Melvin Ajinça: First-Round Talent?
Wing Melvin Ajinça is looking to be another player from France taken in the first round – does he have the ability to land in the first 30 picks?
France's LNB Pro A (known currently for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Elite), their highest level of professional basketball and inarguably a top league in the world, hosts plenty of talented prospects with eyes on the National Basketball Association.
Last year's top pick, San Antonio Spur Victor Wembanyama, played for LNBPA's Metropolitans 92, and this year, the league has NBA locks like Zaccharie Risacher of JL Bourg, Tidjane Salaun of Cholet, and this piece's focus, Melvin Ajinça of Saint–Quentin.
The first thing that pops about Ajinça is his athleticism relative to his positional size – the 6-foot-8 wing weighs 220 pounds and absolutely flies around the court. His high-energy style lends itself to good rebounding skill, as motor is one of his most crucial attributes.
While he has been an effective part of Saint–Quentin this year, his offensive inefficiency has held him back from his true potential. Ajjnça for the season so far has shot a pretty uninspiring 38.1% on 7.9 FGA per game, including an even more concerning 31.4% on 5.3 3PA.
What makes this a bit more palatable though is that Ajinça has been stellar from the charity stripe, shooting a very impressive 87.5% on the season (albeit on fewer than two attempts/game). Still, on the season, he's 35/40 on such shots, which lends credence to the belief that Ajinca's offensive effectiveness can increase as his efficiency from deep does as well.
Another aspect of his game to like is the rebounding, especially for a non-post player. Though his 3.2 rebounds per game necessarily don't pop off the page, the motor and energy do pop on film.
As previously mentioned, Ajinca has a high degree of energy. He's often the most active player on the defensive end on any given possession, and while he averages just a half steal per game, the impact is more than simple stock numbers.
While there is obviously a lot ot like, there are some obvious areas for improvement. Where Ajinça could really make himself more effective would be his offensive selection. While he has real shot-making ability, he relies on pure skill too often, sometimes prematurely ending possessions with bad attempts. This is obviously fixable, and something that is very common amongst younger players (remember: Melvin Ajinça is just 19 – born in late June of 2004).
Before this season with Saint–Quentin, Ajinça really burst onto the scene in the FIBA U19 World Cup, where he was named Second-Team All-Tournament after putting up 19.3 points per game en route to an international runner-up after losing to Spain in the final. He also proved his ability by earning a promotion to LNBPA after playing in LNBP's division below, LNB Pro B, and dominating the competition.
Overall, Melvin Ajinça is a surefire NBA rotation player; the degree to which he affects the game will depend on his development of course, but if he's able to (a) shore up the shot IQ issues and (b) continue to defend and rebound the way he does, he has a chance not just to be selected in the first round, but to live up to the billing.
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