Yongxi Cui Scouting Report

Wing-defending shooters are wanted commodities in every draft cycle. With two years of pro experience, Cui has had a solid G League Elite Camp, boosting his stock. What's his NBA role? Find out below.

As a 16-year-old, Cui made a name for himself after attending the Basketball Without Borders Camp in 2020. Hereafter, he graduated from the NBA Global Academy, and Cui became a professional basketball player at 18. With 99 games in two seasons under his belt, he’s adding valuable experience to his resumé. He finished the season at 15.7 points per game, shooting 46.1%, earning him Chinese CBA Domestic First Team honors.

His vocality on the court combined with good fundamentals made him stand out in the CBA among domestic players. This made Cui one of the youngest players representing China in the World Cup in 2023 including a game against Serbia. He cashed in on two productive seasons by getting a call-up to the G League Elite Camp, where he continued to hold his own.

This scouting report will solely focus on his NBA role and long-term potential. Cui has jersey number 8 in all video footage.

Physical Profile

At 6’6.50” in socks, Cui has a good frame with decently broad shoulders. He has fluid hips and decent upper-leg strength, which helps Cui in using his physique well combined with his light feet. Fluid movement combined with decent footwork leads to Cui showing NBA potential on that end.

He’s measuring at 202 pounds and has big hands. Another value-riser is his good verticality while putting up 35.5 inches at the Elite Camp. His activity around the rim during the season shows that the athletic testing isn’t a one-off performance.

To NBA standards, Cui has the positional size to be a two and a three but will need to bulk up his upper-body strength in the upcoming years to potentially become a three-positional defender.

Offense

At 36.5% on 4.8 three-pointers per game, Cui shows reliable returns on a good volume. In his role as a wing-defending shooter, Cui shows incredibly consistent shooting mechanics. After the catch, Cui brings the ball to the level of his chest, while bending his knees to power up for the jumper. He has a lower release point than ideal, but his plus-size for the two-spot is partially compensating for it.

In the first play below, Cui shows an important detail in moving where the pass needs to be, already setting his feet before the catch and thus helping him to get the shot off quickly. The feasibility of his jumper translating to the NBA can be recognized in the lack of spacing where Cui’s quick execution leads to him getting open looks despite a lack of floor spacing around him.

As one of the team’s younger players, Cui was mostly used as a spot-up shooter in the corner, or positioned on the weak side. Due to his quick trigger, his team scaled his role down at times to bank on his shooting, while setting plays up for him. The second and third plays below are examples.

When operating on the strong side, Cui uses his vocality and cutting ability well to relocate to his sweet spots. The most crucial aspect an NBA decision-maker has to pay attention to is Cui moving to where the pass needs to land, instead of shooting from a stand-still. This helps him to set his feet quicker, with him getting his shot off much faster due to him either bringing the ball to his chest when powering up or keeping the ball around the level of his chest, as shown in the fourth play below.

Another area where Cui has to get his production to support a team’s offensive rating is via closeouts. He’s showing a decent degree of handles, but the area of development for him is that he tends to bail defenses out by settling for midrange jumpers.

The lack of offensive creativity on a badly-spaced NBA floor makes it harder for Cui to get downhill consistently. This is mostly due to the non-existing defensive three-second rule, allowing teams to plant a big man under the basket at all times. That’s an important nuance to the above-mentioned, as there is an NBA-style pace in China, benefitting non-domestic players with better offensive creativity.

For the NBA, Cui shows a decent first step and footwork to get this spot in the midrange. In the first play, Cui shows his characteristic runner finish. However, Cui doesn’t benefit from it as much as he could. In the second and third play, he’s settling for jumpers while there is a path to get downhill. A team’s offensive rating will be under pressure if this continues on an NBA floor. NBA decision-makers need to work on his shot selection early, where the defensive three-second rule will be an opportunity for teams to bank on his creation while making plays out of closeouts.

In the fourth play below, another big area of development becomes visible. After losing his assignment, there’s a clear path for Cui to get downhill to either hit the shooter in the corner or finish near the rim. While it’s true that he doesn’t have to attack the closeout every time he has the chance, giving up on a good look to create a great look is what Cui needs to work on. In this particular play, it means that his jumper off the dribble is less effective than when he’s putting up shots off the catch.

Cui’s vocality and active movement on the floor will open up his game on a better-spaced NBA floor. He’s an active cutter and he’s making well-thought relocations instead of moving for the sake of keeping defenses busy. That’s an area that will suit him well, as he’s already used to playing at a high pace.

With Cui avoiding the rim when he’s making plays out of closeouts, his touch at the rim is better visible when he’s finishing off his attempts via cuts. He has decent touch around the rim, where his ability to absorb contact is an area of development for NBA decision-makers to take notice of.

In the first play, Cui shows off his timely backdoor cut in a game-deciding play with less than 35 seconds on the clock. An important detail here is that he waits for the launch until his defender enters help mode, where Cui is the recipient of the bailout pass from the ball handler who got stuck in traffic.

