Standing only six feet tall, Ohio State’s prolific floor general offers Houston a high-upside gamble. With elite shooting and Jalen Brunson comparisons, this could be a steal at 53rd overall.
With seemingly an endless number of draft prospects to look at, it can be hard to find a diamond in the rough. Bruce Thornton might just be that player for the Houston Rockets though.
The 6’2” floor general started all 136 games through four years at Ohio State, but he suddenly shrunk when he got the the NBA Draft Combine.
All jokes aside, those more official measurements put him at six foot flat, which is a big part of the reason why most projections have him as a late second round pick. That’s if he even gets drafted at all.
Thankfully for him, his 6’5” wingspan and 223 pound frame help make up for his lack of height. He’s no slouch on the defensive end, willing and able to take on that challenge.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s frequently compared to Jalen Brunson, who just won Finals MVP for the Knicks. Both are undersized and older guards who slipped in the draft.
Those comparisons come from the offensive end, where he’s proved to be a really solid marksman. Thornton shot 38.1-percent from deep and 82.9-percent from the free throw line. That’s on 4.3 and 4.0 attempts per game, as seen on Sports-Reference.
I can definitely see the intrigue with this pick, as it’s not a huge risk at the end of the day. In a perfect world, you get a Jalen Brunson type. Worst case scenario, a possible Two-Way player doesn’t work out. That’s just the reality of the 53rd pick.
