The San Antonio Spurs could select Carter Bryant originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The NBA Draft is a weird process. Evaluating talent can be an undertaking that delves into many different paths. Professional and armchair scouts alike can watch the same film of the same player and come away with vastly different takes.
One player that has been divisive in how he is perceived this draft cycle is Arizona wing Carter Bryant. Bryant is mocked to the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 14 overall selection on Tankathon’s NBA mock draft.
Some analysts think Bryant can become an incredibly impactful wing, with comparisons to players like Marvin Williams and Aaron Gordon being thrown around. Others fear that Bryant is just the second coming of Kevin Knox.
The big knock on Bryant is that his college numbers were… uninspiring. Playing less than 20 minutes per game on Arizona, Bryant averaged just 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
The big draw for Bryant? The defense and the tools. Bryant is 6-foot-8 and has explosive athleticism that translates to both sides of the ball. Bryant is very effective in transition and as a cutter, able to rise up and jam alley oops from any angle.
Bryant’s jumpshot also inspires confidence, at least from a standstill, and off the catch. Bryant shot 37.1 percent from beyond the arc in college (including 38.6 percent in conference play).
Outside of catch-and-shoot threes and finishing at the rim… His offense leaves a lot to be desired. He hasn’t shown much of anything with the ball in his hands and, while a smart passer, hasn’t shown a whole lot of playmaking prowess. If the ball isn’t finding him, he’s pretty much a non-factor on offense, and he disappears for long stretches.
Defensively, there’s a lot there for Bryant. He seems to literally float in the air on block attempts. His leaping ability combined with his quick reaction time has garnered some highlight stuffs which look like he read the shooter’s mind before the shooter has even decided what to do with the ball. He quite literally arrives before you expect him to, throwing off any plan a driving offensive player has.
He can block shots at the rim head-on, from the weak side, in a chase-down scenario in transition, and even has a few blocks from beyond the arc at a standstill. On the flip side, his foul rate is astronomical for a forward. Bryant averaged 2.3 fouls per game (4.8 fouls per 40 minutes) in his lone college season, a number more akin to a freshman center’s than a switchable combo wing.
Bryant also has on-ball defensive chops. His defensive stance and fundamentals are as polished as you can ask for from a freshman. Outside of the quickest guards in the nation, who he can get a little too handsy with and get blown by, he is almost never beaten one-on-one. His combination of footwork and size makes it nearly impossible to turn the corner on him.
Bryant has the tools and potential to be an elite defensive player in the NBA. Scouts have expressed some concerns about his intensity and focus, but the tools are there. In order to stick as a starter in the NBA, he needs to take his jumpshot to the next level or develop some on-the-ball skills. He moves really well without the ball, but he hasn’t shown the ability to do much when it’s in his hands. Carter is a lot like Jonathan Isaac as a prospect, with enough defensive potential to make scouts salivate, but he has to prove something on offense.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.