Mohamed Bamba Could Be Dallas’ Next Center

The Dallas Mavericks may not need to look outside of the state to find their next Tyson Chandler starter kit, University of Texas freshman Mohamed Bamba.

I’m pretty sure Mo Bamba is from whatever planet Giannis Antetokounmpo was born on. Bamba stands at 7 feet tall, with a 7-foot-9 wingspan and 9-foot-6 standing reach.

No really, you read that right. A SEVEN-FOOT-NINE wingspan and a NINE-FOOT-SIX standing reach.

That wingspan would place Bamba tops in the NBA in that measurement and he uses every inch of it to deter opposing players from entering his paint. Bamba is a rim-protector in every sense of the term.

The freshman is currently 2nd in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.4). He’s also 11th in rebound per game (10.7), 5th in defensive win shares (1.9), 6th in defensive box plus-minus (10.5), and 5th in defensive rating (83.6). In short, he’s a special defender.

Also, he’s not only a deterring force inside. Bamba has the quickness and coordination to contain guards on the perimeter and to force steals. In today’s era of position-less basketball, a big man that can contain speedy players on the perimeter is a monumental advantage. It is a big factor in what makes a player like Draymond Green so special.

Watch how Bamba mitigates a situation that would typically be a mismatch in the offense’s favor:

While there are some fundamental things Bamba could clean up defensively, it’s hard not to see him excel on that end at the next level. Offensively, his future is far less clear. Bamba often looks lost when his team has the ball. When he does get the ball, he has a tendency to become out of control and make too many mistakes.

It’ll take time and work for Bamba to grow more comfortable in terms of playing off of other players and mastering offensive positioning.

One thing Bamba does do very well is run the pick and roll. He packages soft hands (an underrated attribute for bigs) with his freakish length allowing him to finish reasonably-placed lobs over almost anyone standing in his way. This is extremely important because the pick and roll will be where he is most often utilized on offense at the next level.

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His slight frame and lack of strength hurts his low post game, luckily, the NBA is continually moving away from thus type of offense anyway. Bamba also has demonstrated some outside shooting touch. His shot is pretty flat but he has converted 10/37 (27%) of his three point attempts this year. Those numbers aren’t particularly good but they’re a start, something he could hopefully work to develop over time.

Bamba would be a great fit in Dallas’ offense. Rick Carlisle excels at maximizing the play of his athletic, lob-catching big men and Bamba would provide rim protection that Dallas currently sorely lacks. If he completely bought in to the system and worked hard he could transform into something special.

There have been murmurs of work-ethic concerns, but there were with Dennis Smith Jr. too and those were clearly off-base. The truth is, NBA teams have access to far more information in that area than anyone on the outside ever will. If the team feels comfortable with Bamba as an individual then so would I.

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Mohamed Bamba would fill a major positional hole and would be an intriguing addition to the current young core. His fit with Junior and Barnes would be great and he’d likely run Carlisle’s offense well. Although I currently have him a step below fellow prospects Doncic, Ayton, and Bagley, he could end up being as good of a pick as any in the 2018 NBA Draft.