Ahead of the July 29 NBA Draft, we’re taking a look at potential Brooklyn Nets draft picks with players that have been projected for the Nets through mock drafts. Analysis of individual players has been drawn and summarized from these external media outlets and does not reflect the views of the Brooklyn Nets.
A major recruit out of high school in 2018, Charles Bassey dominated at mid-major Western Kentucky and falls in the range of Brooklyn’s late-first round, mid-second round picks.
SAYS WHO?
Both ESPN and NBADRAFT.NET projected Bassey to the Nets with Brooklyn’s first-round pick, while USA TODAY had the Nets taking him with the first of their three second-round picks at No. 44.
SO, WHO IS HE?
Bassey has been playing basketball for less than a decade after starting with soccer while growing up in Nigeria. Two years after he first took up the sport, he starred at Masai Ujiri’s Giants of Africa camp and moved to the Unites States at age 14 to attend high school, where he immediately became a national-level recruit. ESPN had him as the No. 18 high school prospect in the country when he reclassified to the class of 2018 and committed to Western Kentucky after just three years of high school.
WHAT’S HE DONE?
Bassey starred immediately at Western Kentucky, though he missed his sophomore season due to surgery on a fractured tibia. He was named to the All-Conference USA First Team in 2019 and 2021, was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and 2021 and the Conference USA Player of the Year in 2021. As a junior this past season Bassey averaged 17.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 59.0 percent. He was the MVP of the Jordan Brand International Game in 2016 and participated in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the 2018 All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
At 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds, Bassey offers the package of a rim-running, rim-protecting big with good hands, agility and quickness, with an impressive motor and tenacity. He doesn’t shoot much from the outside but has shown potential both from the mid-range and the 3-point arc that he could add that facet to his game.