Nikita Mikhailovskii

INTRO

Relatively late bloomer who had a breakout performance with Russian national team at 2018 Albert Schweitzer tournament in Mannheim. Nikita has been on NBA radar ever since and leads talented group of players from Saratov where his role with pro team grows consistently. He was participant of NBA Global camp in Treviso and early entrant of 2019 draft. Already a strong pillar of Avtodor Saratov, set to participate in 2021 VTB League All-Star game.

SCOUTED GAME

Was coming of pretty good stretch lately including season best game vs Kalev. Started of the bench. Rather no show this time. Couldn’t get inside much and had troubles dealing with the ball pressure. Marcel Ponitka was a nightmare matchup for him. Clearly couldn’t find his rhythm.

PLAYING STYLE

Smooth and rapid. Nikita is excellent player in transition. He displays good speed up and down the court, is highly fluid athlete with tremendous shiftiness which allowed him to perfectionize euro step move. More reliable ball handler and passer in fast breaks, makes rather simple reads in PnR and is unsteady as secondary playmaker. He still looks a bit more to drive than shot but keeps changing proportions and is becoming higher volume 3pt shooter over years. His mechanics is unorthodox because of side Lonzo-esque release but trigger quick enough and you can’t underestimate good percentages based on reliably big sample: 53/131 from behind the arc last three VTB League seasons which sums up for 40.5%. Tries easy pull ups off the pick and roll only, not much of a shot creator. He might resemble Alex Abrines a little but is not equally gifted shooter especially off screens. 

Defensively obviously biggest issue is getting overpowered. Nikita sits in a good stance, shows good activity and slides laterally with good speed. Always covers the ground as quick as he can in rotations which is good but also can get exposed by experienced players. While he doesn’t have troubles with staying in front, he unfortunately lacks great length and cannot absorb harder contact which allow others to score on him even if they don’t beat him off the dribble. He doesn’t shy away but is simply limited physically. Screens from big bodied centers are not easy to deal with for Mikhailovskii but he displays great shiftiness also on this end and often manages to go around picker and recover nicely. Also mismatches in the post should be avoided at all cost with Mikhailovskii on the floor. Best fit is defending PG and SG position.

THE QUESTIONS

• Does Avtodor oversell him? Wasn’t he playing more than he was ready for last two seasons? Would he get that playing time so early in his career in different organization? Situation helps and builds him but what is real talent scale?
• How much room to grow physically he has? May have few pounds more this season but frame doesn’t look overly projectable. His slashing ability may not translate for highest level

SUMMARY

Nikita seems not to have what it takes physically and mentally to reach NBA level. It’s a really bad mix if you are not strong enough and once opponents hit you few times on purpose it can pretty much exclude you from the game. He could be a good fit for ACB but obviously Russian prospect never really leave because of colossal amount of money they can get in domestic teams. He may be considered Top 100 prospect but doubt if any team will like his potential as much to include him once list is narrowed down to 60 names.

NIKITA MIKHAILOVSKII – Russian prospect had himself a true breakout 2017/2018 season. On one hand Avtodor’s has two quality import wings: Mckenzie Moore and Tre Mcclean who are young and still on the rise, but on the other hand roster is not that deep. There should be plenty of chances for Nikita also regarding unexpected loss in Basketball Champions League to dark horse of qualifiers – Fribourg from Switzerland, which means participating in less demanding competition. Organisation seems to be aware how great prospect they possess and be commited to developing him. Mikhailovskii still needs to improve strength, handle to be more efficient shot creator and get consistent with his stroke. This year he should appear in every game regularly and next year be more important part of Saratov so draft looks will become possible.

NIKITA MIKHAILOVSKY – Standout of AST2018 in Germany. Remained unknown outside of Russia few months ago, seems as talented as any wing from his generation in Europe. Quiet NBA Global Camp but already started some of Avtodor games.

Nikita Mihaylovsky (SF/SG, Russia)

Nikita had a breakout showing in Mannheim. Lead the tournament in efficiency rating per 40 minutes with an impressive 30.1 rate. Mihaylovsky presented an ever scoring threat on the court. Aggressive offensive minded player who impressed with his shot selection and effectiveness on the court and shot selection is a precursor of the level of his offensive basketball IQ. Avtodor player gets it off with quick trigger, sets his feet up right and fast on his jumper. He is poised and looks very comfortable dribbling the ball down the court. Freak athlete of nature but has an enormous issue with strength. Lack of low body strength cause him to get bullied on defense. He shouldn’t be classified just as a volume scorer as he can distribute the ball well while driving to the rim. Has played transitions and ISO’s impressively but struggled heavily when opposing team brought double teams on him. Not the best mechanics you will ever see but his shot is more of an instinctual one – talented shooter who can improve his percentage later on. He does a lot of extra things on the court – takes position on both sides of the court appropriately, gets steals with good reading of the game, fights for the ball with hustle and so on.  He was also the rebounding leader of his team with 7.1, helping the team which lacked big man big time. What raises questions is if he is able to be that efficient on pro level. It seems he will need more time to establish and master his skillset and improve his strength in order to compete.