2026 NBA Draft: Allen Graves Scouting Report
Evaluating the Santa Clara prospect ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.
DRAFT EVALUATION: No. 25-35
LAST BIG BOARD: N/R
NBA ROLE: 3-and-D forward
REMINDS ME OF: Robert Covington, Justin Champagnie, Chuma Okeke
BOX SCORE STATS: 11.8 PTS, 6.5 REB (2.8o), 1.8 AST to 0.7 TOV, 1.9 STL, 0.9 BLK, 3.1 PF in 22.6 MINS over 35 games on 51.2 FG% / 56.0 2P% / 41.3 3P% / 75.0 FT%
ADVANCED STATS: 12.7 BPM, 22.4 USG%, 61.5 TS%, 13.9 OREB%, 20.0 DREB%, 2.5 A/TO, 13.8 AST%, 8.2 TOV%, 4.9 STL%, 5.0 BLK%, 40.6 FTr
Height w/o shoes: 6-foot-7¾
Wingspan: 7-foot-0
Standing reach: 8-foot-10½
Weight: 226 pounds
Draft day age: July 28, 2006
Birthday: 19.10 y/o
Background:
Parents are Amy and Marshall Graves.
Brother is also named Marshall Graves. He played four seasons at LSU. Sister is Amoura Graves, who played three seasons at Auburn.
Will celebrate his one-year wedding anniversary in July.
Grew up playing as a point guard. Was about 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 as a freshman/sophomore in HS.
As a HS senior at Ponchatoula High School (Louisiana): 20.2 PTS, 11.9 REB, 2.6 AST, and 2.3 BLK per contest while shooting 69.5 FG / 39.6 3P / 81.3 FT%.
Named the 2023-24 Gatorade Louisiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Committed to Santa Clara over New Orleans, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Texas A&M.
Evaluation:
Scouts who rely heavily on advanced stats and draft models have Graves pegged as one of the top prospects in this draft.
At his best, Graves is a capable play finisher, especially from three - having made more than 41 percent of his triples this season - with connective feel on both ends and enticing defensive production.
This comes while also having decent positional size, barely turning the ball over, and really crashing the boards. His work on the offensive glass stands out.
However, I still have some serious questions about why Graves’ numbers are so much better than his tape.
On offense, the Santa Clara freshman does not offer any self-creation, I’m unsure about his finishing at the rim, and his three-point shooting feels one dimensional while on relatively low volume.
Then, on defense, Graves definitely racks up numbers, but it’s in a hedge-heavy scheme that really favors him.
Graves still fouls a lot, he has a tendency to gamble, his footspeed has concerned me, and I’m not sure he has the athletic tools to recover a lot of the time.
In many ways, Graves’ NBA role still feels like a huge question mark, though there is still plenty to like with his defense, connectivity, and three-point shooting.
Pros:
Efficient play finisher at the rim and from three. 61.5 TS% to end the season…
Outside shot looks repeatable, though slow. Maybe not the most aesthetic prep getting the ball into his pocket, but organizes his upper body well. Don’t love his footwork.
61.8 FG% (76/123) at the rim with 24 dunks
Some flashes of an in-between game with a hook shot and a sort of runner/pusher.
Mostly used as a standstill shooter spotting up or in pick-and-pops. Mismatch at the 5 for a lot of college bigs given his 3P shooting.
41.8 3P% on catch-and-shoots (38/91)
Secure hands to catch passes around the dunker or on the roll and finish. Curious to keep seeing him do more of the latter.
47.6 2P% (10/21) when he rolled as a freshman.
Relatively plug-and-play in a 3-and-D role at the 4 as long as he keeps proving that he can attack closeouts/space. Probably needs to see some handle development there.
Offensive rebounding and motor on the glass. 13.9 OREB%, 20.0 DREB%...
Great job making multiple efforts and sticking with his crashes. Offsets his lack of sheer size/pop with his motor, hands, and strength.
Not sure that he’ll be as impactful of a rebounder when he’s not at the 5, but will probably rebound better than most wings if he has the liberty to crash.
