Kyle Filipowski Scouting Report

A potential do-it-all big

Rich Stayman

May 31, 2024

Name: Kyle Filipowski

Height/Weight: 6’11/230

Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’10 ½

Hand size: 9 ½

Position: PF

Pre-Draft team: Duke

Tools: Shooting upside

Background: Consensus All-American, a two time All-ACC member, ACC 2022-23 Rookie of the Year. Top 5 recruit out of high school. Comes from a basketball family: parents played basketball in college, and so did his aunt and uncle. Has a twin who plays basketball at Harvard. Comes from an academically inclined family.

Season Stats: 16.4 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.8 APG 1.1 SPG 1.5 BPG 2.1 TOPG 3 FPG on 50.5/35/67.

Pros:

Capable athlete
Good defensive instincts/good timing on blocking shots
Can hold his own against some perimeter drives
Able to pass off of drives well
Generally knows where to be, and when
Good rebounder both as the 5 and the 4
Sees the floor well off of drives and fits well into a smooth motion offense
Has a good spin move, particularly in the post
Decent burst on drives to get past defenders

Cons:

Needs more consistency defensively
Must become more consistent with his shot
Can be easy to stay in front of on drives; doesn’t explode past defenders or use his size to his advantage all the time
Must get stronger to win more post-ups
Plays with his emotions too much/lets his emotions get to his head; can easily be out-hustled
Motor can go as he gets visibly frustrated
Shot is a bit theoretical; has bad misses on open 3s and shot 29.3% from 3 on open catch & shoot jumpers
Short arms and overall poor frame with long neck
Forces shots near the rim too often

Swing Skills:

Has a good pump fake + drive move to get him to the rim, but doesn’t consistently separate well; how will this translate?
NBA spacing will avoid packed paints on his drives; will this help improve his rim efficiency?
How will he come back fully from his hip injury in 2023? Looked slightly less fluid after it
What is his NBA defensive role?

Summary:

Kyle Filipowski’s draft stock has been sliding following a rough NCAA Tournament, averaging 11 PPG 8.8 RPG 2.8 APG 1.3 SPG 1 BPG 2.3 TOPG and 3.5 FPG on 43/33/73. While these stats are alarming, what was even more alarming was how he went about getting these stats.

Against Vermont, the easiest team they faced, he took just one shot and was often visibly content not taking shots and refusing to be aggressive. He was passive and didn’t look locked in, which feeds into other parts of the tournament, namely the NC State game, when he was too emotional and not being strategic because he let his emotions get to his head. Against Vermont, he did play good defense as a weak-side and help defender, but he didn’t dominate a game he was the best player in, which should sound some alarms. Too often in the first half, he didn’t look like he went with 100% effort. Big men have to do so much based on effort that having a big man with a motor issue is a deep red flag, and something that teams will need to uncover more in the final parts of the pre-draft process. When watching Filipowski, it feels like he doesn’t play with a purpose in every action that he does, from boxing out to screening and bullying down low near the rim. Whether this is a motor or Duke issue, this must be sorted out with NBA teams during the pre-draft process.

One of the variables in projecting Filipowski’s game forward is how his hip surgery from 2023 will linger in the long-run. Medical records and intel will play a key role in his draft stock because of this, and the hip surgery could play a role in the shooting eye test not matching the percentages, as well as potentially an explanation for the decline in his FT% this season. Regardless, Filipowski’s mobility and overall abilities never looked worse because of an injury, but it is something that could maybe limit his potential career length if the medical records don’t come back clean.

Defensively, Filipowski was used as a drop big that camped in the paint for most defensive possessions. This will not happen in the NBA, as he will be primarily used as a 4, with more limited minutes at the 5. Because of that, how Filipowski adjusts defensively will be key in him earning minutes. With poor length relative to his height, his rotations must be consistently smart, and his overall margin for error is less than that of players in the same range as him. While he isn’t necessarily a liability on the perimeter, he does not consistently get into stance and hunts blocks against smaller players, which puts him in foul trouble often. Additionally, he struggles to defend bigger post players (such as DJ Burns), which makes the combination of struggling to consistently defend the perimeter and bigger players a risk for teams drafting him. There are teams that could hide this and play him at the 4, but there is still risk from night to night.

Filipowski’s inconsistent shooting, despite a good looking jumper, makes it hard to truly evaluate his shooting upside. If he does not find consistency as a shooter at a high level, teams will struggle to find meaningful minutes for him as he already is limited because of his poor length, a shaky motor, and a negative assist/turnover ratio for his collegiate career. NBA teams will want to make sure his motor constantly runs hot, his shot becomes more consistent, the growth as a playmaker this year was real, and that he can adapt to modern NBA defenses. If he can do this, he could end up as a steal in the draft. If he fails to win most, if not all, of those swing skills, his time in the NBA could be limited.

Projected draft range: 11-29

Expected role: Tall shooter that can playmake on the move.

Unplayable if: Defense doesn’t translate/gets exposed negatively, and/or jumper ends up staying theoretical and never converting into a full-time skill.

Exceeds expectations if: Jump shot becomes elite, his playmaking translates, and his defense fits in well next to a true center.