NBA Draft Scouting Report: Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner

Prospect Profile

After taking a huge leap as a sophomore at Creighton, Kalkbrenner has continued to refine his game during his junior season. He still doesn’t project to be a first-round talent, but could be worth a later pick as a backup big prospect.

One of the things that’s been most impressive about the 7-footer this season is his willingness to step out and take triples. The sample size is small, but he’s converted from deep at a respectable rate which forces defenses to stay honest.

Given he’s a solid positional free throw shooter, the upside for Kalkbrenner to continue emerging as a shooter is there.

With that in mind, he’s not the best at generating his own shot. He’s great at using his size to score with touch near the rim, but he’s certainly not the type of center to catch in the mid-post and make a play on his own every time down. While he does score at a high rate for a center, it’s a lot of put backs, lobs and easy layups.

To this point, Kalkbrenner hasn’t been as dominant of a rebounder as we’d like to see. Given he’s almost always the biggest guy on the floor, the expectation is that he’d clean the glass a bit more. That said, he is effective on the offensive boards.

Defensively, the Creighton big is a fantastic shot blocker. He’s good good mobility for his size, but certainly isn’t known as a great perimeter defender or someone that can contain a smaller player in space.

Regardless, he does have 3-and-D upside as a rotational center in the league, which is interesting. Kalkbrenner is certainly worth a look in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. 

Highlights 

Draft Projection

Second-Round Pick in 2023 NBA Draft.

2023 Big Board

Want to know more about other potential 2023 NBA Draft prospects? Check out our Draft Digest Big Board.

For a free account and access to Cerebro Sports, the largest Basketball Player Database in the world, sign up here.