Getty Nick Ward NBA Draft Profile, Projections, and latest mock drafts.
If Cassius Winston provides the scoring punch for the Michigan State Spartans, Nick Ward is the heart and soul of the team. Standing a sturdy 6’8″ and weighing in at 250 pounds, Winston is a bully down low yet possesses an unexpected soft touch around the basket. An exceedingly high-IQ player, Ward is able to make up for his lack of athleticism by being one of the smartest (if not the smartest) player on the court.
Ward was slowed down by a wrist injury, but returned for the conference tournament and is slowly working his way back into his former full-time role. While Ward should be back to completely normal before long, Ward’s minutes have been limited since his return and it remains to be seen how much run the Spartans plan to give him in the tournament.
Nick Ward is back! @IamNickWard 🔥 First bucket since surgery.
With that said, let’s take a look at Nick Ward’s Latest Mock Draft Projections and NBA Draft profile.
Nick Ward Latest NBA Mock Draft Projections
At this time, Nick Ward is currently not listed on any mock draft for the 2019 or 2020 NBA drafts. An undersized big man who looks like he was plucked out of a different era of basketball, the modern NBA has moved away from players like Ward and he will need to show a willingness and ability to adapt his game if he wants to have a chance to succeed at the next level.
Nick Ward NBA Draft Profile & Player Comparison
While it is heaping some high praise, Ward’s game reminds me of fellow Michigan State Spartan, Draymond Green. However, there are a number of differences worth mentioning between the two players that separate the All-Star and NBA Champion Green from the potentially undrafted Nick Ward.
While Ward is slightly bigger and stronger, Green possesses a bit better athleticism in terms of their physical similarities. Both are undersized big men at heart, but Draymond is much more versatile given his athleticism and is adequately able to switch and guard just about any position on the floor. Ward struggles mightily when facing more athletic opponents and is especially at risk when he gets stuck picking up a guard on the perimeter. Green was also a much better shooter than Ward coming out of college, which really says something about Ward’s ability to knock down open looks. That said, Ward tends to be a bit more effective down low in the post given his size advantage over Green and plays a bit more like a back to the basket 90’s big man than the modern NBA stretch big. Arguably their biggest difference is Draymond’s drastic advantage in the assist category as Ward is essentially a non-factor there.
That said, both Green and Ward are extremely high-IQ players who make up for their physical deficiencies by always being one step ahead of their opponents. Although Green possesses arguably best basketball IQ in the nation (behind maybe Rajon Rondo), it took Draymond a few years to pick up the NBA game and there is no reason why a player as smart as Ward couldn’t be expected to potentially do the same. Also, like Draymond, Ward has an extremely high motor and work ethic along with many of the other small intangible factors that help players succeed in the NBA.
While the two possess slightly different builds and skillsets, at the end of the day they are players who possess a number of deficiencies that should likely make them unplayable at high levels of basketball. However, Golden State took a late round flier on Green and it paid massive dividends. While Ward will likely never turn into Draymond Green, there isn’t any reason to think that he couldn’t become a serviceable backup big man capable of quarterbacking a second unit on defense.