The second play shows a similar outcome, where Cui is located on the weak side, again launching his backdoor cut upon the moment of the ball handler penetrating, collapsing the defense. His verticality and athleticism are put on display when Cui finishes off the alley-oop by getting above the rim.

Using manipulation is another way for Cui to get separation via cuts. In the third play below, he relocates as if he will be the recipient of a handoff near the elbow, whereafter he shows his fluid hips to launch to the rim after seeing the wide-open interior. Plays such as these show his high understanding of the game, where NBA decision-makers can see the benefit of his two years of professional experience.

When evaluating Cui’s long-term potential, his self-creation becomes more important to scale up from his role as a wing-defending shooter. As mentioned earlier, Cui doesn't stand out with offensive creativity, while showing decent handles. An important nuance here is that in China, the non-domestic players are brought in for their offensive creativity, giving less opportunity to younger domestic players, which led to Cui having to settle for his current role.

His tendency to settle for midrange jumpers takes away some of the potential in the longer term. However, there is a path for Cui to grow as a self-creator on offense, adding value to his draft profile. In the first play below, Cui does well to use craft to get separation from his assignment via the ball screen. He’s using hesitation moves to sell the drop-coverage big he’s changing gears to pull up for the high jumper upon bringing him out of balance.

In the second play, the decision-making is off, with Cui doing the same as in the first play, but this time he’s changing directions whereafter he had the big man in isolation, but settled for the jumper instead. This play and its execution are what NBA decision-makers need to add to his developmental plan. An athlete of Cui’s caliber should be more comfortable in getting downhill.

Flashes of some offensive creativity can be seen in the third play, where Cui utilizes the drag screen in semi-transition to finish the play with the euro-step before the floater. In terms of his growth as a passer, the fourth play is an example. Cui goes for the contested finish at the rim, while the dump-off to the big man was the right play here.

At 2.5 assists per game, that’s a good number for Cui. For the NBA, he’ll be a ball mover with the potential to be a creator for others in the future. He’s decent at executing basic reads, as shown in the second play below. In actions as the pick-and-roll ball handler, Cui opens up the game for himself by decelerating after the ball screen. The lack of playmaking is visible in Cui not able to keep the element of surprise in his game, as it was clear that the roll man would have been hit with the pass on his cut to the basket.

And that’s okay. Every player has their role, and Cui will be more than capable of serving as a ball-mover on an NBA floor. In the first play below, he shows flashes of court vision with the overhead bullet pass upon seeing the open play-finisher under the basket.

Cui is a good passer who’s keeping the pace of the game in mind. His passes are accurate, making him capable of playing in a system that is built on ball movement; something more NBA teams are moving toward. In the third play, the opposing defense rotates well, with Cui making a good decision in going for the extra pass. An easy execution, but a crucial one supporting the above-mentioned.

Defense

An NBA team will ask Cui to serve as a wing defender, which means that it starts with him guarding against spot-up shooters. His good feel for the game in terms of rotations immediately stood out. Cui can handle a faster-paced game, giving him an advantage with his two years of experience in China.

In the first play below, Cui rotates immediately to serve as the help-side defender after the roll man was hit in his cut through the middle. After the extra pass to the corner, Cui showed good reactionary speed to close out hard on the play. On a wider NBA floor that means he will have to rely more on his burst to maintain a good closeout opportunity. Regardless, that was a good play by Cui, showing a hard-shot contest.

The second play shows an area of development by Cui. At 2.3 personal fouls in 35 minutes per game, he can afford to play by taking more risks. That doesn’t mean he should foul the three-point shooter to send him to the line, but the effect of him putting a hand up had no impact on the shooter. Cui needs to work on playing hard consistently when defending spot-up shooters. When he has to rotate multiple times as shown in the first play, his activity level and motor look much better than in this play, where he looked more modest, while he wasn’t putting in the effort to grab the defensive board after the miss.

This continues in the third play below, where the big man locks him up in the paint, leading to Cui not trying to contest on the spot-up shooter in the corner. Body language is crucial here, and that wasn’t a good look on Cui’s end. In the fourth play below, this continues as Cui shows great awareness by already closing out toward the corner before the side pass landed there. But again, the hands up before the shot had no impact on the shooter, whereas the shot contest lacked any inspiration of Cui playing hard on this particular possession.

A value-riser in Cui’s profile is his ability to guard against closeout-attackers. That’s where his 200+ pounded frame comes into play. While there’s room to fill his frame in the next few years, Cui’s body control after absorbing contact is an area where NBA decision-makers will be left intrigued.

His defensive footwork is decent, and he follows up with good decision-making in terms of not biting on fakes or hesitation moves. In the first play below, Cui shows timely help defense before rotating back. He sets his pivot foot well to maintain his balance upon sliding his feet, looking for the contact to force the ball handler to a tough midrange shot.

There is a similar outcome in the second play. An important detail here is the footwork where Cui sets his pivot foot twice to strengthen his balance before sliding his feet. Again he looks for the contact early, forcing his assignment to settle for the midrange jumper. Despite the make, that’s a good defensive play.

