Name: Izan Almansa
Birth date: June 7, 2005
Height/Weight: 6’10/230
Wingspan/ standing reach: N/A
Hand size: N/A
Position: PF/C
Pre-Draft team: G League Ignite
Tools: Playmaking, defense, physicals, athleticism, feel for the game, shooting?
Background: MVP of the FIBA U17, U18, and U19 tournaments. Went to OTE before moving to the Ignite.
Stats: 9.6 PPG 7 RPG 1.4 APG 0.9 TOPG 0.7 SPG 0.7 BPG on 55/20/54.5
Pros:
Good athlete
Good rebounder
Possesses a good floater/push shot; loves to use it out of the P&R
Has very strong hands that allow him to win rebounds and hold on to passes through traffic
His best playmaking comes out of the post
Has a strong positive assist:turnover ratio, with few turnovers coming from bad decisions with the ball in his hands
Moves well on the perimeter defensively?
Has a good spin move, especially out of face-ups
Cons:
Jump shot base/footwork may need improvement; inconsistent mechanics makes it hard for him to stay balanced from shot-to-shot
P&R defense can be inconsistent; slow to react at times
Hesitates to shoot open jumpers and can become indecisive in those situations (INTL preseason games showcase this)
Plays too passively against smaller players in the post like he doesn’t want to hurt anyone
Can force post/hook shots too often
Doesn’t have high-end length for a big
Doesn’t always run hard/sprint in transition
Lacks awareness at times and sits in the paint too long, forcing 3 in the keys
Slow to react defensively on the perimeter; gets taken out of the play by quick first steps
Swing Skills:
Gets too easily excited to use his push shot/floater out of the P&R; can he make proper reads with room in the roll more quickly and accurately?
Gets too many post-ups. What will his game look like in a less old-school game with a P&R to set up more modern sets more often?
Uses the same few moves to score: some post moves, push shot, and high stepthrough. How much more can he develop his scoring moves?
What is the tinker in his shot to unlock his shooting upside?
Summary:
Izan Almansa is an intriguing big man, playing as an awkward fit with the G League Ignite without a point guard and forcing many post-ups, but how his game scales up to the NBA while it modernizes is his big swing trait. Fit will be important for Almansa, as going to the right or wrong team could impact whether he is a steal or a bust. With this statement, it is important to consider the context of the G League Ignite compared to what his NBA situational context will be. For starters, no team in the NBA will have a point guard issue (health aside) like the Ignite have had. Because of this, Almansa had to overcompensate as a creator, primarily in the post, which led to worse shots and thus decreased output. Another element that no point guard hurt his role was in how he operated in the paint. A good point guard in the NBA will quickly find Almansa when he is open rolling or cutting to the basket, but this became a problem for him in the G League as it was often a late pass, or no pass at all. Compared to how well Almansa played in the Spain U19s last year with strong guard play, Almansa’s offensive upside is hidden due to a lack of primary playmaking around him.
Another way the G League Ignite was clearly not a fit was the winning differences in his game. Almansa is one of the winningest players in youth basketball history, winning two gold medals and one silver medal in two years throughout the U17, U18, and U19 tournaments. On top of that, he was the MVP of all three events, which is unprecedented to have this level of international success before the first year of draft eligibility. The Ignite, however, prioritized individual development over winning/team basketball, which negatively impacted the way Almansa played. Izan generally is a player who finds ways to fit in to help winning, as opposed to making the team around him adapt to his play, which almost goes directly against the objective of the G League Ignite, for better or worse. Almansa had to learn how to be a me-first player instead of a team-first player, which changed his entire play style, in turn hurting his stats in a fast-paced environment.
On his jumper, Almansa needs to create a more consistent base, particularly with his right leg. In each shot, sometimes the right foot goes in front of the left, and sometimes the foot stays even with the left foot. However, the most important thing is how he uses his right foot as a crutch to his jumper, which gives his balance a slim margin for error. At the top of his jumper, his release is mostly there, but still needs a bit of refining as he can still have too much of a push shot. Additionally, his guide hand isn’t fluid every time, which can create minor movement for the worst on his shots. The benefit of the doubt for Almansa is that he is a relatively new shooter, having only recently incorporated a jumper into his game. For reference, in the 2022 summer of FIBA U17 and U18 tournaments Almansa took one total jumper, per Synergy Sports. Almansa took 50 jumpers in the G League this year.
As a finisher, Almansa needs to add more creativity to his scoring arsenal. He often uses the same moves and needs to develop more counters to different sizes of players. Too often, he has played too nice in mismatch post-ups and not bulldozing the guard in a clear advantage situation for him. Being more of a bully will unlock more post skill, and should lead to dominant moves like drop steps. If Almansa can add more scoring arsenal within 15 feet away from post scoring, his offense can take off. Right now he is mostly a play-finisher in the paint, which will have to change if he wants to hit his high upside.
Almansa has shown flashes of being a patient playmaker, both in the Ignite and in FIBA. However, his decision-making needs improvement, particularly out of P&R rolls, which you can find in the video tab below. In the short roll, Almansa misses easy passes to open shooters, which is unacceptable to continue into his rookie year. Watching the best P&R bigs in the NBA, one of the common traits they all have is an ability to win out of the quick triple threat in the short-roll. Most, if not all, can either attack, hit a push shot, or kick out to the weak spot of the defense as it collapses towards the middle onto him. Almansa will need to improve his ability to quickly read and make the proper decision in this situation, which will amount to a higher assist total. Almansa was one of three draft eligible prospects on the Ignite to finish with a positive assist:turnover ratio, which indicates that his ability to create plays is present, but it just needs refining.
Defensively, Almansa leaves a lot to be desired, and is a tweener in the worst ways on defense. His awareness is often lacking, he struggles in the P&R to decide quickly in how to defend the screen action, and he is not a rim protector. That combination for someone Almansa’s size is a potential killer that could make him unplayable in the playoffs. While Almansa can be light on his feet and mobile, he is slow to react to changes of directions, and his overall recovery ability and hip flexibility are subpar. He often finds himself guessing the direction the ball-handler will go, shading to the side he wants the ball-handler to go, but this often backfires. This in turn prevents any margin for error if he guesses the direction wrong, and this overall issue presents the case of him needing a rim protector behind/beside him.
Overall, Izan Almansa is a somewhat misunderstood prospect who was the victim of a poorly built G League Ignite team, but still has areas to improve on his own away from contextual issues. With a strong international career to highlight his success in an entirely different, and better, context against his peers, there is hope for scouts that Almansa can once again return to his pre-season perception. With strong finishing, growing skill, potential to create for others and to stretch the floor, his offensive upside could make him a unique forward. He will need a proper fit to hide some of his defensive woes since he is not a center, as well as a team that is willing to be patient in his development. Going to a young team on the rise with a prominent culture and true identity will be key in unlocking his potential and reigniting the flashes that were so bright just last summer. If Almansa hits, his ceiling could look like a connecting big that can score at all three levels: strong finisher at the rim, push shot weapon in the deep paint/free throw line area, and pick & pop big.
Projected draft range: 14-40
Expected role: connecting big man that can play in two-big lineups with an inside-out game.
Unplayable if: jumper never fully develops, passive mentality doesn’t improve with age, and/or defensive woes make him easy to gameplan against.
Exceeds expectations if: Jump shot development breaks through and his decision-making vastly improves.