Underrated Draft Prospects: G League Ignite Guard Sidy Cissoko

Background

NBA scouts will be keeping a close eye on the G League Ignite during the 2022-23 season, as the team will be once again stacked with talent.

Some of the names on Ignite’s roster might already be familiar to those following the NBA draft, such as projected top-two pick Scoot Henderson, top-30 high school recruit Leonard Miller and former Washington State big man Efe Abogidi. On the opposite end, Sidy Cissoko might not have the same level of name recognition of these prospects, despite being on international scouts’ radars for the past three years.

An 18 year old, 6-foot-6 wing from France, Cissoko spent the bulk of his formative years as one of the stand out prospects of Baskonia’s junior squads in Spain. Last season he was loaned out to second division side Irarugi SB, where he was productive as the youngest player on the roster, posting 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23 minutes per game.

Scouting Report

The first thing that stands out about Cissoko are his physical tools. He is listed at 6-foot-6 but looks and plays bigger than his size thanks to his developed frame, strong lower body and impressive length. Cissoko combines these tools with his coordination, lateral mobility and open-court speed to cover multiple positions on defense, as he’s able to cause problems for guards in the perimeter with his size and mobility, while also being strong enough to forwards and bigger wings.

Offensively, the jumbo guard offers that very same versatility. As the clear best player for Baskonia through his youth basketball career, Cissoko was comfortable with the ball in his hands, using his size and strength to overpower opponents on drives and finish with power at the rim, while also showing flashes of shooting off the dribble and passing on the move.

Cissoko, however, played mostly off-the-ball for France at the most recent FIBA U18 European Championships, a role that might be more in line with the one he will be expected to fill for a stacked Ignite roster next season. In this off-ball role, he showed the capability to hit jumpers off-the-catch, to move the ball with efficiency and to overpower defenders as a driver both in transition and in the half-court.

Highlights from future @gleagueignite player Sidy Cissoko 🇫🇷 (2004) at the U18s. Cissoko was impressive in a role that I expect him to reprise at Ignite: shooting off the catch, attacking the rim in closeouts & in transition, while also providing value with his versatile defense. pic.twitter.com/UeCtxx9477
— Ignacio Rissotto (@eyreball) September 6, 2022

While his U18 performance showed his ability to play off the ball, it also put on display some areas for improvement in his game.

Cissoko relies more on his combination of physicality and coordination than in sheer quickness or explosiveness to get to the rim, which has worked for him when facing smaller defenders at lower levels of competition, but it will be hard for him to outmuscle NBA or even G League defenders; if he’s not able to create separation with quickness or with creative handles against a set defense, he will be limited as a scorer off drives at the NBA level.

Taking that into account, it’s likely that his jumper will be his main source of self-created offense at the NBA level. The mechanics and flashes of shooting off the dribble bode well for his shooting translation to the NBA, but the stat sheet doesn’t always reflect that. Outside of his 2020-21 season at Baskonia’s junior team, his 3-point percentages have been consistently below 30% at every competition and his free throw shooting has always been around the 60% mark, both numbers that could be causes for concern and should be monitored closely as the next G League season goes by.

NBA Questions and Projections

The question I expect many NBA teams to ask about Cissoko is how he can add value to a winning team beyond the defensive end of the floor.

Considering how loaded with talent the G League Ignite squad will be next season, it is likely that Cissoko won’t see many reps as an on-ball creator. If that’s the case, then the efficiency will be the swing aspect for Cissoko’s NBA draft stock.

If he can be efficient as a shooter off the catch while mixing in cuts and opportunistic drives to the basket — such as attacking closeouts and defenders out of position, he can add value to an NBA team from day one as a two-way “glue guy”; someone who can defend multiple positions in the perimeter and provide efficient (albeit limited) scoring without needing the ball in his hands.

As a long-term bet, Cissoko can be even more valuable if the flashes of shooting off-the-dribble come around and he shows the potential to convert them at a high volume and at least average efficiency. Adding a self-creation level to his already valuable combination of off-ball offense and versatile defense would certainly entice a number of teams in the first round of next year’s draft.

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