In the third play, the ball handler uses craft before the finish, where Cui again does well to unbalance his assignment. The referees missed the push-off by the big man, leading to Cui giving up an offensive rebound, where it’s likely an NBA referee will call a foul there.

What can give an NBA decision-maker comfort is Cui’s decision-making on top of his footwork in closeout-defending plays. In the fourth possession, Cui sets his pivot foot a bit further, staying at about 210 degrees from his assignment, forcing the ball handler to attack the strong side. Another important detail is that after the bump, Cui recovers well and immediately raises and lowers his right arm to avoid the ball handler using that to draw a personal foul. That’s a crucial element showing Cui’s feel for the game as a defender, immediately switching to his left arm for the shot contest.

As mentioned earlier, Cui is more likely to play hard when he’s having to rotate. His good feel for the game on that end is being fed by how well his rotations are when he’s having to switch as the help-side defender. In the first play below, he’s picking up the foul on the cutter’s dunk attempt.

But that’s a foul you want to give up by giving the opponents the sign of him not allowing any simple finishes on his floor, making him earn the points via the line, instead of allowing the opposing home crowd hyped up with a highlight-worthy dunk against him.

Reading the offense is what gives Cui an advantage most of the time. In the second play, the playmaking big above the break made it clear that he intended to hit a cutter, making Cui relocate earlier, sagging off of his assignment in the corner, and executing the simple steal with composure.

An area of development is seen in the third play, where Cui doesn’t drop enough to the interior after his assignment and immediately hard-cuts to the level of the baseline. That was good execution on their part, but something Cui has to prepare for as the NBA is more and more experimenting with inverted pick-and-rolls.

There are areas to clean up in Cui’s pick-and-roll defense. He’s keen on the basics, such as tagging screeners and rollers, while showing signs of decent screen navigation. In the first play below, he keeps the tag on the screener, whereafter switching well to the ball handler, but the positioning in keeping the driving ball handler in front of him is something Cui needs to work on.

An NBA decision-maker needs to add positioning to his developmental plan. It’s crucial to try and keep a ball handler at 180 degrees, especially when missing the needed burst to match the intensity of drives from an NBA guard or wing. In this particular play, Cui was at 135 degrees, while the ball handler was much quicker than Cui, leading to the blow-by and two points allowed at the rim.

The second play shows flashes of Cui growing into an above-average screen navigator. With a 6’9” wingspan, he has a decent length which he uses actively in detecting incoming screeners, tagging them early in the process. This helped him slide between the screener and the ball handler. Wrapping his arm around the big man to get a cushion in sliding between them is key. Fundamentally, Cui is standing out among his peers on that end.

The third play shows what Cui needs to improve. He bailed the ball handler out by intensifying the contact before the ball screen got there. That’s asking for trouble as Cui eliminated his odds of avoiding the ball screen via a drop to meet the ball handler again in the middle. That’s giving up a pull-up three potentially, but those are the looks an NBA defense will be keen on giving up, instead of facing a collapsed defense inside with a ball handler getting downhill via the pick-and-roll.

As mentioned earlier, the NBA experiments with inverted pick-and-rolls much more than in earlier years. That’s something we see in the playoffs, with the Miami Heat using Nikola Jović in similar situations. Such defensive versatility is a clear value riser to Cui’s NBA profile, especially if he bulks up in the upcoming years to handle contact against forwards and bigs much better.

NBA Draft Projection

Cui helped boost his draft stock with a good outing at the G League Elite Camp. In a class with depth among experienced players, there’s serious competition for Cui, whereas the focus on younger prospects is becoming less compared to earlier years. That’s a natural result of many rookies playing in the G League this past season, which is not helping Cui’s case.

However, his shooting touch, mechanics, and footwork make him an NBA-ready shooter who is immediately capable of helping a team right away. His active cutting and ball-moving duties give his role as a low-usage wing-defending shooter more body.

The tendency to settle for midrange jumpers is what he needs to execute his game. That takes time, and it’s okay as NBA teams will help him on that end. While maintaining a defensive rating is crucial for NBA teams, playing rookies usually doesn’t warrant that. However, in Cui’s case, the flashes of becoming an above-average screen navigator on top of his value as a closeout-defender make it more likely that he will be able to be a neutral factor on defense.

His feel for the game in terms of rotations strengthens that. In terms of long-term potential, the lack of offensive creativity makes it less appealing for NBA decision-makers to bet on that. This doesn’t take away that he can grow to a self-creating scorer on low volume but on more ball touches. But an NBA team will be less likely to invest in it, taking away any potential first-round value.

And that’s okay because at 21 years old, Cui already fits in a well-regarded NBA role. Based on the details of the scouting report in terms of his pros and cons, I project Yongxi Cui to be a late second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, with a team trying to cash in on Cui on a cheaper contract to come in and play a role right away. It’s worth noting that he already has had workouts with the Nets, Grizzlies, and Jazz; teams that look for shooting depth on their wings.