Ron Holland 2024 NBA Draft Profile

Ron Holland 2024 NBA Draft Profile

We are two weeks away from the 2024 NBA Draft. Today, we will be continuing our draft profile series with G-League Ignite wing Ron Holland, one of the team’s most consistent scorers throughout the 2023-24 season. Without further ado, let’s dive into his draft profile!

Height: 6’6.50″ (6’10.75″ wingspan, 8’8″ standing reach)

Weight: 196.8

Draft age: 18.9

Position: Wing

Holland, who graduated from Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, was ranked the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 recruiting class before signing with G-League Ignite, per 247Sports. He ranked ahead of Isaiah Collier, Justin Edwards, Cody Williams, Ja’Kobe Walter and Jared McCain, among others.

Like multiple of these top prospects, Holland had many high-profile offers exiting high school, but chose the pro route over Houston, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Texas and Texas Tech, among others.

He was arguably the best player on G-League Ignite, who finished a dastardly 2-32 with the G-League’s worst offense and the third-worst defense. He averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals on 44.3 percent shooting and 57.6 percent true shooting in the regular season. Though he was limited to just 14 games after injuring his thumb in January, which kept him out the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

Let’s dive into some of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?

Strengths:

Holland is an athlete with a capital “A.” I was surprised that he tested with just a 30″ standing vertical and a 38″ max vert at the combine; those grades felt low to me, based on what I saw on film with G-League Ignite.

He covered as much ground and as quickly as anyone in this class. He reminded me of both Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson–2023 draftees–with how fluid his movements were; Holland glided when he was in the open court.

I also thought Holland played bigger than his 197-pound frame suggested. He wasn’t the perfect on-ball creator, but I thought he was a very capable slasher and did a good job dislodging his defender to create extra separation when he was getting to the lane. He was also a crafty finisher around the rim and utilized his athleticism to generate a variety of finishes.

I also thought he was strong at the point-of-attack defensively; he didn’t get moved off his spot and had active hands–which led to transition buckets, where he thrived.

If you’re a fan of springy athletes with high two-way upside, Holland’s the perfect player. He’s learning, but he plays his tail off and projects to defend multiple positions at the next level. I really like his defensive upside if you get him in the right developmental system.

Weaknesses:

He’s only 18-years-old, so there’s far more learning and development to be had.

While I think Holland’s mechanics were fluid, he wasn’t a good 3-point shooter last year and struggled on pull-up opportunities. He shot just 24.0 percent from deep, though his 75.7 percent free-throw percentage in the regular season (72.8 percent in 29 combined games) suggests there could be some positive regression.

Who knows how his thumb injury–on his shooting hand–affects his pre-draft stock, in addition to how he shoots in workouts?

He was also a poor decision-maker at times with his shot and pass selection. I’m not super concerned about his defensive decision-making as much, but there were times he was extra handsy and/or gambled too often, which compromised team defense behind him.

He likely won’t be tasked with the biggest creation burden offensively, which could help him develop more off-ball or mitigate his offensive weaknesses. But I think he will need to improve both his shooting and decision-making, which can be improved with time.

Projection: Top-10

Even with the thumb injury–which was four-and-a-half months ago–I have a hard time believing that Holland falls out of the top-10. He’s 18-years-old with the ideal wing body and is very athletic. He’s competitive as hell with serious two-way potential.

In a “flat” draft, a lottery team looking for upside (at the wing) should turn in the card for Holland. He shouldn’t be as polarizing as he is, even though I understand a few of the concerns.

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