Is the Sky Truly the Limit for Thon Maker?
Thon Maker has some of the most impressive highlight clips you will ever find on YouTube. Standing at 7-1, his ability to crossover opposing big men and hit step-back jump-shots as though he is the second coming of Kevin Durant is seemingly unreal.
On the surface, Maker looks like a revolutionary figure – a true 7-footer with the handles and the mobility of a perimeter player. But a closer look reveals he, just like any other 18-year-old out there, is still far from being someone who can “change the game.”
COORDINATION & STRENGTH
The main issue Maker faces in his development is his lack of coordination. He has soft hands and quite good handles for someone his size but struggles making plays off the dribble. Yes, clips of him crossing over dudes exist, but the far more common occurrence is Maker trying to go around an opponent with his long strides and often losing his balance with his momentum charging forward.
Maker can handle the ball on the break but rarely gets to the rim on drives against a set defense in the half-court, prone to having the ball stripped in traffic and even struggles attacking closeouts. These issues make it tough to project him as a perimeter player at this point.
His favorite move is flashing to the foul line, turning slowly to face the defender and attempting to blow by him for a short drive. That’s often unsuccessful as Maker doesn’t have an explosive first step, can’t change speeds and struggles to sustain his balance through contact.
When he does manage to stumble his way to the basket, Maker is hardly in a position to elevate and hang in the air or finish around the rim with explosiveness against an opponent contesting him.
From a prototypical big man standpoint, Maker struggled to catch passes on the move and to bring the ball down, gather himself and elevate off two feet at the Hoop Summit. He hasn’t done well with his back to the basket against a higher level of competition within his age group, either.
Maker improved his physique since transferring to Canada, listing as a 218-pounder at the Nike Hoop Summit. However, that extra weight hasn’t yet translated into strength. He struggles to establish deep position in the low block, often gets pushed off from his spot and couldn’t back down high profile opponents at the Hoop Summit and the Fab 48. He was unable to hold his ground against physical types on the other end, too.
TOUCH
Without a power game and the footwork needed to set up turnaround or running hook attempts, Maker relies on his face-up jump-shot to score from the post, and it’s a legitimate weapon of his. Maker is not a consistent knockdown shooter just yet but has a beautiful touch on his step-back, fadeaway jumper and should continue to develop it as his top skill moving forward.
Maker is a capable catch-and-shoot option from 3-point range, with great mechanics on the release (also witnessed in his foul shooting form) but slightly loose and methodical bringing the ball up. With his mobility in open space, the dream would be for Maker to develop into the sort of shooter who can come off side screens or take shots out of the pick-and-pop.
Another area his touch shines through is his passing. Maker has demonstrated the ability to scan the floor, facing the defense or with his back to the basket in the low post and assist cutters diving to the rim. As mentioned earlier, he is not an option to run pick-and-rolls or pass on the move out of isolation at all for now and even making plays out of the short roll would probably be a stretch for him. Nevertheless, Maker could absolutely be an asset to help facilitate offense from the elbows or playing above the foul line, with his height putting him at a position of leverage as it permits to see over the defense.
MOTOR
Just about every event he participates in, Maker impresses with his activity. While he struggles moving in tight spaces, he looks great on the open floor, sprinting up the court without the ball in transition fluidly and putting himself in position for lobs at the rim.
Below the rim, he is a very good offensive rebounder. Maker has ‘second jump-ability’ to keep fighting for 50-50 balls in the air and a 7-3 wingspan to rebound outside of his area. He averaged 3.4 offensive rebounds per game at the Under Armor Association circuit this year and even in his poor appearance at the Hoop Summit, he managed to grab five offensive rebounds in just 14 minutes of playing time.
On the defensive glass, Maker does look to box out more often than not. However, he doesn’t tend to get physical with his opponents and has shown only so-so instincts tracking the ball off the rim with quickness. Most of his defensive boards tend to be uncontested.
He can play above the rim as a shot blocker thanks to his length and ability to get off the ground in a pinch, averaging 2.2 blocks per game at the Under Armor Association. He is also able to contest perimeter shots effectively. But it’s unclear for now whether Maker is the sort of rim protector who only blocks the front of the rim when he is parked inside the lane or a full time rim protector, always focused on coming off the weak-side to be a constant shot blocking threat.