Marcus Bagley declared for the NBA Draft earlier this month, even though he missed a large chunk of this past season. With this being said, the talented forward impressed during his time at Arizona State. Basketball talent runs in the family, as he’s also the younger brother of Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley.
Marcus Bagley 2021 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Bagley’s college career was short-lived with the Sun Devils, mostly due to ankle injuries and COVID-19 pauses. He actually only played a total of 12 games for the team.
In those 12 games, Bagley averaged 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and nearly a steal per game. His best game came versus Houston Baptist, where he dropped 21 points in an early-season win. Bagley had another strong game in January in a one-point loss versus March Madness Cinderella team Oregon State, where he dropped 19 points.
Bagley was one of the top high school prospects in 2020, ultimately choosing Arizona State versus other top tier programs such as Arizona, California, and Florida State.
Strengths
Bagley has all the tools to become a strong wing player in the NBA. He’s a solid all-around player – he’s quick in transition, can score in a variety of ways, and can defend and rebound well.
His overall play is simply very solid and just needs to be polished. More than that, Bagley is also a terrific athlete, adding a ton of tantalizing potential to what he truly can become.
Weaknesses
Bagley isn’t a bad three-point shooter, but he can be better. He shot nearly 35 percent from deep last season, and if he can consistently hit 37-40 percent in the league then he’ll already have carved out a nice niche.
Bagley also needs to work on playmaking, although that’s rarely his main duty. He averaged 1.3 turnovers to 1.2 assists last season, which has to be worked on.
Lastly, Bagley often has mental lapses defensively. This shouldn’t be an issue for long, however, as it’s fixable and he’s already a strong defender when he’s on top of his game.
NBA Comparison for Marcus Bagley
No, Bagley isn’t comparable to his brother. Instead, he has similar shades of Josh Richardson. They’re both defensive wings who can score in different ways but are not lights-out shooters.
2021 NBA Draft Projection
If Bagley remains in the 2021 NBA Draft pool he may possibly go at the end of the first round, but it’s most likely he’s an early second-round pick.
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