2024 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Kentucky’s Aaron Bradshaw

Aaron Bradshaw is a 7-foot big man who played at Camden High School this past season with fellow top-recruit DJ Wagner.

It’s worth noting that we won’t see Bradshaw play during the summer due to an injury he recently suffered. The five-star big man is considered the top center prospect in the entire draft next year due to his unique combination of size, rim protection and shooting ability.

Let’s dive into the strengths and areas of improvement for Bradshaw:

Strengths

Bradshaw is an elite rim protector that has a great combination of size, length and defensive instincts. Out of the top prospects in the draft, the Kentucky big man is the best interior defending prospect available. Not only does he have the tools to be a special rim protector, but he also has the feel and awareness to protect the rim right away. It would be a shocker if he didn’t average at least two blocks per game in his freshman season at Kentucky.

What makes Bradshaw pretty unique is his stretch big ability at 7-foot. I’m curious to see if he actually utilizes his jumper at Kentucky, as we saw a similar situation to Dereck Lively II this past season. Lively had a reputation as a stretch big, yet made only two 3-pointers on the season. I anticipate Bradshaw taking a lot more outside jumpers this season given their roster on Kentucky. A three-and-D center fits the modern NBA perfectly, which is why scouts think so highly of Bradshaw.

Bradshaw has a pretty nice touch inside the paint and is a very good finisher around the rim. He stands at 7-feet with ridiculously long arms which gives him a wide catch radius. He’s a lob threat at all time and having talented playmakers next to him is ideal. The skilled big man is a dual-threat as a screener in the pick and roll as he has the ability to be effective rolling to the rim or popping out to three.

Areas of Improvement

Bradshaw needs to get stronger if he’s going to see consistent minutes at the center position in the NBA. He only weighs 210 pounds, but he‘a still very young so we anticipate him to gain strength and weight during his time at Kentucky. Adding strength will allow him to play more physically and compete more on the glass.

Bradshaw isn’t a big time creator or true scoring big quite yet as his handle is limited at his size and he isn’t a refined post scorer. Adding more moves to his arsenal down in the post would elevate his game entirely. Sometimes he tends to fall in love with the outside jumper a little too often which isn’t a terrible thing but at 7-feet you would like to see him utilize his size a little more in the interior.

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