Berke Büyüktuncel Scouting Report
Offensive versatility while switching to multiple opponents is the most-wanted attribute for the modern NBA four. Why Büyüktuncel? Find out about the intrigue below.
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Introduction
Büyüktuncel has had over 1,000 minutes of organized basketball under his belt between the ages of 16 and 17. That includes a FIBA World Cup qualifying game with the main team of his native of Türkiye. While averaging close to six points on an efficient 47.1% shooting, Büyüktuncel has shown he can play among pros before his freshman year at UCLA.
Therefore, he has gotten too much hype, making the tough team context in Los Angeles on top of his adjustment to Division I basketball, the main reasons for the slow start of his collegiate career. With Coach Hoiberg’s vital experience with international frontcourt players such as Nikola Mirotić and the legendary Pau Gasol during his days with the Chicago Bulls, Büyüktuncel developing under his wing makes his move to Lincoln, Nebraska a fantastic decision on his part.
Physical Profile
At 6-foot-9, the super-skilled forward has a strong upper body while weighing 245 pounds. Büyüktuncel is in a rare position where he’s able to defend on the perimeter, not due to his speed and lateral quickness, but with his excellent footwork.
This helped him establish a reputation on the European circuit; with the key context of having faced less-gifted athletes than his American peers. Therefore, an NBA decision-maker must take the ability of how he handle himself physically against quicker and stronger players into account in their evaluation.
Büyüktuncel doesn’t have good verticality but compensates for it with excellent timing of his jumps. He has a quick second jump. On top of aggressiveness and toughness, it results in him being a good rebounder. The context for the NBA is that due to four and five-out offenses, offensive rebounds are becoming an interesting thesis to solve, thus making it a vital part of evaluating potential NBA fours.
Offense
In Büyüktuncel’s case, his value as a three-point shooter will be crucial to stay on an NBA floor. Modern NBA fours are the connecting parts of an offense, especially in four and five-out-focused sets. Therefore, his ability to relocate set off-ball screens to create angles for teammates will help him get open looks on the perimeter. In his case, the offensive footwork is the base to become an above-average shooter in the NBA.
In the first play below, we see him actively ask for the ball. He’s a good communicator on the floor, where he’s actively coaching his teammates. Those are habits that European-based coaches focus on teaching to players at a young age. This helps a team’s chemistry and makes it more natural for teammates to respect each other’s roles. On top of that, his ability to place his pivot foot on catch-and-shoot attempts consistently and smoothly makes it easier for Büyüktuncel to get himself into shooting mode.
In the second possession, we see him widening his stance on the entry pass after the cut to the high post. Hereafter, Büyüktuncel uses his fluid hips to immediately flip from 270 degrees to the basket to 90 degrees to the basket following it up with a quick pull-up. However, a habit that has to change to quicken his jumper is lowering the ball on the catch.
The third play below is a good example. Büyüktuncel is strong enough to keep the ball at the level of his chest before pulling up for his shot. But the habit of bringing the ball down to power back up is a common thing when players start shooting NBA-ranged threes when they’re too young. In his case, it’s clear that he’s been shooting this way for years. The trickle-down effect of lowering the ball is giving defenses a second longer to close out to the perimeter. On an NBA floor where the game is played at a faster pace with quicker players, that’s an area of development for NBA decision-makers to make a part of his evaluation.
For the NBA, corner threes will likely be his bread and butter. The last two plays below show a more fluid shooting motion when he has his feet set in the corner. A good habit Büyüktuncel has is that he’s moving toward the ball, either in motion or catching stance when he pass comes his way.
Making plays out of closeouts is another task NBA teams will give Büyüktuncel. What immediately stood out during his days at UCLA was his forcing shots. This doesn’t have to do with the weird team context he was playing in. In multiple sequences, it was clear that Büyüktuncel was bailing defenses out by not making the extra pass, but going for tough midrange looks instead. For an NBA team’s offensive rating, that’ll have a negative impact, on top of the chance for opposing teams to run transition offenses after misses.
