There aren’t many players in the NBA with a 7-foot-3 wingspan. That population of players shrinks further if you eliminate players over 7-feet in height; slice it to just those who are between 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9 and the group is tiny.
Which is to say, there aren’t many players like Keita Bates-Diop — the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 6-foot-8, 223-pound second-round pick who also possesses a 7-foot-3 wingspan.
From the four most recent draft classes, there are only a few players who fit this physical mold and it’s a bizarre group. In the 2014 draft class, there is Kyle Anderson of the San Antonio Spurs, who physically mirrors KBD almost identically save a half-inch in wingspan. But Anderson plays nothing like Bates-Diop — Anderson is more of a point forward with the Spurs and he was the point guard at UCLA who started over Zach LaVine.
Another Bates-Diop doppelganger — on the other side of the positional spectrum — is Kevon Looney who could be found setting screens and sitting underneath the rim in these past NBA Finals for the Golden State Warriors. Again, a style nothing like Bates-Diop — just physical symmetry.
| Height w/ shoes | Weight | Wingspan | |
| Keita Bates-Diop | 6-foot-8.5 | 223 | 7-foot-3.25 |
| Kyle Anderson | 6-foot-8.5 | 230 | 7-foot-2.75 |
| Kevon Looney | 6-foot-9.25 | 222 | 7-foot-3.5 |
So, what position does KBD play?
“I’m big enough to guard the bigger guys, I’m long enough to keep wings and guards in front of me,” Bates-Diop told local media on Tuesday afternoon — running with the Flip Saunders ideology of your position being defined by who you defend.
“I think both (small forward and power forward) are pretty interchangeable — especially in today’s NBA,” Bates-Diop elaborated later in the afternoon. “All the coaches have pretty much said, ‘you switch most everything.’ So being able to guard all positions is going to be key.”
Keita Bates-Diop is a tweener. He is somewhere betwixt and between an Anderson and a Looney. You could call him a positionally ambiguous three-and-a-half.
The modern NBA — and even Tom Thibodeau — is taking a liking to this archetype of player. Instead of looking at what these long, frail creatures can’t do, the NBA is treasuring what they can do — even if it is just situational.
“The fact that (Keita) can play multiple positions was critical for us,” said Thibodeau.
A season ago, and particularly in the playoffs, Thibodeau began sliding a few of his players into positions that did not correspond to their traditional distinction. The Wolves most successful playoff lineups were small-ball groupings with Jimmy Butler at the four and Derrick Rose playing the two or even the three.
There will likely be more of that in the year to come and having a player who doesn’t really have a position — but could play numerous — could be a major benefit. There is certainly a reality out there that has Bates-Diop wearing a gold star that reads Thibodeau’s favorite role player.
As far as player comparisons go, there is no better — in size or potential role — to draw than Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors. The duo in Canada who also belong to the anatomical phylum of KBD.
| Height w/ shoes | Weight | Wingspan | |
| Keita Bates-Diop | 6’8.5” | 223 | 7’3.25” |
| Pascal Siakam | 6’9.5” | 227 | 7’3.25” |
| OG Anunoby | 6’7.75” | 232 | 7’2.25” |
For Dwane Casey, this was a boon that helped fuel his team to 59 wins this season. Prior to the additions of Siakam and Anunoby, the Raptors had a defined core of DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas for many respectable years but they began to plateau after handing out a $139 million contract to DeRozan, $100 million to Lowry and $64 million to Valanciunas. Capped out, Toronto’s general manager Masai Ujiri had to find inexpensive players that not only plugged the holes on the roster but elevated the entire group.
In 2016, Ujiri opted to select the most versatile player available at the end of the first round when he took the relatively unknown Siakam 27th overall.
And a year later he rinsed and repeated with Anunoby 23rd overall.
“I think Toronto has done an amazing job,” said Timberwolves general manager Scott Layden when asked if he draws parallels between Siakam and Anunoby to the selections of Bates-Diop and Josh Okogie. “You look at their second unit this year, and just how it added to winning.
“I think with regards to (Bates-Diop and Okogie), again, it’s about the work that they’re gonna put in, and their work ethic and their track record for helping their colleges.”
With little financial flexibility available to further address the wing position for Layden, he and Thibodeau need an impact not only out of Okogie but also Bates-Diop — even though KBD was one of the final picks of the second round.
The good news is that many indications point to Bates-Diop being a steal at 48th overall. He certainly thinks so.
“I have some great upside,” said Bates-Diop when asked if his age was the reason for his draft stock’s plummeting. “I have maturity over some guys from my four years. I have an edge on a lot of the younger guys who are still teenagers. I’ve been through a lot already.”
