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The Atlanta Hawks selected Kingston Flemings with the No. 8 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Flemings averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in his one season with the Houston Cougars.
Flemings has enough size to play at the NBA lead guard role, at 6 feet 2.5 inches without shoes with a 6-foot-3.5 wingspan. More importantly, though, he has a powerful, stocky frame at 183 pounds that allows him to absorb contact and be physical on the interior. He doesn’t get bumped off his lines on offense when he drives and doesn’t have issues when he gets hit while in the air. He is a tremendous athlete; extremely explosive and twitchy with a lightning-quick first step that allows him to drive in straight lines toward the rim.
Right now, Flemings’ midrange game is his most effective, efficient weapon in half-court settings. However, it’s hard to live like that in the NBA, given that the best midrange shooters only make about 50 percent of their attempts.
Sam Vecenie’s draft guide summary
Why Kingston Flemings is the point guard NBA teams dream of
Sam Vecenie
I want to love Flemings, and I think there is undeniably All-Star upside if his development goes right. The intel on Flemings as a human being is strong, and he seems to have a full understanding of what his role will be at the next level, as well as what he needs to work on. He was productive and efficient offensively in what was not an ideal circumstance for his skill set as a driver and athlete at Houston this season. He was rightfully named an All-American as a freshman while playing for Kelvin Sampson, one of the toughest coaches in the country on young players. With more space to operate in the NBA, there’s a chance that he will flourish.
The key for Flemings to reach that upside is to improve his gathers, get stronger through his lower half and become an even better shooter. I love his passing and decision-making, as he comes up with creative angles. I love his ability to get into the midrange, which will be an essential counter. But he will need a floater game and will need to keep improving his footwork as he learns to play with more consistent slow steps and Euro steps. His size will be an impediment defensively, but he has a good enough frame to improve and avoid being a negative on that end.
John Hollinger’s analysis
I like Flemings as the best of the group of point guards because of his turbo-boosted quickness and athleticism, which he uses to impact the game at both ends of the floor. Flemings is especially potent with the ball in his right hand, getting into pick-and-rolls with pace and zipping one-handed, crosscourt passes while going full speed. He also gets great elevation on his pull-ups, although he probably relies on that shot too much.
One reason Flemings is so pull-up heavy is that he’s a poor finisher at the cup; he’ll need to refine his steps and craft around the rim as a pro. That’s a big reason he shot only 47.3 percent on 2s in Big 12 play and didn’t draw fouls at a high rate.
The other swing skill for him, however, is his shooting. Flemings’ form is not ideal — the ball comes out a bit flat and has some sidespin — and he didn’t shoot many 3s. On the other hand, he also shot 84.5 percent from the line in his one season.
David Aldridge’s draft confidential
College assistant coach (his team played Houston): Kingston is smart and (was) coached hard. The year before, (Milos) Uzan was a big part of it and (Emanuel) Sharp. Those are two tough-minded veterans. And I saw them turn the keys over to Kingston. Wow. His speed, his ability to catch on the run, knowing the closeouts already. His ability to finish at the rim, I’m surprised his arms aren’t longer, ’cause it never seemed like he struggled. He shoots it kind of like a corkscrew. … He’s got that midrange, and you can’t get it. He’ll fade, he’ll kick the right leg out a little. Another guy who loved the moment.
Eastern Conference executive No. 1: I love his ability to touch two feet in the paint without a screen. He is a super athletic guard. And his ability to make passes at full speed is very impressive. He and Acuff are interesting in terms of passers. Acuff is more of a savant in pick-and-roll. Flemings is more like, I’m going to put defenses in rotation whenever I want. And Flemings is also better defensively. Why I believe he’s going to make it, and he’s a smaller guard, too, is he’s extremely confident. His shot is a little ugly; he kind of thumbs the ball. But he genuinely believes every shot he takes is going in. And that’s half the battle in the NBA.
This story will be updated.