NBA Draft Profile: Evan Fournier

Evan Fournier – SF – 6’7, 204 lbs.
Poitiers Basket 86 (France)

Fournier is one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s draft. As the only international player with first-round potential, it is likely that many teams are underestimating him simply because they haven't seen him enough. This year, Fournier led his team in scoring and last year at age 18, he became the youngest player to score over 20 points in a French League game (a record held previously by Tony Parker).

A crafty player, Fournier is very comfortable finishing with either hand. He was able to rebound the ball (3.2 rebounds per game in 26 minutes per game) against much stronger opponents, and is competent when passing out of traps. The intangible that could turn Fournier into an NBA star is his aggressiveness in late-clock scenarios. Whenever there was an option to shoot or drive in a one-on-one situation, more often than not, Fournier chose to put his head down and get to the rim.

The major concerns about Fournier are that he needs to add bulk and improve his jump shot. Fortunately, these are both things that are easily improved with enough time in the gym and on the weights.  Although he is far from polished in all aspects of his game, Fournier has a tremendous amount of potential.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com joined RaptorBlog Radio and spoke about Fournier: “The problem is, playing in Europe this year, there aren’t a lot of first round prospects, so a lot of executives didn’t want to travel to France for one game. So I think that hurt Evan.”