Rúben Prey Scouting Report

A plus-rebounding defensive anchor gives a franchise a solid floor to work with. But what else does the 18-year-old Rúben Prey offer NBA teams? Find out more below.

Photo via Copa Colegial

At 18 years old, Rúben Prey already has an impressive resumé. He won the MVP award at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Patras, Greece in February 2023, and he’s currently a solid contributor on a stacked Joventut Badalona team playing in the Eurocup and Spanish Liga ACB.

In his current role, Prey operates as a screen-and-roll big man who’s being used as a ball mover and sometimes as a playmaking hub. That will be his early role at the next level, but with enough untapped potential NBA franchises can develop.

Physical Profile

At 6’10”, Prey has the size to play as a full-time five. With close to 220 pounds, he has a fairly thin frame that’ll need development at the next level. With a consistent motor, Prey plays with toughness around the rim, but against better competition, the lack of strength is visible, that’s an area of development for him at the next level.

Prey has good hands, which make him a reliable roll-man in P&R sets, and with his solid hand-eye coordination, there is potential to improve as a passer. As a scorer in the post, Prey shows good hip mobility and he has the footwork to create advantages. This aspect stood out at the youth level, but against professional players, the physical struggles cannot be left unmentioned.

Offense

At the NBA level, Prey will be able to play minutes early on in his career with his excellent screening ability. Whether it’s in pick-and-roll sets or off-ball plays, it’s clear that Prey can create separation for ball-handlers.

Although the frequency of offense via the P&R roll man is limited at the NBA level, the play below shows how mobile Prey is combined with his excellent footwork. The hook-finish is one of his specialties and I like how he fades away and uses his long wingspan to limit the chance of being blocked on his attempt.

In his early NBA career, Prey can serve as a high-energy big off the bench. Although he lacks the vertical pop, his ability to read the game is at a high level, especially considering he’s only 18 years old. As a result, we see him screen actively throughout the play, and he’s continuously on the move, making him a serviceable center in a motion-based offense.

In the play below, Prey ducks in the paint right after he’s the first guy to recognize the three-ball falling short. The easy finish for the potential and-one results from the execution of his read.

Prey plays with a lot of energy, and despite the lack of a defensive three-second rule in games with FIBA rules, he already has the good habit of keeping his movement on the court.

In the play below, Prey relocates to the dunker spot, initiating the potential bounce pass through the middle, but after the pass doesn’t come his way, he relocates back to the low block to get himself open again. At the next level, the step for him is to relocate to the corner instead of the low block, especially with his assignment being in box-out mode.

When it comes to potentially developing a three-point shot, Prey is heading in the right direction, but the sample size will be very limited this season. While he shot 24.1% on 29 attempts last season playing for Joventut U18 and Portugal U18, he’s not asked to shoot during his minutes on the first team this season.

Therefore, evaluating this aspect of his game is going to be partially determined by how well he does for teams in pre-draft workouts. However, when considering his relocating to the midrange it’s realistic to project that his range will continue to expand as he gains more experience.

In the play below, the opponent packs the paint, and Prey does well to serve as an off-ball screener at about 16 feet from the basket. As a result, he forces the defender to relocate to the spot-up shooter moving toward the elbow, opening a wide-open driving lane for Prey to utilize.

However, his pull-up jumper from the free-throw line was the better decision here, it’s not something we see Prey do frequently. That’s an example of the confidence he’s playing with. The shot itself needs work. How to repair his late release and non-orthodox follow-through is something NBA franchises have to consider in his draft profile.

One of the things NBA teams will ask of Prey is to continue to play as a ball-mover or playmaker in the post. His quick decision-making is something that sets him apart from his peers. And that’s impressive considering the level of competition he’s facing.

In the play below, the offense stagnates in the corner, with Prey moving to the elbow for the bail-out pass. With a closed passing lane, he cannot hit the backdoor cutter for the pass, and instead of wasting the shot clock, Prey shows his aggressiveness in attacking the rim to draw the foul, almost getting the and-one.

NBA teams often play four, and sometimes even five out, and despite most of Prey’s activity being inside the arc, he shows that he’s able to create plays outside the arc. An important detail is that he switches hands before the finish, and that’s an area that caused some concern.

