Pelle Larsson isn’t one of the biggest names. But the Swede was still was a part of multiple great teams and he knows how to win.
Pelle Larsson 2024 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Pelle Larsson came over from Nacka, Sweden and started his college career at Utah. After just one year though he transferred to Arizona. Over the past three seasons, he has consistently gotten better each year. He earned more and more playing time and eventually moved into a starting role. He was a key part of Wildcats squads that earned one 1 seed and two 2 seeds and compiled a combined record of 88-20.
Larsson led the Wildcats in assists this year and was third on the team the year before. He greatly improved his shooting percentages this year, increasing his 3-point shooting percentage to 42.6% and his overall field goal percentage to 51.9%. He also averaged double-digit points for the first time in his collegiate career, averaging 12.9 points per game. These performances earned Larsson All-PAC-12 honors this season, and he also won PAC-12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-2022.
Strengths
Pelle Larsson is an excellent 3-and-D type player who impressed at the combine last month.
Here is a quote from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo:
“While he shot just 1-of-7 from the field, he made positive contributions all over the floor with good passes, boxing out and battling defensively. While more of a connector than a scorer, Larsson played more assertively than he did in college and was able to get into the paint and draw fouls against weaker defenders. He checks a lot of boxes teams value in perimeter role players, such as being able to contribute on both ends without needing heavy usage and operating as a secondary handler. Larsson is the type of unselfish, experienced prospect who might soak up minutes on a team with playoff aspirations early in his career but will need to shoot well in workouts to show teams his potential.”
As Woo mentioned, Larsson is experienced and unselfish, the grand of player who could excel in a sixth or seventh man role on a team. Other players like him have done well in the NBA. He can come in and provide strong defense (especially on the perimeter). While he doesn’t get a ton of steals, he does everything else defensively that doesn’t show up on box scores. Offensively he can move the ball as a facilitator while being able to play off the ball as well and can shoot well on the move.
Weaknesses
Larsson’s biggest weakness is that there’s not a ton of upside here. You know what you’re getting with him. You’re getting an excellent 3-and-D player who can move like a guard and can play like a small forward (though he’s naturally a shooting guard). While the super senior’s age is a strength, it is also a weakness because there is not as much time for him to develop. That hurts the upside compared to other, younger draft prospects.
While he is an ideal complement to players who attack and are high-volume, he won’t be a primary scorer for you himself. His shooting improved every year that he was in college, but it might still need some more improvement. But don’t take that the wrong way because he is still a good facilitator.
NBA Comparison
An almost perfect comparison is the Nuggets’ Christian Braun. Braun has been good on defense and has scored when he’s needed to. He has been a very good role player piece off the bench in his first two professional seasons for one of the best teams in the league. That is exactly the type of player that Pelle Larsson is going to be, at least at first.
2024 NBA Draft Projection
Pelle Larsson is projected to be an early second-round pick.
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