Nikola Djurisic Scouting Report

DOB: 23-02-2004

Nationality: Serbian

Position: Guard

Height: 6'7 (barefoot; measured at NBA Combine)

Wingspan: 6'8.25 (measured at NBA Combine)

Weight: 220 lbs

Team: KK Mega Basket 

Pro Comp: Less athletic Anthony Black 

Draft range: Late first-round pick

Strengths:

-Passing versatility to assist teammates

-Great size and fluidity to play at guard

-On-rhythm shooting

-Willingness to play winning basketball

Weaknesses:

-Catch-and-shoot threes

-Inability to create separation when driving the ball

-Lack of an above average athleticism

Question marks:

-Becoming a threat as a pull-up jumper or having a quicker first step

-Adaptability to NBA basketball pace

2023/24 stat line:

As today, his averages in ABA League stand at 15.0 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 TOV in 46.6/34.3/74.6 splits.

The emergence of Nikola Topic clearly eclipsed an extremely interesting prospect in Nikola Djurisic, who gained much momentum in 2022, the year in which he won the MVP of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, played meaningful minutes in ABA League, and beat Overtime Elite in the United States, a team that featured Amen and Ausar Thompson, scoring 24 points. Despite the attention he gathered, his 2022/23 season was not convincent enough to consider him a first-round prospect. After attending the NBA Combine in 2023, he decided to withdraw his name that year to return one more year to play in Mega Basket, the basketball team that his agent Misko Raznatovic, and his company BeoBasket own. 

Nikola already had his debut with the senior Serbia NT in the EuroBasket qualifiers, even playing as a starter in one of them, but simply struggled to catch the rhythm of the game and played low minutes in the two-game window. 

His development as a defender and the better use of his physical tools have been a big part of his success in 2023/24, where he has shown signals of a transition from a former top prospect into a player with a higher floor that plays winning basketball. In the last 8 regular season games, he had breakout performances posting an impressive 20.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 3.8 RPG on 49/47/83 splits, being the first offensive option for a Mega Basket team that clinched a play-offs spot and finished with a positive record for just the second time in eight years.

As a 6'7 guard, Djurisic was expected to improve his defense of smaller guards and to be more efficient inside the three-point line, not just out of it. His willingness to play defense has been evident, not saving any effort and hustling every play. He suffers more off-ball, where he has to be better at avoiding back door cuts that might be also a consequence of his poor skills to defend DHOs. Especially as a rookie, he might still be a defensive liability for almost every NBA team until he catches the pace and dynamics of American basketball, something that many overseas players have to overcome.

Djurisic is not an explosive player with the ball and his lack of burst and a slow first step makes things more difficult for him. Attacking the paint and finishing over taller defenders isn't his strong suit. He lacks significant vertical athleticism and doesn't possess the physical strength to power through contact. He prefers to drive right even in possessions where he's clearly allowed to drive to the left. Predictability summed up with his lack of explosiveness, doesn't allow him to create real separation from his defender, and actually allows other players to help on him every time he's at the rim. 

Possesses a soft touch to finish at the rim, which helps to overcome his weaknesses. Runners at full speed are a highly efficient shot for him, and his ability to spin and use the euro step helps his efficiency to be over 50% at 2s. Would really benefit from developing a floater shot to be less dependent on getting into the rim in the NBA, where he will face tougher opponents both on-ball defenders and rim protectors.

He might be one of the rare cases of players who are better shooters off the dribble than off the catch. His catch-and-shoot form needs work as he takes the ball even under his hips, jumps higher than necessary, and seems to be more of a palm shooter than a fingertips one. The same shooting mechanics seem to work way better since he's able to shoot without space and can be considered a tough shot maker as his release point is really high and quick despite not having a large wingspan. His quick shot release and the fluidity of his footwork make him an attractive off-ball player, which shows up in the amount of off-ball double-drag actions that his team runs for him to take cleaner on-rhythm shots both in action and from an in-bound.

Djurisic should be considered an above-average-passer despite his low AST:TO ratio, that doesn't do justice to his ability to feed big players in multiple actions. His pick-and-roll game is highly focused on finding the screener in the most beneficial situation for him to score. His versatile entry passes have a high rate of accuracy, and his assists would be way higher if he shared the floor with more efficient post players. Has shown lights of having a high feeling about the game and is a player who is committed to executing the coach playbook's as best as he can, serving every kind of role. These unpolished playmaking skills have to be developed to cut down some unnecessary turnovers, especially the ones that come down to bad timing between the passer and the catcher.

His body development has been outstanding. His overall strength is decent, but how he uses his lower body to create separation at the rim is impressive considering his age and height. A 6'7 player with guard skills that can already use his body in his favor is a strong statement for an NBA prospect perspective. The most common question mark would be the obvious lack of 3PT shooting ability since he just improved his mediocre 24.2% last season into 33%, but to me, it's going to be how much he can improve his first step while attacking closeouts and pick-and-rolls. If he can work on that successfully, being slightly under the NBA average for players of his size (36.3% 3PT shooting average for small forwards so far this season) should not hurt his chances to succeed at all.