Measurement and background
Kyle Filipowski stands 7 feet tall in shoes and has an unofficial wingspan of 6 feet 10 while weighing 250 pounds. His primary position in the NBA is center, and his secondary position will be power forward.
He attended Duke University for two years, becoming the focal point of the Blue Devils' offense in his second season. Filipovskiy was born on November 7, 2003 and was a consensus top-five prospect in the 2022 senior class. The former five-star recruit was likely to be a first-round pick in last year's draft, but wanted to improve his play at the collegiate level and chose to return to Duke for his second season. This was a great decision as he is likely to be a lottery pick in this year's draft.
2023-2024 Season Statistics
Filipovski played in 36 games this season, averaging 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.5 blocks, 2.1 turnovers, and 3 fouls in 30.4 minutes per game. He shot 50.5 percent from the field, 67.1 percent from the free throw line, 55.9 percent from inside the arc and 34.8 percent from behind the arc.
In terms of positives, his assist numbers really stand out for a big man. He is averaging nearly three assists per game, which would rank him third among all centers expected to be selected in the 2024 NBA Draft. In regards to assists per game, he also has a good assist-to-turnover ratio and assist-to-usage ratio.
In terms of things to consider when evaluating him, Filipovski has a fairly low field goal percentage for a center, barely above 50% from the field. A lot of that has to do with how perimeter-oriented he can be at times. At 7 feet tall, there are question marks as to whether he will be able to shoot over 50% from the field in the NBA. He doesn't get many offensive rebounds or second-chance points because he lacks vertical pop, explosiveness, and perimeter play.
Strengths
Filipovski is an incredible passing big man. There is a legitimate argument that he is the best passing big man in the 2024 NBA Draft. He has excellent court vision, a versatile passing arsenal, advanced game sense, and is very quick on the floor. He can pass from anywhere on the floor and can make just about any pass in basketball. The sophomore always makes the right decisions with the ball in his hands.
He's one of the most skilled bigs in this year's draft. Filipowski has a complete offensive package as he can pass, shoot, score off the dribble, and score in post-up situations. The 7-footer is a versatile offensive weapon and will help improve the team's offense with his presence on the floor. Comparing his shooting percentages from his freshman year to his sophomore year, you can see a noticeable improvement in his 3-point jumper. He shot 28% from behind the arc his freshman year and 35% from behind the arc as a sophomore.
He has limitations defensively, which I'll get into later in the article, but he's pretty underrated as a defender. Although he is not projected as a defensive stopper in the NBA, he has shown his ability to step forward to defend space effectively. He moves his feet very well and does a solid job of containing ball handlers off the dribble. Filipofusi is a very good rebounder and appeared in many games as a double-double machine in college.
Areas for improvement
The biggest concern is his limitations as a paint defender and rim protector. Filipovski's height is that he is 7 feet tall, but his wingspan is minus 2 inches and he lacks ideal vertical pop. He doesn't have an appealing defensive ceiling due to his physical limitations and tendency to fall asleep while defending in random spurts of a game. I don't believe he will ever be a liability defensively, but I do think there are glaring deficiencies in his game defensively.
There are legitimate concerns about how realistic the shootings are. This season, he shot 67 percent from the free-throw line, but showed he struggled to make pull-up jumpers off the dribble. During his time at Duke, he sometimes made terrible mistakes. If he plays a lot of time at the power forward position, his inconsistent success on 3-point jumpers could be an issue. Filipovski needs to continue to develop as an outside shooter for the rest of his game to transition and develop smoothly into the NBA.
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