RJ Hampton has revealed that he’s interviewed with the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls ahead of the NBA Draft.
Hampton, currently based in Dallas, has been training with former NBA All-Star Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway as well as former NBA Rookie of the Year Mike Miller once a fortnight.
During a media session for the NBA Combine, Hampton described his game to the US media who have been hard-pressed to see what the athletic guard can do due to him playing with the New Zealand Breakers on the opposite side of the globe last season and more recently the COVID-19 situation.
“I definitely think I bring a fast-paced, energizer guard,” Hampton told the media. “I can attack downhill, get my teammates involved and be a pest on defence. I can do the little things, and with working with Mike Miller now, I’ve been better at knocking down the open 3 and open shots.” Hampton said.
Miller, a two-time NBA champion shot a blistering 40.7% from beyond the arc during his 17-year career is a perfect fit to help improve Hampton’s accuracy from beyond the arc.
Hampton’s main weakness heading into the draft is his perimeter shooting. He connected on only 29.5% of his three-point shots during his 15 games for the New Zealand Breakers.
On current mock drafts, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor expects him to go to Minnesota with pick 17, Bleacher Reports Jonathan Wasserman had him going No. 18 overall to the Dallas Mavericks, SI.com’s Jeremy Woo had Hampton going to Utah Jazz with pick No. 23, and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had Hampton going No. 21 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hampton’s explosiveness and his ability to attack offensively is said to excite several NBA teams, but scouts like Wasserman have noted his draft chances are hugely dependant on his ability to improve his jump shot.
“He could slip without a bankable, signature skill, but he’d become a steal by building on his flashes of playmaking and improving his capable jump shot” Wasserman said.
Hampton mentioned that he hadn’t been interview by the Philadelphia 76ers but would love to play alongside Australian NBA stars Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle.
“I think that would work out great,” Hampton said of the idea.
“Ben Simmons is a long, lanky guard and I feel like I’m the same, well he’s quite taller than me, but at the same time, I feel like it would be a nightmare for offensive players going against two guards on defense with Matisse (Thybulle) too being a great defender. I definitely feel like it will be a great 3-guard setup.”
The five-star recruit was ranked fifth in ESPN’s top-100 coming out of high school but chose to forge his own path in playing overseas in NBL alongside his draft classmate LaMelo Ball.
He averaged 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 20.6 minutes per game for the New Zealand Breakers in 2019-20. His play for the Breakers has seen his skillset compared to athletic NBA All-Stars like Russell Westbrook and Zach Lavine in recent months.
Hampton will be only 19 come draft night which is currently scheduled for November 18.