Charlotte Hornets Draft: Mfiondu Kabengele has promising two-way ability

Mfiondu Kabengele has emerged as one of the best bigs in this years draft class, and could be a perfect fit with the Charlotte Hornets thanks to his tools on both ends of the court.

Prior to the 2018-19 season, many people, including myself, didn’t have Mfiondu Kabengele as a projected first round pick. Things have changed, though, as Kabengele has made his presence known. If he’s available when the Charlotte Hornets are picking in this month’s draft, they should seriously consider him.

The 2019 All-ACC Sixth Man of the Year boosted his draft stock significantly throughout the season. He caught the eyes of many during the NCAA Tournament, and is now being pegged as a potential lottery pick by some.

About Mfiondu Kabengele

Height: 6’8″

Weight: 256 pounds

Wingspan: 7’3″

2018-19 stats: 13.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 50% FG, 37% 3PT, 21.6 minutes

Strengths:

• Plays with so much effort and energy
• Can stretch the floor and hit the three-point shot
• Just a beast inside, strong body allows him to finish through contact
• Good timing on his blocks, protects the rim
• Athletic ability
• Can switch and guard on the perimeter

Weaknesses:

• Bit of a tweener between the power forward and center position
• Tends to get in foul trouble a lot
• A tad undersized, but length makes up for it

I’ll tell you what — I love this prospect. Kabengele should fit right into the NBA with his shooting and athletic ability. If he polishes up a few things, he has a chance to be a really good two-way player in this league.

I personally believe that Kabengele is one of the best front court options in this draft. I recently wrote as to why the Hornets should consider bigs like Kabengele and Brandon Clarke over Bruno Fernando, so we will get more into detail with that now.

Kabengele is one of those players that you put on the floor and you know you’ll get production from him. Whether he’s grabbing offensive rebounds, setting hard screens or hitting from the perimeter, he’s so active on both ends of the floor; his motor is nonstop.

He played really good for Florida State while coming off the bench throughout the season, but stepped up his play even more during the NCAA Tournament. He led the Seminoles to the Sweet 16, where they would eventually lose to a tough Gonzaga team.

In those three NCAA Tournament games, Kabengele averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. After his big time performances, it was clear that Kabengele is an NBA talent and that his time in college would soon be coming to an end.

There’s quite a few really intriguing big men in this years draft, but I feel Kabengele is one of the safer options. I’m not sure if he has star upside, but he’s going to be in the NBA for a long time as an all-around four/five man.

Charlotte would like to land an impact player with the 12th overall pick, so that makes Kabengele a good candidate. He met with the Hornets during the NBA Draft Combine last month, but has yet to workout for the team prior to this months draft.

He can come in and help the Hornets right away defensively, while being a player on the offensive end of the floor that you don’t have to run plays for. I could see him cracking the rotation right away and playing an important role for the Hornets if he does end up in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Hornets will have multiple options to go with at 12th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, but Mfiondu Kabengele would be a great pick if the team decides to go in that direction.