With a lack of burst and above-average lateral quickness, Büyüktuncel relies on his strength advantage to generate separation of self-created looks. In the first play below, he doesn’t maintain his balance after the bump, leading to him picking up his dribble and jab stepping and pivoting his way into a non-blockable shot. His decision-making on drives is another area of development. In the second play below, Büyüktuncel utilizes the strong side, while his big man down low is positioned toward the weak side. By attacking via the weak side, he can utilize a potential screen to attack a more favorable big-man assignment. Instead, he bails out a defense with help defenders ready in the corner and elbows.
The third possession is an interesting one and pinpoints the area of focus for Büyüktuncel at Nebraska. The decision-making to move toward the ball, and sell the left-footed pivot to change to his right got the defender out of balance. Hereafter, the open driving lane occurred, whereafter Büyüktuncel was able to leverage his strength advantage and take it to the rim. On an NBA floor with better spacing, that’s an opportunity to serve as a floor-spacer. This raises the importance of his live-dribble decision-making in terms of kicking out passes or hitting play-finishers with drop-off passes.
As a passer, there’s an area of development for the Nebraska coaching staff to focus on. He shows signs of hesitation to hit play-finishers underneath the basket, instead deferring to kick-out passes which at times are mostly bail-out passes not benefitting the offense. Despite the made three in the first play below, hitting the cutting play-finisher underneath the basket is the right live-dribble decision an NBA scout would look for.
The second play is an example of the passing we should see more often. His ability to pop after the excellent screen, while positioning himself with a clear view of the interior led to a good overhead pass to the cutter. Plus-sized perimeter options using their size to see over the defense is an overused term, as most focus on moving the ball, rather than serving as a playmaker for others. In this particular play, the execution of his read which we should see more often.
At 11 assists against 26 turnovers, there are no signs of a playmaking outcome after his freshman year. That’s a given. However, in his role, Büyüktuncel will mostly serve as a ball-mover. Based on his freshman year, a lack of live-dribble execution as a playmaker isn’t a part of his profile yet. Therefore, the team context at Nebraska will be crucial for his draft evaluation, as Coach Hoiberg will likely experiment more with inside-out types of offense where Büyüktuncel can operate as a playmaker via entry passes.
In the third play, there’s an example of him showing he can execute this reads, with the wings pushing the elbows and corners thus opening up the middle with multiple paint touches. The last possession shows flashes of quick decision-making as a ball-mover.
With a trend of more plus-sized ball handlers, the value of Büyüktuncel’s draft profile falls in his being able to create shots for himself and others via the pick-and-roll. The context here is tough because he has been used as a utility player throughout his career, rather than making plays with the ball in his hands. During his days with Türkiye’s FIBA tournaments, he has had more on-ball responsibilities, but that did not translate to Coach Cronin using him as depth to complement their guard play.
Büyüktuncel is mostly utilized as a roll man after screens. What immediately stood out is that he’s a good screener, who leverages his strength with a good stance to force defenders to make a decision, focusing on getting separation for the ball handler. With an incredible feel for the game as a roller in terms of timing and communication, he’s an active roller who keeps the same amount of energy and toughness in his screens, regardless of whether the ball handler hits him with the pass or not. Often, big men are demoralized by the lack of offensive involvement in the pick-and-roll. In an NBA game where the roll man is less utilized, that’s a vital part of Büyüktuncel’s evaluation.
The third play is a crucial part of Büyüktuncel’s evaluation. The difference between potential as a playmaker or ball-mover is being put on display. The process of him keeping two defenders busy to spread out the floor and opening up the elbow shooter was top-notch. However, with two bigs crowding the area around the basket, a playmaker’s instinct out of the short roll would be to hit a teammate or make the extra play. Short-roll playmaking is the toughest part of an NBA four to develop over the years. Therefore, it’s not realistic to expect this from a prospect during college. That puts a ceiling on Büyüktuncel’s potential as a passer and overall option in the pick-and-roll.
