What NBA scouts are saying about R.J. Hampton’s future: ‘I think he can be really good’

The most fascinating prospect on the Orlando Magic’s long list of them is someone who already has played 888 regular-season minutes but whose future still remains difficult to project.

He is R.J. Hampton, a 20-year-old who possesses blazing speed, good height and superb athleticism. Despite those attributes, Hampton’s ceiling is difficult to discern because his skill set is so raw.

One scout (hereafter referred to as Scout A) who works for another team thinks Hampton could develop into a legitimate starting shooting guard or could bottom out as a second-unit combo guard. That assessment leaves a wide range of potential outcomes that hint at how undeveloped, but promising, Hampton is.

Consider this: Even though Hampton already has a full season of NBA experience, he is the third-youngest player on the Magic roster, trailing only rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner.

Last year, the Magic strongly considered drafting Hampton at No. 15, sources said, before team officials ultimately settled instead on point guard Cole Anthony. Hampton fell to No. 24, with the Denver Nuggets dealing to obtain his draft rights from the Milwaukee Bucks.

Hampton played sparingly for Denver, understandably unable to crack Denver’s veteran-laden rotation. When Denver looked to trade for a veteran defensive specialist on the wing as the trade deadline approached, Orlando traded Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark for Hampton, Gary Harris and a protected future first-round pick.

Hampton averaged 25.2 minutes per game after his move to Orlando, averaging 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. But those numbers are difficult to evaluate given how the Magic tanked down the stretch, often fielding lineups that were woefully short on veteran know-how.

To understand where Hampton stands at this formative stage of his career and help predict the player he might become, The Athletic enlisted the help of four scouts, asking them to provide their unfiltered opinions. The scouts were granted anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to discuss players publicly.

The picture that emerges is one of a youngster with the capabilities to become a high-level player but question marks surrounding specific skills.

Hampton’s strengths

The first attribute that stands out to scouts is Hampton’s speed in the open court. Indeed, you would be hard-pressed to name a Magic player over the last decade who was faster on the break than Hampton. Perhaps former second-overall pick Victor Oladipo was as fast as Hampton is, but that comparison may do a disservice to Hampton.

“He’s a really explosive athlete, really fast in the open court,” Scout B said of Hampton.

Scout C referred to Hampton as “a high-level athlete” and added, “I like him. It wouldn’t shock me if down the line he could be somebody like Terrence Ross: a guy that could come off the bench and score and is athletic. I’m talking about a young Terrence Ross.”

That’s high praise. Even though Ross remains plenty athletic now, remember that Ross was even bouncier years ago. In 2013, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at 21 years old.

To get a feel for Hampton’s straight-ahead speed and explosiveness, look at this fast-break sprint and dunk when he was a member of the Nuggets:

R.J. Hampton with one of the best plays of his young #NBA career, gets the steal and takes it down the court to throw down the hammer on the fast break.#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball @RjHampton14
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) February 11, 2021

After his trade to the Magic, Hampton displayed his jumping ability on this putback dunk:

R.J. Hampton with the putback dunk to cash the over 216.5 @betthehoops
— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) April 13, 2021

Scout A likes Hampton’s ability to beat defenders off the dribble, get into the lane and score or draw contact. That observation is supported by some advanced analytics after the trade to Orlando. According to Cleaning the Glass, a website that excludes stats compiled during garbage time, Hampton drew fouls on 11.5 percent of his shot attempts, which ranked him in the 83rd percentile among the league’s combo guards.

Hampton also tends to move the ball freely and quickly when he encounters a second defender.

When Hampton was drafted, he measured 6-foot-4. But Hampton said he has grown two inches since late last year, and the Magic now list him at 6 foot 6 (though the NBA website lists him as 6-4). On Wednesday, Hampton estimated his wingspan at 6-10 or 6-11.

His height and length help him see over defenders, helping him be a better passer. Those same physical attributes could make him a defensive terror.

