Nikola Djurisic Scouting Report
Despite having a population of only 7 million people, Serbia has always been a dominant factor in basketball. What does Nikola Djurisic have to offer NBA teams? Find out more:
Note: this is an adjusted scouting report that I wrote earlier for NBA Draft Junkies.
With size and skill becoming increasingly important nowadays, Djurisic offers a unique combination of both. When watching him, his offensive versatility immediately stood out.
His advanced handles make it more than likely that NBA teams will trust him with on-ball duties, where he has shown to be a very good pick-and-roll operator, especially when creating for others. With a solid frame, he can exploit mismatches in the post. In this area, his size of 6'8" comes into play as an advantage. However, the lack of athleticism limits his self-created offense inside the arc, where Djurisic is a 49%-finisher at the rim on 91 attempts in the 2022-23 season.
The lack of touch at the rim does put a limit on his long-term potential as a scorer. However, I don't expect teams to ask Djurisic to create his offense. This is due to his jumper being another unique selling point in his profile, mainly because he is so good of a stationary and movement shooter. Having a more prominent role at Mega Mozzart has helped Djurisic develop his pull-up game, where he's getting more and more effective in the midrange.
Shooting 74% from the line over the last two seasons indicates his improving shot. The three-point shot is what separates Djurisic from his peers. He has a beautiful high release where he uses his size to his advantage. In a league where shooting has never been as vital as it is today, that's a trait that'll leave a lot of franchises impressed.
On the defensive end, Djurisic is in an interesting position. His lack of athleticism makes him less useful against smaller and quicker guards. However, his size and strong frame make him suitable for guarding opposing wings and smaller forwards. The feel for the game on that end makes the transition to the NBA more smoothly. Although, Djurisic still has a way to go in becoming a plus defender at the next level. In the early stages of his career, he'll have to put in the work to translate his offensive versatility to his defense, which makes him - for now - less useful in the playoffs and thus impacts his draft stock.
As a passer, Djurisic is at the top of the international prospects. He uses his size very well to see over the defense. The instincts and passing touch at 19 years old left me impressed. Especially because he's already able to leverage the threat of his jumper to create space for his teammates. This resulted in occasional plays where his efforts resulted in a wide-open possession for a teammate via ball reversals. His strong frame enables him to handle contact inside the arc and kick the ball out to open shooters.
NBA Draft Projection
I expect Djurisic to play early on in his career as a floor-spacing wing that can handle secondary or tertiary ball-handling duties. NBA front offices have more than 1000 playing minutes last season, and a full season in 2023-24 available to perform their feasibility test. The lack of athletism and finishing at the rim are the early concerns, which are mostly mitigated by his excellent jumper and passing traits that lead to playing a certain role right away.
Overall, I expect Djurisic to be selected in the early stages of the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.