The Atlanta Hawks selected three players in this year’s NBA Draft, starting with Kobe Bufkin (15th overall), Mouhammed Gueye (39th overall), and Seth Lundy (46th overall). Let’s get to know our newest draft picks!
Kobe Bufkin (1st Round, Pick 15)
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI | School: Michigan | Age: 19 | Height: 6’4” | Wing: 6’8” | Weight: 187 | Position: Guard
Kobe Bufkin had one of the more meteoric rises in the 2023 draft class. After playing just 10 minutes a game during his freshman season at Michigan, he averaged 14 points per, on a 57.8% (true shooting percentage) to go along with 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game last season, and established himself as one of the top two-way guard prospects in college basketball. Bufkin was one of just 17 Power-5 Conference players to total 40+ steals and 20+ blocks last season, which is highly impressive for a 6’4” guard (having a 6’8” wingspan helps).
Offensively, Bufkin has a nice stroke and shoots the ball pretty well (35.5% from three on 3.9 attempts per game last season), however his superpower is his ability to finish at the basket. He is an aggressive driver with a graceful touch and made 71% of his shots at the rim last season – an outstanding number for a guard. He is particularly adept when going to his left, and Michigan would often use screens and dribble handoffs to get him going downhill when attacking the left side of the basket. For an Atlanta team that ranked in the bottom-half of the league in both rim-shooting frequency (most of which came from their big-men) and rim-shooting accuracy last season, Bufkin’s skill-set should complement their current group nicely.
On the defensive end, Bufkin’s terrific instincts and 6’8” wingspan should allow him to muddy up passing and driving lines in an off-ball role, however his slight frame (187 pounds) will make it harder for him to have as much success in one on one settings in the NBA as he did in college. That being said, he was probably Michigan’s best perimeter defender last season, and his lightning quick hands and overall effort-level on that end of the floor make me want to buy into his potential as an above-average defender at the NBA-level. He needs to add a bit more muscle, but eventually, he could be able to guard 1-3.
He is a smart basketball player with sky-high two way potential. While it is unlikely that he will share the floor with both Trae Young and Dejounte Murray (given their collective lack of size), he should be a solid option to fill in for one of them whenever they take a seat on the bench. With Bogdan Bogdanovic currently ahead of him on the depth chart for backup guard minutes, Bufkin’s path into the rotation is a little murky at the moment, however should a rotation spot open up, I think he will be able to step in and contribute nicely as a rookie.
Welcome to Atlanta, Kobe!
Mouhammed Gueye (2nd Round, Pick 39 [TRD from BOS] )
Hometown: Dakar, Senegal | School: Washington State | Age: 20 | Height: 6’10” | Wing: 7’3” | Weight: 213 | Position: Center
Mouhamed Gueye is an extremely interesting prospect, whose resume becomes all the more impressive when you consider the fact that he has been playing organized basketball for just four years! Originally from Senegal, Gueye grew up playing soccer but was encouraged to give basketball a shot due to his enormous size. At 16, he moved to the United States to play basketball at Prolific Prep High School in California, which was the first time he had ever played on a basketball team.
Despite his inexperience, Gueye quickly established himself as a four-star prospect, and top-100 recruit at Prolific Prep, and committed to Washington State during his senior year of high school. As a freshman at Washington State, he averaged 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game, and earned himself a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Last season, he averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game, before declaring for the NBA Draft. At the moment, he would get most of his points off of lobs and putbacks at the NBA level, but he’s shown a willingness to develop his jump-shot, shooting 67% from the free-throw stripe and 11-40 from beyond the three-point arc during his sophomore year of college, which would add another couple of stories to his potential ceiling if it ends up coming along.
Gueye has all the measurables that you would want in an NBA big-man however still appears to be a few years away from becoming a positive contributor at the NBA level. He shot just 49% from the field in college (64% at the rim), which isn’t great for a big, and his 0.8 blocks per game this season isn’t all that impressive given his size and athletic ability. At 213 pounds, he is a bit skinny for his position and will certainly need to spend some time in the G-League as he prepares his body for the physicality of the NBA.
Still, given how new he is to the game, and how rapidly he has improved since he started playing organized basketball, this is a solid selection at 39th overall (the Hawks traded a future 2027 2nd-rounder to acquire that draft rights to Gueye). We can look forward to seeing what Gueye brings to the table in summer league, and whether he can earn himself a spot on the roster.
Welcome to Atlanta, Mouhammed!
Seth Lundy (2nd Round, Pick 46)
Hometown: Paulsboro, NJ | School: Penn State | Age: 23 | Height: 6’4” | Wing: 6’10” | Weight: 214 | Position: Wing
A four-year player out of Penn State, Lundy profiles as a ready-made “3&D” player in the NBA. While he isn’t the quickest moving laterally, he is a hard-nosed defender with a nose for being in the right spots. His monstrous 6’10” wingspan makes him a difficult matchup for opposing guards, and he was consistently tasked with Penn State’s toughest defensive assignments last season. Offensively, Lundy does not offer much outside of his perimeter shooting ability (he shot just 59% at the rim, and averaged just 0.9 assists per game last season), though he cashed in on 40% of his 6.4 three-point attempts per game, and was even better on catch-and-shoot attempts, knocking those in at a 41.7% clip. Needless to say, his ability to consistently knock down three-pointers will be crucial to his success at the NBA level
While there are question marks over how real the shooting is (he shot 36.8% from three over the course of college career, and was shooting less than 31% on “contested” threes before his senior year), and whether or not he has the athletic ability to hold up defensively at the NBA-level, Lundy was certainly worth a flier in the second round for a Hawks’ team that is devoid of catch-and-shoot perimeter threats. If he improves his lateral quickness, and continues to knock down threes at a high rate, Atlanta will have found themselves a steal with the 46th pick in the draft.
Welcome to Atlanta, Seth!
What do you think of the Hawks 2023 draft? Did they get it right? Should they have gone in another direction? Let us know in the comment section below!
