NBA Draft: Jaylen Forbes' 3-and-D Potential Could Boost OKC Thunder Depth

To the casual observer and hardcore draftniks alike, the NBA Draft is definitely centered around the top basketball prospects: players who are projected to go in the lottery, or even first round.

Almost every year, however, there are also prospects who are vastly underrated and will slip into the second round or even into undrafted free agency and yet will drastically outperform even the best analysts’ expectations. Recent examples include Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, Andrew Nembhard, Paul Reed, and Jaylen Nowell, just to name a few.

One player that is projected to either be selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, or sign as an undrafted free agency, and could surprise folks is Tulane University’s Jaylen Forbes who is scheduled to workout for the Oklahoma City Thunder next week at some point.

From yesterday —

Tulane guard Jaylen Forbes told @RookieWire he plans on working out for the Thunder next week pic.twitter.com/icChFLbaG1
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 10, 2023

Forbes, who just finished up his fourth year of college basketball, is largely known for his ability to knock down shots behind the 3-point line. Over his three years at Tulane, Forbes hit an impressive 38.2% of his nearly 600 3-point attempts, increasing his efficiency and volume year over year.

At 6-foot-5 with what appears to be a plus-wingspan, the Tulane product also has good positional size and offers up a little bit more potential via passing and defense.

Jaylen Forbes is simply unstoppable #rollwave pic.twitter.com/fhz0brDUcc
— Ryan Hodes (@hodes_CBB) February 12, 2022

While he is a limited playmaker at this point, Forbes has also improved his assist percentage year over year for the past three seasons and even went for four or five assists in a few games this season, giving hope to NBA teams that he can grow into a competent one at the next level.

Defensively, Forbes shows more promise. He’s displayed the willingness to compete on that end of the floor and while he’s not an s-tier athlete, he’s certainly not a bad one. In his three years at Tulane, Forbes posted a very respectable 2.4% steal rate while recording a 1.1% block rate this year, showing good awareness, active hands and a care factor not often seen in high-volume shooters.

Should the Thunder have the opportunity to select, or sign, Forbes on draft night, they will have the opportunity to add a strong shooting prospect that has consistently improved his game throughout his career. In the event Forbes makes his way to Oklahoma City, he will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot in training camp this summer.

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