Disciplined when it comes to trying to win inside position, even if he can’t always win it.
Connective playmaker while not turning the ball over. 25 turnovers in 35 games on 22.4 USG%...
Does a good job finding cutters with accuracy. Played with his back to the basket more at Santa Clara than I would expect going forward.
106 post-ups vs. vs. 48 spot-ups, 18 isos, 2 p&r ballhandler reps
Can find the open man after an offensive rebound.
2.5 A/TO for the season is rare at his size and position, especially when paired with rebounding, defensive metrics and 3P%.
8.2 TOV% is tiny at a time when lots of people are paying attention to turnover aversion.
Defensive production and off-ball flashes. 4.9 STL% and 5.0 BLK% is unique production…
Generally understands when he can help off his man and can be disruptive with his verticality, hands, and strength.
Only player to post a A/TO ≥ 1.5; BLK% ≥ 4; STL% ≥ 4 this season
Recovers balls after getting the block or deflections, which popped on tape.
Quick reactions. Gets deflections and steals on poor reads or inaccurate passes.
Really productive in Santa Clara’s hedge-heavy system, which he executed quite well - but also didn’t allow for much evaluation of him guarding in space.
Interested in him as sort of a backline roamer where can help off his man and create havoc, but that fit is easier said than done.
Cons:
How real is his scoring?
Relatively low volume from deep on 6.7 threes per 100 possessions. Less than 100 attempts from downtown all season, though encouraging that he maintained his high 3P% on higher volume as the season ended.
Mostly a standstill shooter. Very little variance to his catch-and-shoots. Didn’t take corner threes. Plus, all of his triples were assisted.
Free throw shooting saw a significant leap towards the end of the season, but was rough for a 4/3-man otherwise.
Until February (24 games): 66.2 FT% (43/65) on 2.7 FTA, 40.0 3P% (20/50) on 2.1 3PA
Starting in February (11 games): 87.2 FT% (41/47) on 4.3 FTA, 42.9 3P% (18/42) on 3.8 3PA
61.8 FG% (76/123 with 24 dunks) at the rim dips to 51.7 FG% (46/89) when just considering layups. Plenty of bad misses on tape where the touch concerns me.
Felt like he had to turn to that hook/push shot more often than you’d want because he couldn’t get close enough to the rim otherwise, even removing his post-ups.
Similar note on his OREBs. He’ll secure the board, but he can’t always score/go back up in traffic due to his athletic/lift margins.
Did not create advantages off the bounce as a scorer or playmaker…
Took no dribble jumpers as a freshman. Good to know your limitations, but also a reason those exist.
Really has a tendency to turn drives into post-ups. Can’t get past his man a lot of the time or generate a clean look for himself often.
Like with his threes/offense, passing mostly comes from a standstill.
Definitely a high feel player who can see the floor, but what passes will be available to him when his post-ups are reduced (most used play type but the least efficient in terms of PPP) in favor of spot-ups (where he’ll likely shoot but I’m still unsure about his ability to attack space+finish) & his advantages at the rim might decline?
Was this already the case? Decisions are good, but on low volume. Is it because he can’t create advantages more often? 13.8 AST% isn’t high.
What is his defensive fit? Fouled far too much at at 5.3 fouls per 40 and 3.1 fouls per game
Mostly played the 5 for Santa Clara this season in a hedge-heavy system not really seen that much in the NBA.
Probably won’t be a 5 in the league anyway - maybe in certain situations.
Can he straight up guard wings? Can he switch onto ballhandlers? Flashes in space weren’t very encouraging.
On the ball, relatively slow footspeed with a lack of lift+length, as well as a tendency to reach in.
Off the ball, foul prone without that many recovery tools, a probable athletic deficit against many NBA wings, and a likely size disadvantage against most NBA bigs.
Advanced stats, raw numbers and scheme overstate where his defense is currently at on/off-ball.
Gambles too much for my liking and then can’t recover, which puts his defense in rotation.
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