“He could really be a guy who, if he focused in on it, could disrupt teams defensively,” Scout B said. “I think with his athleticism, his height, his natural gifts — he could be a really, really good defender.”

Weaknesses

Last season, however, Hampton was a subpar defender, scouts said.

Perhaps there are valid reasons for that. As with all members of the 2020 draft class, he had no time to work with his team’s strength and conditioning staff or participate in voluntary workouts before the start of training camp. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the NBA Summer League. And the compressed season prevented Denver (and later, Orlando) from practicing often.

It was difficult for any rookie to play his best under those circumstances, and Hampton was no exception. His lack of playing time on the loaded Denver roster made him rusty. Making matters even worse, he contracted COVID-19 in late February and missed half of March as he remained in the league’s health and safety protocols, which further eroded his conditioning.

“I think my most challenging thing that I had to go through my rookie year was probably getting COVID and having to come and play in Orlando at 28 to 30 minutes a night after COVID,” Hampton said.

Was that the only reason he struggled defensively with the Magic? Or did he, like many young players who regard themselves as offensive threats, simply not value defense enough?

The season ahead will go a long way toward answering that question, because the Magic’s new coach, Jamahl Mosley, has said defense will be the foundation of the 2021-22 Magic.

Mosley said he is emphasizing to Hampton “turning up the defense, being able to pressure the basketball, because I think he’s someone that can guard multiple positions. (I want him) taking on those challenges, being a very good positional defender but also being able to guard teams’ better offensive players.”

Will R.J. Hampton’s skills, especially his long-range shooting, catch up to his impressive athleticism and size? (Benny Sieu / USA Today)

As important a topic as Hampton’s defense is, it seems to pale in comparison to the sentiment mentioned most often by the scouts approached for this article.

Will his offensive skills one day match, or at least approach, his physical gifts?

Hampton made just 31.0 percent of his 3-pointers last season.

“I think he could be a productive offensive player,” Scout B said. “I don’t know how good offensively he could be yet because he’s still got a lot of work to do. He’s still raw. But he’s got some great tools. I think it’s just a matter of can he get a coach who is going to really push him in a direction to maximize his gifts athletically until his skill catches up to his athleticism.”

To be sure, Hampton needs more game reps to see the game more clearly.

“What it looked like was he plays hard with some athleticism,” Scout D said. “His understanding of the game is going to need to improve. He was a rookie, but he at least had the physical tools that he can build on. He’s just going to need time to start thinking the game and let the game slow down so he can be more smart with his actions.”

Big picture

Another question that needs to be answered is where, exactly, Hampton fits positionally. All of the scouts in this piece view him more as a wing who can be a secondary ballhandler, not as a point guard.

Despite all the talk about “positionless basketball,” the scouts also tend to question whether Hampton, despite his height, can guard opposing small forwards at this early stage of his career, before he adds significant strength.

“I think he can be really good,” Scout C said. “The physicality is too much for him right now, but he is talented. I think he’s a shooting guard.”

Something else to monitor for this season is the Magic’s guard and wing depth. Anthony, Suggs and, when healthy, Markelle Fultz figure to earn all of the point guard minutes. Anthony, Suggs, Fultz and E’Twaun Moore also can play shooting guard, while Harris and Ross are certain to receive major minutes, at least before the trade deadline arrives.

Meanwhile, Franz Wagner and perhaps even Chuma Okeke will compete for minutes at small forward. Eventually, Michael Carter-Williams will return from ankle surgery.

So where will that leave Hampton?

Mosley has been asked how he’ll handle the perceived logjam several times already but hasn’t provided any specifics. To be sure, it seems likely that he often will employ three-guard lineups in which Hampton plays off the ball.

Still, Hampton’s long-range upside almost certainly will be determined by his shooting more than anything else. He could become a starting shooting guard one day — if, that is, his skill catches up with his athleticism.

His next three seasons will be fascinating to watch.

Even after those seasons are finished and he’s four seasons into his NBA career, he’ll still be just 23 years old.