Maxwell Lewis Prospect Watch: Peppering in Some Shooting

We are at the season’s end for the San Antonio Spurs and that means plenty of speculation as to who the team will draft in June. They are likely to have a top-3 pick but could trade down if the pick falls out of that top-3 range. One of those prospects to consider if they get down into the 20s is Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis.

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound sophomore had some eye-popping moments this season. That came despite a pretty terrible year for his team overall as they finished the season 9-22. That kind of record has some people questioning his impact. Although he still had a strong enough season to be considered in the middle of the first round or in the early 20s. Here are his stats from the season.

• 17.1 PPG, 2.8 APG, 5.7 RPG, 3.3 TOPG
• 46.8 FG%, 34.8 3P%, 78.7 FT%
• 18.7 PER, 104.3 ORtg, 108.8 DRtg

Maxwell Lewis Breakdown

Lewis has intriguing skills and tendencies to like about his game. These include his ability to post up smaller wings or guards, how comfortable he is scoring on the move, and his promising shot-making ability. He often had to create for himself on offense at Pepperdine. That should help him at the NBA level where he shouldn’t have to do that as much. He could be a bit of a microwave guy off the bench thanks to his shooting and ability to get to the rim (3.5 free throw attempts a game).

The major flaw for Lewis is going to be on defense. There was times this past season at Pepperdine when Lewis just did not care to play it at all. He was not playing for a good team at all and focus could certainly be an issue. However, that’s not a good excuse when you get to the NBA level. He has the tools to be a good defender. Lewis has to make the choice to use them and work to improve them. If he works on his foot speed and not getting beat off the dribble, he could potentially guard two or three different positions.

While Lewis is not an elite athlete, he is more than crafty enough to get to the rim. What he will have to continue to work on is his shot selection and decision-making. Having to be the main scorer and offensive initiator at Pepperdine left Lewis with a lot more responsibility than he likely bargained for when he entered last season. If teams can get satisfactory answers to the questions about his effort and defense, then he should have no problem getting drafted right after the lottery or in the early 20s.