One of those teenagers is Okogie (19). While the Wolves may need contributions from both draft picks, it is very possible that Thibodeau — infamous for tight rotations — chooses just one.
Immediately following the draft, Thibodeau asserted that effective defense is the fastest track to playing time. And if positional versatility plays a big role there, then it is quite possible that KBD is the first of the rookies to consistently crack the rotation.
While Okogie also has a massive wingspan, Bates-Diop’s is bigger. Additionally, he uses it as more of a defensive weapon; Okogie relies more on his strength and speed in his defense.
Here, Bates-Diop illustrates not only how he weaponizes his wingspan on the perimeter but also how it can stymie opponents if and when they get to the rim. This is a pretty excellent use of a hand check on the wing.
Now, this need to grant space to opponents on the wing could be troublesome if Bates-Diop is defending a player with a high and quick release. But, again, situationally it will be more than enough to capably defend. KBD should have little trouble defending second-unit small forwards and many stretch bigs. Also, he should be able to do it right away.
“Knowing scouting and knowing tendencies of players is the biggest thing,” said Bates-Diop of how he can make an immediate impact on the defensive end. “Knowing if they can shoot it or not and their tendency to go left or right. Obviously, good players are gonna make tough shots but making it as hard as possible is key.”
KBD said he has been studying the ways small forwards “guard and move” at the NBA level. Specifically, he listed Andrew Wiggins, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as case studies. And while some may poke fun at the Wiggins admiration, it is worth noting that Wigs has made major strides in individual matchups on the defensive end.
“Wiggins is only a year older than me, so I saw him a lot in high school and watched his game grow. It will be cool to see and play against him in person.”
Sounds like Wiggins will have his first real opportunity to drop the mentee tag and try his hand at being a mentor this season.
The catch with KBD, and the reason he dropped to 48th in the draft, is his lack of athletic explosivity. Unsurprisingly, this was not brought up at the press conference but it is a big part of the does KBD = PT equation.
The reasons Anunoby and Siakam were first-round picks was not restricted to their anatomical measurables but also the ways they projected as athletes.
Bates-Diop tested out as a middle-of-the-pack athlete at the combine but the eye-test of his agility at Ohio State is not kind. While this certainly isn’t the end of the world, it does subtract from some of the allure of KBD becoming a truly versatile defender.
It’s fair to question his ability to recover to the perimeter against offenses that spring their shooters towards the perimeter (like the Philadelphia 76ers) and against teams that have tall players that can attack slow-footed defenders in isolation (like the Oklahoma City Thunder).
A Wolves parallel to draw to Bates-Diop is Nemanja Bjelica. In a slowed down, team-concept defense Bjelly was a long defender who read the floor and used his length to almost guard two players at once. But when defenses forced him to move out to the perimeter, Bjelica was picked on and things became messy.
Even in situations where Bjelly effectively recovered, the most-apt isolators recognized a speed chasm between themselves and the slow-footed Bjelica. Here is Carmelo Anthony targeting and attacking Bjelly on consecutive possessions.
The good news for the Wolves is that while KBD adjusts to the pro game and attempts to increase his footspeed beyond the Bjelica threshold, is that he doesn’t have to play against these opponents.
This is where drafting Okogie comes in. Specifically, against players like Dario Saric and Anthony, who prefer to play off-the-bounce rather than with their back-to-the-basket, Okogie’s speed could be utilized in place of KBD. The Wolves also have Wiggins and Butler to handle the trickier matchups.
Bates-Diop does not need to come in and be a shutdown defender; he needs to be effectively passable in the matchups he can handle. That’s a role player.
The Wolves bench did not have that a season ago. Even if his feet prove to be made of actual lead, KBD will still likely be a better defensive option on the wing than both Jamal Crawford and Shabazz Muhammad.
Really, it’s going to be about a wing group that will foster success for the Wolves.
In Toronto, it was about the ability to use Siakam and Anunoby as not only second-unit cogs but plugged in with the starters when matchups dictated. If KBD proves that his versatility is as prominent as his physical measurables suggest, the rookie could be a bridge that allows Thibodeau to step away from his rigid lineup groupings that have plagued the team whenever the starters were off the floor.
The core is in place for the future and while a 22-year-old, No. 48 pick will probably never be considered part of that core, Bates-Diop could be a crucial piece — like Siakam and Anunoby — of what elevates the team as a whole.
“It won’t be that hard for me, I kind of played that role my first couple years in college,” said Bates-Diop when asked if he can become a role player. “I’m used to playing off of other great players. D’Angelo Russell was (at Ohio State) my freshman year so he was the guy completely, so I’m pretty used to it.”
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