2025 NBA Draft Profile: Missouri Guard Tamar Bates

Bates' leadership qualities he showed throughout his senior season make him an enticing piece to fit in an NBA locker room, whether a group of other younger players or a collective of veterans ready to compete.

“I just come in every game with the right mentality, the right mindset of playing hard and, and leading and talking and leading by example and leading with my voice, and holding guys accountable, all things that I can control,” Bates said in an interview in a 2024-2025 preseason media availability session. “Just really just my attitude and effort, I feel like those two things are the most important things that I can bring to the team.”

So far, Bates has participated in pre-draft workouts with the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.

Here's a look at Bates' draft stock, and what he would bring to a NBA team.

Player Info

• DOB: February 21, 2003 (22)
• Hometown: Kansas City, KS
• High School: IMG Academy
• Recruiting Class: 2021
• Recruiting Rating: Four stars

NBA Combine Measurements / Workout Results

Height (without shoes): 6'3.75
Weight: 191.4
Wingspan: 6'10.25
Standing reach: 8'7
Standing vertical: 27.5
Max vertical: 33.5
Shuttle run: 2.99 seconds
Three-quarter court sprint: 3.26 seconds
Lane agility: 10.75 seconds

Career Accolades

2024-25 NABC All-Central District Second Team
NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week (Dec. 9, 2024)
SEC Player of the Week (Dec. 9, 2024)
2023-24 NABC Honors Court
1000 point career scorer

Evaluation

Bates and Missouri teammate Caleb Grill received invites to the NBA G League Elite Camp, where Bates excelled, scoring 19 and dishing out 3 assists in his teams 89-85 victory, and following it up with 9 points in his second game.

Bates' strong performance earned him an invite to the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, where he continued to show out, putting Qingdao Eagles center Hansen Yang on a poster – something those who watched Bates at Missouri had seen many times before.

Along with the highlight dunks, Bates was one of the nation's most efficient scorers. During the 2024-2025 season, Bates averaged 13.3 points per game on 50.8 / 39.7 / 94.6 shooting splits, the only SEC player since 2008 to reach those splits.

An argument can be made that Bates' volume was inconsistent, as he scored single digit points in five conference games. The reality is, however, that Bates won't be tasked as a primary scorer in the NBA like he was at Missouri – meaning his shot attempt rate should hover in a steady, lesser role. Bates' scaled down into a complementary piece at the next level is the dream role for the former Tiger, and teams should utilize him as such.

Bates showcased throughout the season an ability to score from all three levels in a variety of ways, making him a perfect connective swingman. From catch-and-shoot threes, to his dominant post fadeaway, Bates is a complete scorer.

The next step, however, is becoming a positive decision maker. In his senior season, Bates averaged 1.3 turnovers to just 1 assist, an abysmal mark for somebody who will be asked to occasionally handle the ball. Being a pure scorer isn't enough in the modern NBA, as wings are often asked to put the ball on the floor and make the correct reads.

Defensively, he'll be able to hold his own against other guards and wings, showing active hands in both on-ball and in the passing lanes. He's a smart and savvy defender, but lacks the strength to switch onto bigger forwards – a concern to watch for his ability to play immediate minutes.

In all, peak Bates can be summarized by his 29 point performance in Missouri's victory over Kansas, shocking the world with Bates at the helm. A veteran presence and leader, who's capable of taking over stints of games efficiently and being a threat both with and without the ball.

NBA Comparison: Terrence Ross, Will Barton

What the Experts Say

Mock Draft

In Bleacher Report's full two-round mock draft, Bates was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick.

Bates often hovers between the 40-70 range on big boards, meaning it's no guarantee he gets drafted, but if he does, it'll likely be in the second round. He ranks at 62 on Tankathon's big board, but it's also worth mentioning his ranking of No. 20 on nbadraft.net's big board, by far the highest Bates has been ranked by a major site.

Projection

Aran Smith of nbadraft.net on Bates' NBA trajectory:

"Bates has been flying under the radar but is shaping up to be one of the draft’s major steals in the bubble first-round area … After transferring from Indiana to Missouri, he became a key contributor and steady presence, finally beginning to live up to the top-25 national ranking he earned as a high school recruit in the class of 2021,"Smith said. "His ability to space the floor, play within himself, and contribute on both ends makes him a strong candidate to carve out a role as a reliable rotation player … With high character, a strong work ethic, and the tools to develop further, Bates projects as a plug-and-play contributor with room to grow into a more assertive and complete scorer."

The Last Word

“A great leader, a great young man, a dude who has never gotten in trouble, a guy that has done everything I have asked."Dennis Gates on Bates