One of the biggest risers of the NCAA Tournament and March Madness, Jordan Hawkins had a breakout sophomore season at Connecticut as part of a championship run as a follow-up to being an All-Freshman honoree for the Big East. As a sophomore, Hawkins averaged 16.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG, and 1.4 TOPG on splits of 41/39/89. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Jordan Hawkins
Height/Weight: 6’5/186
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6 ¾/8’5 ½
Hand size: 8 ¾
Position: SG/wing
Pre-Draft team: Connecticut
Tools: Shooting, defensive upside
Pros:
- Outstanding shooter with versatility in coming off screens and hitting movement & standstill 3s
- Quick footwork on pull-up jumpers
- Quick first step
- Moves well off-ball
- Good footwork defensively & recovery ability
- Strong instincts defensively
- Consistently good at getting strong contests
- Good athlete
- Comfortable with both hands at the rim
Cons:
- Needs to add weight/strength
- Still a bit inconsistent as a shooter off the dribble
- Underwhelming length
- Negative assist:turnover ratio
- Needs to improve ball security and reduce travels
- Can panic at the rim against heavy contests
Swing Skills:
- Finishing at the rim
- Adding strength/weight
Summary:
Jordan Hawkins is an elite shooting prospect with upside as a defender, tertiary playmaker as needed, and finisher at the rim to become a complete shooting guard.
As a shooter, Hawkins can hit shots at any angle from any motion, anywhere on the floor. Hawkins is the best movement shooter in the class, using incredibly quick footwork following lots of off-ball movement, allowing for him to quickly get into his shot motion with a high & quick release up top as well. With these traits, along with being able to curl off of handoffs and screens while quickly getting square to the basket, Jordan Hawkins profiles as a top shooter in a strong draft class. Additionally, his elite ~89% from the line mark suggests the shot should cleanly translate to the NBA right away.
The biggest area for Hawkins to improve is with his body, needing to get stronger to help him on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he can get bumped off his spots too easily, pushing him either out of stance or far enough off the ball-handler that he can’t get a contest against the shot. This is most common against spin moves and shoulder bumps on drives, which are common counters that offensive players use multiple times a game in the NBA. Offensively, being stronger will allow for him to play under control more often and more easily at the rim, which is a swing skill for him. He oftentimes can throw up a hail mary at the rim because of either a bump that throws him off too much to keep a steady shot, or because he avoids the contact around a flying defender. Either way, strength will help him both draw more fouls and finish through contact more often.
Defensively, Hawkins gets consistently strong contests, and with a good work ethic he is always able to stay in plays. Off-ball, he rotates smoothly and operates with a team-first mentality. On-ball, he sets his second line of defense up well with quick feet and outstanding anticipation for the next play. While at times he can unnecessarily leave his feet, more times than not he ends up making the right read in being able to time contests on shooters and slashers. Again, as he adds strength, Hawkins could become a positive defender that doesn’t need to be hidden, which makes him unique for a shooter.
Overall, Jordan Hawkins provides elite shooting ability with that of a quality free agent acquisition in year one, with room to grow into a top shooter in the league, as well as defensive upside. He also can add flashes of passing out of drives and finishing at the rim, which would make him a complete backcourt wing.
Fit with Mavs/Magic:
Hawkins fits almost every NBA team because there’s no such thing as ‘too much shooting’ for any one team. For the Magic, Orlando needs as many shooters this offseason as possible to maximize Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and the rest of their core roster. Hawkins would fit every lineup, and while he goes against the Magic’s length philosophy, he can make up for it in enough ways to justify taking him over even the likes of Grady Dick due to being able to do more things, as well as being a better movement shooter.
As for Dallas, Hawkins would be a great help in the backcourt that would make Dallas one of the most lethal 3 point shooting teams. Since Dallas can be overly reliant on 3 point shooting, Hawkins would likely reduce the amount of cold spells the Mavs fall into. Defensively, there’s a real chance that, given the current roster, Hawkins could be the team’s best backcourt defender in year one, with lots of room to grow in year two. Hawkins blends together the fit of current need and making the team better, as well as upside to become a two-way sharpshooter, which is one of the more coveted role player labels.
Similar to: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr, Jason Terry, Ray Allen lite
Projected draft range: 9-15
Expected role: Lights out shooter with a versatile shooting portfolio (standstill shooting, movement shooting, and off the dribble shooting).
Unplayable if: Almost no chance he gets to unplayable status, but a worst case scenario is that the shooting only turns out to be above average, and he never adds enough strength to take a jump as a finisher and defender. This only happens if his work ethic is poor, but there has been zero indication of that so far.
Exceeds expectations if: Defense takes a jump while adding strength, and NBA spacing + newfound strength increase his finishing ability.
Miscellaneous Synergy Stats:
Catch & shoot 3s: 91-222 (41%); 88th percentile in overall catch & shoot
Half-court at the rim: 30-63 (47.6%)
Off the dribble shooting: 35-107 (32.7%); 56th percentile
Videos:
Shot chart:
