Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos

Team: Yukatel Merkezefendi

Height: 203 cm / 6’8”

Weight: 91 kg / 200lbs

Wingspan: 203 cm / 6’8”

Born: June 27, 2001

Nikos Rogkavopoulos was one of the standout performers and best NBA prospects in Europe this season. He was the leading scorer of a team that is competing in one of the best domestic leagues of Europe and played great the whole year. Rogkavopoulos also proved his game in the Greek National Team and now, the unofficial news say he is going to be a EuroLeague player starting from next season. The biggest question now is, if any of the NBA teams believe he is worth drafting in the late second round or not. We’ll see tonight.

STATS

• Averages:

28 games, 32.3 min, 15.46 pts, 6.2 reb (1.7 off reb), 1.9 ast, 1.1 stl, 0.3 blk, ( 49% 2FG%, 35.5% 3P%, 86.5% FT%)

• Per40:

19.1 pts, 7.6 reb (2 off reb), 2.5 ast, 1.2 stl, 0.5 blk 

• Advanced Stats:

112.2 ORTG, 114.5 DRTG, 57.2 TS%, 5.5 OREB%, 14.5 DREB%, 10.1 REB%, 11.3 AST%, 1.8 STL%, 1.2 BLK%

STRENGTHS

• Solid catch&shoot skills with a nice form and fast release that is hard to contest. One of the best, if not the best European 3-point threats of his generation.
• Impressive footwork. Adjusting his steps well accordingly to the defenders and creates open looks for himself off-the ball.
• Good anticipation and timing both on defensive and offensive rebounds.
• Ideal pace and style for transition basketball. Initiates fast break opportunities right after grabbing rebounds, runs the floor well.
• Underrated passer. Finds the open man in transition, feeds the cutter in half court plays. Has good court vision and likes to play as a distributor when he gets the ball in the post, punishes the help defense and double teams.
• A good competitor and team player.
• Flashes of athleticism and slashing abilities, doesn’t always create the easiest layup chances but can finish around the rim, draw fouls or dish out assists.
• Still shows defensive upside as a weak side defender with deflections and anticipating passes.

IMPROVEMENT AREAS

• Can dribble the ball and has adequate fundamental skills as a forward, struggles with that against smaller matchups and might not be comfortable against NBA players.
• Not an efficient post scorer. When he gets the ball in the high or low post, he tends to try to create distance from his defender and shoot, often predictable even against mismatches such as small guards.
• Lacks strength. One of the reasons why he has not been able to cause remarkable damage as a scorer in the post. On the defensive end, has a hard time standing in front of big men and powerful players.
• Not showing considerable progress in terms of defending pick-and-rolls. Often can not get passed the screens and loses his matchup.
• Even though his first step on offense is a plus, struggles to keep it up on the defensive end, especially against guards.
• Shot selection and creation still needs progress. Might need to work on adding more finishing options in his bag to get better and open looks.

OUTLOOK

Nikos Rogkavopoulos has many tools that NBA teams look for while drafting young players. His ceiling as a shooter is what might attract the franchises the most, him giving his all whenever he is on the floor and making the energy and hustle plays is also encouraging for the future of Rogkavopoulos. He has to improve as a slasher and passer, also needs to develop his defense to be an NBA player. He is likely to be in the EuroLeague next season and even if he goes undrafted tonight, teams will keep monitoring his performance in the 2nd best league of the world. I would definitely consider picking him late second round because of his elite shooting skills, basketball IQ and potential physical development later.

Rogkavopoulos had a great season behind him for Merkezefendi in the first Turkish league and I expected that he will be more dominant here in Treviso but he just blend in with other players. In his defense, he had workouts in US before the camp and that definitely left some physical and mental consequences – Nikos also skipped the 3rd place match on Sunday. He can offer the scoring and rebounding as a swingman, he has proven that throughout the season and here at the camp too so a few average games at Eurocamp cannot erase all the stuff that he did in last months.

After his performance in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B, Nikos Rogkavopoulos was considered as one of the top 2001-born International draft prospects. His career in AEK didn’t help his NBA dreams much. He was still a legit NBA prospect and showed it frequently in 2021 for Promitheas as being one of the best young players in the EuroCup that season. Sometimes in order to reach the next level, you need to take a step back and Rogkavopoulos did that. He went to a team that was nowhere close to be participating in any European competition, a team that was trying to avoid relegation in Turkey. He got himself a solid role in Yukatel Merkezefendi and made good use of it. In 22 league games in 2022/23 in the Turkish Basketball Super League, Rogkavopoulos has averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.1 steals. It wouldn’t be wrong to claim that he is the best undrafted European player in his age group now.

STRENGTHS

• Long arms and high shoulders. Decent size for his position.
• Solid catch&shoot skills with a nice form and fast release that is hard to contest. One of the best, if not the best European 3-point threats of his generation and Turkish League. Hit 2.4 3-point shots a game this season. (39%)
• Impressive footwork. Adjusting his steps well accordingly to the defenders and creates open looks for himself off-the ball.
• Really good anticipation and timing both on defensive and offensive rebounds.
• Ideal pace and style for transition basketball. Initiates fast break opportunities right after grabbing rebounds, runs the floor well.
• Underrated passer. Finds the open man in transition, feeds the cutter in half court plays. Has good court vision and likes to play as a distributor when he gets the ball in the post, punishes the help defense and double teams.
• A good competitor and team player. Gives his all whenever he is on the floor and makes the energy and hustle plays to help his team win.
• Flashes of athleticism and slashing abilities, doesn’t always create the easiest layup chances but can finish around the rim, draw fouls or dish out assists.
• Reliable behind the free throw line. Made 68 of his 78 free throw attempts (87.2%) in 2022/23 season so far in Turkey.
• Still shows defensive upside as a weak side defender with deflections and anticipating passes.

WEAKNESSES

• Can dribble the ball and has adequate fundamental skills as a forward, struggles with that against smaller matchups or good defenders and can lose control.
• Not an efficient post scorer. When he gets the ball in the high or low post, he tends to try to create distance from his defender and shoot, often predictable even against mismatches such as small guards.
• Lacks strength. One of the reasons why he has not been able to cause remarkable damage as a scorer in the post. On the defensive end, has a hard time standing in front of big men and powerful players.
• Not showing considerable progress in terms of defending pick-and-rolls. Often can not get passed the screens and loses his matchup.
• Even though his first step on offense is a plus, struggles to keep it up on the defensive end, especially against guards.
• Shot selection and creation still needs progress. Might need to work on adding more finishing options in his bag to get better and open looks.

OUTLOOK

Nikos Rogkavopoulos showed that he is capable of getting big minutes for a EuroLeague team and contribute to winning, starting next season. His development on defense and self creation skills are still question marks that will determine his full potential which might lead to him having a solid EuroLeague career and even finding a good contract in the NBA later on his career.