The San Antonio Spurs could use some shooting and versatility across the board. A sneaky good pick in the second round for them could be Arizona senior Pelle Larsson. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard has shown he can do just about anything asked of him on the court. His only “big” problem is that he isn’t a specialist in any one aspect of the game. That shouldn’t stop him from getting drafted though as several teams will value that in a good role player.
While Larsson is not likely a first-rounder — even in the confusing draft this will turn out to be — he could find himself helping a team immediately with his passing ability and decision-making. Here are his stats through 20 games this season.
- 12.8 PPG, 1.1 SPG, 3.5 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 TOPG
- 54.0 FG%, 45.7 3P%, 82.4 FT%
- 19.9 PER, 131.3 ORtg, 100.2 DRtg
Pelle Larson Breakdown
Larsson has never been the first or even the second option at Arizona over the last few years, but he always makes impactful winning plays. As stated earlier, his decision making is one of his strengths along with finding teammates open for shots, and his athleticism. While he might be Swedish, he has a Swiss army knife style of play. He’ll do whatever you ask of him and he”ll generally be successful in doing it.
While shooting isn’t his main calling card, he has been quite efficient from the floor. He doesn’t shoot too many triples (2.3 a game), but he does average about 15 attempts from the field per game and you saw his shooting averages above. Larsson finds teammates well, but is not really a self-creator, which might turn off some teams. However, he navigates pick-and-rolls quite well and can get downhill with very little space.
The Wildcat might not be rocketing up mock draft boards, but he is one of the steadier players in this draft. And that could be the difference for a team that’s willing to be patient and let Larsson play in the G-League for a bit before a permanent call-up. His burgeoning shot creation should excite some teams as he’s gotten more comfortable with shooting off the dribble and with his turnaround jumper this season.
