Ron Holland: The San Antonio Spurs' potential next cornerstone

Holland's strengths

For the time being, much of Ron Holland's appeal lies in what he can be as opposed to what he is at this moment, as is the case with most 18-year-old prospects. But for a team like the Spurs that is in a position to have a high draft pick and may not have those opportunities for much longer, finding the players with the most potential long-term impact will be the name of the game. The following attributes give Holland the requisite upside for a top-five prospect in this class:

Explosive scoring ability

With a diverse offensive arsenal, Holland excels at creating his shot off the dribble and finishing with authority at the rim, already ranking above average in the 55th percentile (per Synergy). What's more, as a scorer, he ranks in the 59th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler and the 77th percentile as a cutter, indicating he could become a valuable offensive asset with and without the ball in his hands at his peak. But perhaps most importantly, roughly a quarter of Holland's generated offense comes in transition, where he's able to leverage his athletic abilities to turn defense into offense with ease.

Athleticism

Holland's athletic ability is among the best in his draft class, serving as a cornerstone of his game and a testament to his potential in the NBA. His lightning-fast first step allows him to blow past defenders with ease, while his verticality and explosive finishing ability make him a formidable presence around the rim.

What's more, despite his still-improving ball handling, Holland possesses the shiftiness to create space on jump shots, even if the efficiency on those shots hasn't come around yet. On defense, his lateral quickness and size allow him to defend multiple positions (2-4) adequately, and he'll likely only improve against bigger opponents as he adds more size to his frame.

Playmaking upside

Many in the draft community see Holland's playmaking as an area for improvement, and considering he currently averages more turnovers (3.2) than assists (2.7) per game, he'll undeniably need to take better care of the ball in the league. But in lower levels of play, Holland was never tasked with being a primary playmaker on offense, having never surpassed 2.9 assists per game in his high school career.

In his first year of professional basketball in a far more ball-dominant role, he very nearly matched that figure and did it without recording an overwhelming number of turnovers. When factoring in Holland's defensive playmaking on top of that, recording 2.3 steals per game, the turnovers he does commit are a bit easier to stomach early in his development.