1. Onyeka Okongwu
2. James Wiseman
3. Obi Toppin
It's just my opinion but I think you are wrong about Okongwu. I think comps cannot be worth discussing at times but Bam doesn't need to be an inch for inch comp.......a guy can profile like Bam and not be his exact size. Anyone who makes a comparison is trying to say the players generally have the same style or skillset. Being a tick smaller doesn't mean anything IMO......some of the best NBA defenders are undersized for their position....it matters more that you play with IQ, anticipation, effort, all things OO does.....but I also don't think Okongwu is small by any means either.
The Bam comparison is mainly driven by how skilled Okongwu is with the basketball. He's an incredibly gifted and smooth guy, relative to his size. He's comfortable facing up....he has great fundamentals as he squares, quick first step, can finish with either hand......at the NBA level, you can watch the face-up highlights below and see his potential as a secondary scorer as well, if he grows in to his jump shot.
The thing that truly just cements Okongwu's value for me personally is watching his pick and roll action on both ends of the floor. I just don't think you can build a team with bigs who cannot, at minimum, tread water in the P&R......both Wiseman and Toppin show signs they are going to really be liabilities there (on defense) at the NBA level. Toppin specifically has the markers of being a possibly bad defensive player at the next level. On the flip side, Okongwu is just really good there......he has great awareness, his lateral movement is excellent, he keeps his arms extended and really does a good job using his body to reroute and cut off smaller players.
As
@Cavatt mentioned, it's hard to find guys who have the talent, size and BBIQ to survive at the 4 and 5 in the NBA. Generally speaking, bigs tend to be missing one of those traits. Okongwu has all 3 of them and he readily displays his BBIQ on
both ends of the floor. He's an incredibly smart defender but what I love about watching Okongwu play is seeing the awareness with which he plays on offense. Watch all of the little things he does, especially as a screener in the P&R......his read and react is just really good.....he is very good at angling the screen he is setting, relative to the defender.....he is almost always reading the slip correctly......when he rolls to the rim, pay attention to his head.....most bigs cannot take their eyes off of the ball handler because they generally don't have the hands, hand eye coordination or visual redirection skills necessary to do that and then still catch a pass. Okongwu is so skilled with his hands and eyes, that he is able to "cheat", almost like a receiver running a route.....where most bigs just barrel in to guys who flash in to the paint, you'll see Okongwu re-routing his roll based on the movement of secondary defenders, creating better passing and catch lanes. That is an absolutely elite skill for a big IMO.....and when coupled with his hands, makes him a potentially devastating roll man at the NBA level.
Then, once you consider his package of skills and production.......it's just a slam dunk, for me, considering his age. He won't even be 20 until December of this year. Seeing how much his body has grown and matured and how good his coordination and movement is at 19, just imagine him after 2-3 years of NBA conditioning. He has the potential to be a near special modern NBA big.....and in addition to that potential, also has IMO, a pretty high floor. I honestly think there are people who are just overthinking it with him. He plays with effort, production, can stay on the floor in small ball lineups, has discernible NBA skills and is young. Those are exactly the type of players you want to bet on.
As I mentioned re: hands.......he's obviously going to catch all passes, it is a highlight film
.....but just pay attention to the variety of passes he is able to catch...high, low, outside of his frame, in traffic......the guy has phenomenal hand eye coordination.....another indication his defense is going to transfer IMO.