2023 NBA Draft: Emoni Bates is an Intriguing Draft Evaluation
Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates officially announced that he’ll enter the 2023 NBA Draft pool on his Instagram Monday.
Once thought of as one of the top prospects in the world, Bates endured a pair of tumultuous collegiate seasons before deciding to test his luck on the draft front. And it’s caused his draft evaluation to become a foggy one.
In his first season, he played just half the year at Memphis while batting injuries before earning a few DNP’s near the end of the season. In year two, he played in 30 games for Eastern Michigan, averaging 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
As a prospect, Bates has a few roadblocks standing in the way.
He’s a good height at 6-foot-9, but his negative wingspan and lackluster defensive performances are cause for concern regarding his defensive upside. On the flip-side, shooting just 41 percent overall and 30 percent from beyond the arc aren’t exactly strong numbers for a prospect whose primary skill is supposed to be scoring.
His decision making and shot selection stand to improve the most, something the right fit at the next level will be key towards improving.
Regardless, Bates does offer skills NBA teams can harness.
He’s a potent scorer at all three level, using his natural feel for the game and wide variety of dribble moves and cerebral-type play to see the ball through the hoop.
While 33 percent from beyond the arc isn’t a perfect number, he did average nearly eight 3-point attempts per game and has a projectable shooting form, meaning his upside as an outside piece could be real.
With all this in mind, Bates likely projects to be a mid to late second round selection. But all it takes is one team to believe in his upside to take a shot on him even higher.
The NBA Draft lottery and combine kick off on Tuesday, May 16.
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