The Charlotte Hornets own their own first-round pick and are owed second-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers. Over the next couple of months, leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Swarm & Sting will take a look at prospects hoping to hear their name called on draft night.
Age: 20
Height: 6′ 5″
Weight: 190 lbs
College Stats/Awards
James Bouknight enters the 2021 NBA Draft after spending two seasons at UConn. During the 2020-21 season, Bouknight played in 15 games, starting 14, and averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 44.7% from the field.
Primary Strengths
Bouknight is a solid shooter from around the court. He can create offense for himself, has a great first step, and is a good ball handler.
Bouknight moves well off the ball and is a good rebounder for his size, particularly crashing the offensive glass getting a good vertical over opposing players to either rebound the ball or finish at the rim.
Primary Weaknesses
Bouknight’s three-point shot regressed from his first season at UConn to last season (35% to 29%); he’s a streaky shooter and has shown reluctance in shooting the ball from beyond the arc. Bouknight needs to take time to improve from three and gain confidence in his shot.
Bouknight needs to become more disciplined on the defensive end of the court and with the ball in his hands; he tends to force things and over-dribbles which leads to turnovers. Barnes only averaged 1.8 assists compared to nearly 3 turnovers per game last season.
Bouknight is a slasher but he lacks the playmaking ability to get his teammates involved. He is an average passer at best.
Draft Projection
Bouknight is a solid combo guard who can expect to come off the board between the mid to late first round. His ability to score in a variety of ways will be attractive to a lot of NBA teams, but he needs to work on his defense as well as making good decisions with the ball in his hands and his shot selection.
The NBA announced on February 26 that for this draft only, all college players must declare their eligibility, regardless of class, if they wish to enter the draft. The NBA Draft Combine will be held on June 21–27. NCAA players have 10 days after the end of the combine to withdraw from the draft.
The draft lottery will be held on Tuesday, June 22 on ESPN. The 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft will be televised on ABC (first-round only) and ESPN.