The Brooklyn Nets have the 27th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and there’s a perfect fit for the Nets’ needs expected to go in the latter half of the first round: Croatian big man Roko Prkacin.
Prkacin averaged 11.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 2.1 APG for KK Cibona in Europe’s ABA Liga. It’s the same league that Nikola Jokic was the MVP of in 2015. The Nets also have a history of success with Croatian players, going back to Drazen Petrovic and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Standing at 6-foot-8, Prkacin’s feel for the game has always been next level. At 16-years-old he was forced to play with professional ballers in Europe rather than other teenagers in AAU or high school basketball like here in America. As a result, he had to adapt quickly. When compared to his European peers at 16 he was an absolute standout, leading Croatia to a U16 European Championship game where he won MVP honors in a win.
What makes Prkacin’s game even more versatile is his ability to handle the ball. Ball handling is somewhat of a requirement for those who play basketball in his country. The process was made easier because his dad, Nikola Prkacin, was his guide throughout. His father was a former basketball player who was a beast in the post. He has passed on those skills to his son, which means the 18-year-old can score on all three levels at such a young age.
Prkacin can be versatile when filling any role for the Nets. He can be the roller for lobs similar to Nicolas Claxton, off the ball he can find open pockets on the floor offensively similar to Bruce Brown, and he can push the ball in transition off of a defensive rebound.
This is something that is starting to be a trend across the league with skilled forwards. Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are generational talents, however they are also in charge of getting their teams out on the break when finishing off defensive possessions. Yes, Kevin Durant and James Harden are capable of doing that, but none of the current big men on the Nets can. The Denver Nuggets averaged 15.4 PPG from transition opportunities during the playoffs while the Milwaukee Bucks averaged 20.7 PPG in transition according to NBA.com.
What the young prospect and team captain must work on more though is his shooting, but he has improved on that a lot during his last year playing for KK Cibona. This will be perfect in spreading the floor for Brooklyn. In an interview on the 1stClassTicket Prkacin said, “Mostly I work on my jumpshot. Most of the time I only work on my jumpshot. My shooting … my shooting off dribbles. My shooting off pick and pops. Getting out of screens — On that I just put on a lot of handles. A lot of post work, like fadeaways and hook shots. I want to be a complete player.”
[vertical-gallery id=21863]
[mm-video type=video id=01f92mf82rhzb5je37zs playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f92mf82rhzb5je37zs/01f92mf82rhzb5je37zs-d934d9c12925dd39248a8835a8022bee.jpg]