The NBA Combine took place last week in Chicago, bringing together most of the top NBA prospects for physical measurements, athletic and skills testing, and for some, 5-on-5 scrimmages. As has been the recent trend, players who are likely to go in the Top 15 to 20 varied how much they took part. Jahlil Okafor, Karl Towns and Emmanuel Mudiay declined to attend, while Mario Hezonja and Kristaps Porzingis are still finishing up their season in Spain.

For those who did attend, all took part in the physical measurements portion, which is what I will be looking at here. For ease of comparison, I have broken it down into positions, as the players were labeled by the NBA. Also, I eliminated the player’s height without shoes, because it really doesn’t matter; players wear shoes on the court.

It’s important to remember that this is basically a limited view on the prospects, and concrete determinations aren’t made solely based upon these measurements. The data does become more important when added to all of the other information gathered by teams, so in this look, I’m just pointing out numbers that would also jump out to the teams.

Point Guards

With the NBA moving towards more length at the point guard position, players such as Jerian Grant, Olivier Hanlan, Andrew Harrison, D’Angelo Russell, George Lucas and Delon Wright stand out, all measuring at least 6’4, with standing reaches of at least 8’4. Lucas is extremely interesting with an 8’8 standing reach and 7’0 wingspan, though the Brazilian is still very raw as a player. Harrison also sets himself apart with a weight of 213 pounds, at least 15 pounds heavier than everyone else on this list. This certainly helps with the style of his game which is predicated on trying to force his way to the basket. Cameron Payne measured on the small side, at just 6’1.5, though he is helped with a wingspan over 6’7, which should help him defend at the NBA level.

Shooting Guards

The shooting guards were one of the largest groups at the combine, and there was a wide disparity in the measurements. There was some good size in the group, with Justin Anderson, Anthony Brown, Aaron Harrison, RJ Hunter, Terran Petteway and JP Tokoto, all measuring at least 6’6 tall. Anderson, Brown, Petteway and Tokoto also impressed with wingspans of at least 6’10. Though he only measured 6’5, Michael Qualls posted a 7’0.25 wingspan, as well as a remarkable 4-percent body fat. On the smaller end, Corey Hawkins measured just below 6’2, while Joseph Young was at 6’2, though Hawkins’ 6’8 wingspan is impressive for his size. He may be a player who will have to move to the point guard position to make it in the NBA. The same would go for Young, an impressive scorer, but even by point guard standards, his measurements don’t stand out.  Two of the top shooters, Michael Frazier and Tyler Harvey were both measured around 6’4 tall, though Frazier’s 6’8 wingspan can help him defend the position. Harvey may be another player who will have to see how he fares at the point guard position long-term. Devin Booker and Rashad Vaughn are two very talented freshmen, though amongst this group, their measurements didn’t really stand out.

Small Forwards

The small forwards are a small group, though five of the six are likely Top 20 picks. Sam Dekker measured well at 6’9 with almost a 7-foot wingspan. Also impressive were Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kelly Oubre, both measuring 6’7 with wingspans of at least 7’2. The wingspan is what makes them potential high-level defenders on the wing. Stanley Johnson’s measurements were interesting, measuring 6’6.5 with an almost 7-foot wingspan, but also weighing in at over 240 pounds. This obviously will allow Johnson to play the more physical game that he likes, but it will be interesting to see how he moves against some of these lighter wings. Justise Winslow also measured 6’6.5 with a 6’10 wingspan, which will allow him to guard bigger wings, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he is eventually moved to the shooting guard position.

Power Forwards

Unlike the small forwards, power forwards is a very large group, though based on these measurements, some of these players will need to move to the small forward position to play in the NBA. Potential first-round picks Trey Lyles, Bobby Portis and Christian Wood all measured at least 6’10, which is very good for the position. Wood’s standing reach of 9.3’5 and wingspan of 7’3.25 were also very impressive, though his body fat percentage of 14.7 was somewhat surprising. Montrezl Harrell was the shortest player on the list, along with Vince Hunter, though he may be able to play the power forward position with a standing reach of 9’1 and a wingspan over 7’4. Rakeem Christmas turned some heads with his measurements, including the second longest wingspan of any player, and measuring just about 6’10. Chris McCullough and Chris Walker will be interesting players to watch as the pre-draft season continues. McCullough measured well when it came to length, at 6’9 with a 7’3 wingspan, though he came in at a very light 190 pounds. He did miss a lot of time due to injury and may need to build up some bulk. Walker also measured well at just over 6’9 and almost a 7’3 wingspan, though his lack of development as a player may overshadow his measurements. The rest of the group is rounded out by some of the more classic power forward types – about 6’8 or 6’9 and weighing 240-plus pounds. Of this group, Cliff Alexander and Jordan Mickey boasted impressive 7’3 wingspans.

Centers

With the two top centers, Towns and Okafor, not even showing up at the NBA Combine, we were left with a smaller, though somewhat impressive, group. Robert Upshaw, the nation’s top shot-blocker before being dismissed from his Washington team, posted some very impressive measurements. Upshaw measured 7’0 tall with a 9’5 standing reach and a 7’5.5 wingspan, both which were the longest at the Combine. Willie Cauley-Stein and Frank Kaminsky both also measured at least 7’0 tall, though Kaminsky had the shortest wingspan at 6’11. Cauley-Stein’s standing reach of 9’3 and wingspan of 7’3 were impressive, as was Myles Turner’s standing reach of 9’4 and wingspan of 7’4. French prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh was the shortest in the group at 6’10.5, though his 7’3.25 wingspan is impressive. 

Again, it’s important not to read too much into measurements alone, but as you start to learn more about the players, these numbers will help you round out their profile.