Isaiah Wong

Overview

Isaiah Wong is a tough Playmaking Guard with the skills to be an elite scorer.  Although undersized he is physical and uses angles well to get to the free throw line.  Leader on the floor with a high basketball IQ. Will need to increase size to mitigate his defensive liabilities.

NBA Skill:  Efficient scoring and playmaking

Offense

Isaiah Wong is a tough Playmaking Guard.  While he is undersized, his scoring profile is a prototype of an efficient scoring guard.  With shooting splits of 45/38/85 Wong is a capable scorer. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year.  It is Wong’s ability to both create for himself or make plays for teammates that would make him a valuable asset on the second unit on an NBA team.  

Wong is not an efficient scorer at the rim, but despite being undersized he pressures the rim as shown in his above average FTA (4.9) and free throw rate (42%).  Starting out, it’s unlikely that Wong will be a primary option on an NBA team but he has the tools to be a good second side option both on catch and shoot as well motion shooting.   Wong’s shooting touch needs to be developed.  He scores only .64 per possession which is Below Average in the mid range.  With quicker rotations, longer, more athletic rim protectors in the NBA, it’s imperative that smaller guards, like Wong, have very good touch around the rim extending out to 8 feet.  Wong has to add those soft touch finishes (runners, extensions, reverses) to his arsenal.

Although Isaiah Wong is not likely to initiate a lot of pick and roll, initially, at the NBA level.  He is efficient in the actions that NBA teams run the most. 

Assists and Decision Making

Isaiah Wong is a capable playmaker, however, both his assist and Assist Rate is below average.  This is mostly, due to his lead scoring role on the Miami Hurricanes where he took the most shots on the team (11.6) he was not expected to make plays for teammates.  That said, Wong navigates pick and roll action well and makes good decisions.  Wong has a variety of advanced passes (lobs, transition touch passes, pocket passes, off the dribble kick outs) that will serve him well when he gets thet opportunity to show his handle.  Wong’s ball security is solid as seen by his low turnovers per game 2.1 and low Turnover Rate.

Rebounding and Defense

Wong is a solid rebounding guard with a good nose for the ball. He crashes the offensive glass relentlessly and get offensive rebounds at 4x the rate of other guards.  

Wong is a Very Good defender both in isolation (.64 points per possession) and in isolation (.57 PPP).  He plays a harassing physical style of defense.  As with his offense effectiveness, size will be a concern on defense.  As the NBA moves toward bigger and taller guards, players like Isaiah Wong will be hunted on defense.  Fortunately, Wong is tough as nails and has shown the necessary competitiveness to neutralize his disadvantage in size.  He will need to show that he can hold his own defensively in order to get playing time on an NBA floor.