Defense
On the defensive side of the ball, Büyüktuncel’s switchability is what will keep him on an NBA floor. We see teams looking for more versatile pick-and-roll defenders and his ability to guard both the roll man and ball handler will come in handy. This makes his screen navigation a vital part of the evaluation. What immediately stood out is that Büyüktuncel doesn’t focus on sliding between the ball handler and screener, but relies on physicality to fight through screens.
This makes the context behind the Big Ten, traditionally a big man’s conference, a good context for Büyüktuncel to showcase his ability to get through screens. When looking at his pick-and-roll defense, the switch to ball handlers is no issue, but getting stuck in screens due to a lack of knowing where the screener will be is what got in his way at UCLA. The first play is an example where after the dribble-drive, the UCLA big man’s bad positioning leads to Büyüktuncel hitting the brick wall, getting blocked in a way a tight end operates in football.
The second play below shows an aggressive hedge that didn’t work as the ball handler penetrated the painted area. This points out the main area of development in Büyüktuncel’s pick-and-roll defense: positioning. He’s too reactive to the ball handler’s separation, falling to a subtle hesitation move that keeps him outside of the paint. To successfully stop the dribble penetration, the focus should have been on staying between 90 to 180 degrees from the ball handler’s point of view.
When playing drop coverage, Büyüktuncel is much more confident in his positioning. He drops just enough to where he’s forcing the ball handler, whereafter he takes the bump very well. The aggressiveness in the shot contest led to a cheap foul call on a play where an NBA referee will not fall for the foul-baiting. In a much more physical Big Ten conference, referees are likely more likely to allow the level of physicality Büyüktuncel has shown in the third play below. Whereas in the fourth play, the gifted individual scorer will immediately bank on the amount of space given up in the drop coverage sequence. Therefore, less gambling on the dribble penetration would be an area of focus for Coach Hoiberg and his staff.
Büyüktuncel has a habit of using his good length to build up leverage in how much he can drop against his opponents on the perimeter. In the last sequence above we saw how a step back three was being used to punish him dropping too far back. However, when he’s facing closeout attackers, the opposite applies to where he’s forcing ball handlers to beat him off the dribble, with his excellent defensive footwork to match.
Physically, the lack of burst and lateral quickness leads to him getting blown by in the second play below. However, in terms of forcing opponents to make another decision than they initially had in mind, Büyüktuncel’s approach to focus on stopping dribble penetration rather than taking away threes is the more sustainable way to defend. This is because of the NBA’s trend to play more four and five-out offenses, to where paint touches are the key to creating room on the perimeter. The first play is an example.
An NBA decision-maker will immediately notice Büyüktuncel’s good habit of taking control of the opponent’s drive. He has a great technique of pushing a ball handler toward the baseline, rather than allowing a drive to the basket. His great frame and upper-body strength are the leveraging factor here. He positions himself in a way where he’s keeping the gate closed, and thus leaving the play to quicker ball handlers beating him off the dribble, rather than pushing themselves to the rim based on their physique, we see examples of this in the third and fourth plays below.
When defending against cutters, Büyüktuncel has a habit of at times getting caught ball-watching and bad positioning because of it. In the first play below, we see him stepping outside of the perimeter with both feet, making it easy for the cutter near the elbow to utilize the wide-open interior for the dunk at the rim. We see a similar outcome in the third play, where the motion of the offense leads to him stepping outside the interior. On a better-spaced NBA floor, positioning and keeping track of the assignment is everything to maintain a healthy defensive rating.
We see improvement in the second possession below. Büyüktuncel does well in not relocating with the motion of the offense, keeping at least one foot outside the paint. After the entry pass, he’s quick to adjust and deflect after putting two steps to ensure a good rotation to underneath the basket. His ability to be more composed when defending away from the ball is a good start for improvement.
