Player Profile: Michael Gbinije

As the NBA season nears, we will take a deeper look at each player on the Pistons and what their role will be this season. The Detroit Pistons selected Michael Gbinije with the 49^th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Gbinije played his first season at Duke before transferring to Syracuse for the last three years of his collegiate career. Let’s take a look at what type of player Gbinije could be and the impact he could make for the Pistons.

In his senior season, Michael Gbinije scored 17.5 points per game while also adding 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He is 6’7” and weighs 200 lbs while primarily playing point guard for Syracuse last season. He shot 39 percent from three and 46 percent overall from the field his senior season.

Improvements to his ball handling and shooting in addition to his athleticism (as seen below) allowed him to handle the point guard role effectively during his senior season. Gbinije is 24 years old since he had to sit out a year after transferring, which was a big reason why he fell in the draft.

When drafting Michael Gbinije, Stan Van Gundy saw his age as strength rather than a weakness. He saw a player who is more mature and developed than other prospects and could potentially contribute sooner rather than later to a Pistons’ team that is looking to make a move up the eastern conference right now.