Being able to finish with both hands at the rim is crucial to stay a continuous threat to opposing scouting reports, instead of creating a focus to eliminate the left-shooting hand. When evaluating Prey’s film, the consistency of dribbling with the right, and finishing with the left was there. Despite the ability to produce self-created buckets, Prey’s main focus should be being more versatile with the way he finishes plays.

Another strong area of Prey’s profile is his decision-making under pressure. Despite the hard double under the basket, Prey manages to control the ball and launch the wrap-around bullet pass to the elbow for the open three, breaking the defense down completely.

In terms of his NBA role, Prey shows he can be used in multiple ways on the offensive end, mostly as a connecting passer or via screening actions as a ball-mover. The most important area of development is his ability to finish with both hands, and it’s influencing his production—42.6% on over 3 field goal attempts per game so far this season.

Defense

The first thing that stood out in Prey’s defense is that he’s an aggressive pick-and-roll defender. That has its advantages and its disadvantages, but looking from the standpoint of what the NBA is trying to turn into, it’s an advantage for Prey.

His size and quickness allow him to actively go over the screen, play more hedge, and even blitz ball-handlers. In the play below, Prey tags the roller before going over, but is too late to set his feet correctly, leading to the ball-handler attacking the rim, which results in an open look.

However, his decision-making as a P&R defender has to improve. Prey often struggles to stay connected to the screener, and relies too much on the defense rotating because of him actively attacking the ball-handler. When teams leave the weak side open, it often results in Prey giving up wide-open looks at the rim.

In the play below, Prey had to stick to the rolling big man, instead of reaching for the ball to pick-pocket the ball-handler. His aggressiveness is a testimony to his will to win, but at the next level, Prey has to mature his game early on that end to secure himself consistent playing minutes.

When opponents switch to Prey, he’s a relentless defender. He slides his feet very well and his fluidity stands out, even when he’s guarding in space at 6’10”. At the NBA level, the combination of a passing big man who can switch to other positions is a valuable asset to have for a team.

At the NBA level, this will secure Prey important minutes in late-game situations, because he makes it harder for the opponent to turn him into a target in switches. When looking in detail, the footwork is at a high level, and that’s a big plus in his profile, especially considering how young he still is.

The main reason why Prey is playing important minutes at such a high level is his solid off-ball game. What stood out on film was his recognition of his rotations and the ability to rotate on time. Being able to neutralize the threat coming from cutters is an important task for someone with a key role in pick-and-roll coverages and who’ll guard the interior.

In the play below, Prey goes for the ICE, but immediately recovers his assignment by relocating to the dunker spot, which results in saving two points, allowing his team to a fast-break opportunity.

One of the biggest areas of development of Prey is getting stronger to be able to play against the average NBA center. He dominated the youth levels in terms of athleticism, but against professional basketball players, he often struggles to match the intensity when playing at the rim.

In the play below, he forces the ball-handler to the dump-off pass under the rim, but he shows he’s unable to absorb the contact against the play-finisher here. The upper-body strength is something NBA teams have to invest time in for him to be able to become a rim protector at the next level.

Although Prey doesn’t stand out with his vertical pop, his timing is his biggest asset in his rim-protecting duties. In the play below, he gets beat by the driving ball-handler, but his solid first step combined with his timing, leads to the hard block at the rim and the transition opportunity, and that’s something that’ll give him an advantage in a faster-paced NBA game.

With almost three rebounds per thirteen minutes of play this season, Prey shows he can put up good numbers on that end. The eye test matches the statistics, as he’s good at contesting shots at the rim without fouling—slightly less than three per thirty minutes—and being fast with his second jump to collect the miss, which he consistently follows up by passing the ball ahead for the transition offense.

NBA Draft Projection

An aggressive pick-and-roll defender with the foot speed and quickness to guard against switches is a solid base for a long-term NBA player. Taking into account his plus-rebounding and solid decision-making, he has all the tools to be a plus-defender at the next level.

When the floor is stretched out, Prey often closes out late, and combined with his struggles to match the physical aspect of the game when playing under the rim, those are two areas of development on the defensive end.

On offense, Prey shows he can be used in multiple ways on the offensive end, mostly as a connecting passer or via screening actions as a ball-mover. The most important area of development is his ability to finish with both hands.

He will be 19 years old on draft night, and the combination of fluidity, fundamentals, and being able to fill in several roles at the NBA level make it more than enough for him to be selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.