However, he struggles to maintain his control over his assignment against cuts when playing close to the action. A form of consistency in stepping out to respond to motion, as shown in the last play below, makes it less feasible that improvements are imminent. That leads to a lower draft value in terms of his defense against cutters.
When defending against spot-up shooters, Büyüktuncel is often caught overhelping on defense. This leads to the offense being bailed out, making easy kick-out passes to outside shooters an easy outcome. That’s a red flag for an NBA decision-maker, considering the value of keeping a defensive rating at par being a must-have for prospects who are projected to play a limited role on lower usage. That raises the need for defensive value, as a lack of self-creation on top of shortcomings as a team defender makes it hard to play minutes early on in Büyüktuncel’s career.
In the first possession below, we see Büyüktuncel collapse on the play-finisher underneath the basket for the double. However, due to a lack of rotations from his teammates, his assignment was all alone near the elbow, leading to the bail-out pass to the perimeter, making it impossible for Büyüktuncel to make up for lost ground while still contesting the shot. However, we see much better execution in the second play below, where he has one foot inside the paint, making sure to relocate after the ball switches sides. His decision to rather give the shooter an angle to pull up versus getting blown by in the closeout attack is understandable.
But looking back at the second possession below, the value of the opposing scouting report is crucial for success in his decision-making on an NBA floor. The opponent is a similar-sized player with no outlier skills in terms of burst and dribble penetration. Therefore, Büyüktuncel could have afforded to rather not give space to shoot and bet on his assignment not beating him off the dribble to use his physicality to leverage a drive. That’s an area for Coach Hoiberg and his staff to utilize with Büyüktuncel, as the upper-body strength and toughness he plays with are assets, but the likeliness of getting blown by against quicker guards and wings is the other side of the coin. We see a similar outcome in the third and fourth plays, where the drop coverage leads to open shooting angles, being utilized by opponents. That’s what he has to improve to effectively guard against NBA spot-up shooters.
NBA Draft Projection
For an NBA decision-maker, here are the above-mentioned areas summarized:
Strengths
The combination of footwork and physical tools makes Büyüktuncel an NBA-caliber prospect, with the added value coming from his ability to master his physical tools to benefit his game. Especially as a screener and by leveraging his strength to guard multiple positions.
Outstanding communicator. Has great habits such as moving toward the ball instead of waiting for the pass while being vocal on the floor. That’s the effect of his status as one of Türkiye’s top prospects of his age group, naturally leading to him serving as a team leader while playing for his nation during the FIBA summer tournaments.
Shooting is one of the main must-haves of his profile, and his shooting motion and release are consistent. The ability to set his feet quickly while not being afraid to shoot in volume makes it a fit in regards to the need for more shooting from the four positions in the NBA.
Areas of development
He struggles to defend against cutters consistently. Ball movement and motion lead to Büyüktuncel stepping out of the interior and getting backdoored more often than not.
He doesn’t have the live-dribble passing needed to take the most out of his potential as a playmaker. He does well in serving as a ball-mover, showing glimpses of quick decision-making, but not consistently yet.
A lack of blow-by speed leads to Büyüktuncel being forced to take tough midrange shots when not getting to the rim. The effect of a lack of live-dribble passing trickles down to bad shot selection at times, one of the main areas of development for his sophomore season.
Büyüktuncel lowers the ball before powering up for his jumper. He’s strong enough to keep the ball high without the need to power back up. This makes it less likely defenses can close out on him timely, thus raising his shooting value to answer to a faster-paced NBA game against quicker athletes. Especially considering that shooting off-the-catch is a must to play a sustainable role as a four.
Based on the above-mentioned strengths and areas of development alongside the details in this scouting report, I project Berke Büyüktuncel to be a top-60 prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft.
It’s unlikely we’ll see him in the first round due to the above-mentioned areas of development and underlying details in the scouting report. Therefore, starting his career in a reduced role to develop a certain niche skill to maintain a long-term NBA player should be the career path to follow.
Awesome job on the article very well done. One of the best scouting reports I’ve seen in a while please keep posted your great at what you do man!