter Clayton Jr., Kam Jones, and Javon Small have that ability in their games. There are a few others I didn’t get to outline in detail that have that same potential as well, such as Sean Pedulla and Chucky Hepburn.
When evaluating prospects for the NBA Draft, it’s important to consider other aspects of them outside of just what the numbers say. How competitive are they as players? Who are they as people? What levels of adversity have they overcome?
It takes a lot to stand out in an NBA rotation. Those who have earned those opportunities have gained that experience before stepping on an NBA floor.