NBA Draft Scouting Report: Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner

Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner massively boosted his draft stock in a breakout second year with Vanderbilt last season, though it wasn’t quite enough to tip the scales on actually entering the NBA.

Now in his third season with the team, he’ll again be tasked with upgrading his game, though it will be tougher given how well he performed last season. If he can, he could very well become a first-round selection at the 2027 NBA Draft. If not, he’ll be relegated to another collegiate return.

Below, we’ll run a quick scouting report on Tanner ahead of the college season:

Position: Guard

College: Vanderbilt

Class: Junior

Height: 6-foot-0

Weight: 167

Draft age: 21.3

Strengths:

Athleticism

The biggest knock on Tanner is his size at just slightly under 6-foot, without a bulky or massively lengthy frame to make up for it. He does have a plus 6-foot-4 wingspan, though he’s mostly reliant on his athleticism to make up for shortcomings.

Luckily, he’s a truly explosive guard, able to play much bigger than he is with quick reflexes, acceleration in space and high-flying tendencies.

Defensive Play-Making

Tanner is an adept defensive play-maker, even given his massive offensive boost in Year 2. He nabbed 2.4 steals per game as a sophomore, improving from 1.7 as a freshman. He can jump lanes, poke and prod on-ball and turn all defensive stops into offense in transition.

Scoring Versatility

In addition to being an athletic defender, Tanner was among the more productive scorers in the country last season, totaling 19.5 points per game on 49% shooting overall.

He scored in a variety of ways, getting out in open space, spotting up, or creating his own shot in the pick-and-roll, all effectively.

Passing, Play-Making and Feel

Finally, Tanner did more than just score on his own, setting up teammates with great success too. He averaged 5.1 assists per game, doing so while taking care of the ball at just 1.9 turnovers.

His aversion to mistakes while also being able to score and defend made him a highly impactful all-around player.

Areas of Improvement:

Shooting Consistency

Tanner massively improved his shooting outlook in Year 2, shooting far more threes at a much better 37% clip. His volume and efficiency were both good, but will likely need to be elite for him to get real consideration as a rotational player in the NBA.

Upping the amount of threes taken while hitting even more is a necessity for plenty of draft prospects, but especially Tanner.

Outlook:

Tanner is a hard player to place within the 2027 draft. There’s little he can truly do to massively improve his stock outside of general improvement, and he’s one of the best impactors of the game in the country.

Despite that, his size simply won’t lend itself to being drafted in the upper ranks of the 2027 class. Given that class’s reported weakness, he could be a safe option in the mid-to-late first round.

Projected Range: Mid-First to Late-First

NBA Role: Secondary Creator, Spark-Plug Guard

Swing Skills: Shooting Consistency

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