European Dispatch: Getting to know Paul Zipser
Jonathan Givony is on an 11-day trip through seven countries to evaluate and meet most of the top NBA draft prospects in Europe. On the third day of the trip, he was in Munich, Germany, watching projected first-round pick Paul Zipser.
Paul Zipser, who turns 22 in a few weeks, is an old man compared to most of the top international prospects in this year’s draft class. But the German is playing at a much higher level and more consistently than almost all of them, who are lucky to get off the bench or playing in far weaker leagues. Zipser plays an important role for Bayern Munich, who won the German league championship two seasons ago and lost in the finals last year. Zipser is highly regarded in his home country, and was in the starting five on the German national team alongside Dirk Nowitzki at the European Championship this past summer.
In his own words
"I think this summer really showed me a lot, when we played for example against Nicolas Batum, or guys like that who are on a really high level on my position. I always wanted to compete with those guys, and it showed me that I can compete with them. It really helped my confidence."
STRENGTHS
Zipser has strong physical attributes, standing 6-foot-8 with an NBA-ready frame, a long wingspan and good athletic ability. He is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range and is incredibly efficient inside the arc as well, converting 68 percent of his 2-point attempts and posting a strong assist-to-turnover ratio.
Zipser never has any plays run for him and does all of his scoring within the flow of the offense by cutting off the ball, spacing the floor, running hard in transition or crashing the offensive glass. He’s a tough and aggressive player who defends up to four positions and has tremendous instincts off the ball. It’s easy to see him transitioning to the NBA because he would likely play the same role, doing the dirty work and being a no-nonsense contributor.
In his own words
”I'm all about the team. Team player. Whatever the team needs: rebounding, helping out on defense, sharing the ball, playing together. That's my style. That's the best way you can play basketball. I'm also a really dangerous shooter.”
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Zipser is playing mostly power forward this year, which gives him a major quickness advantage and helps create space for him and his teammates. He can do that in Europe because of his size, strength and toughness, but will likely have to move down a position in the NBA, where the big men are significantly taller, longer and more athletic.
While Zipser is getting great results as a shooter this season, he’s been streaky in that department over the course of his career and needs both time and space to get off his somewhat mechanical looking jumper. He’s mostly a straight-line driver who doesn’t show much of an in-between game, so there are some question marks about the extent of his upside as a scorer.
He missed significant time with two separate long-term injuries earlier in his career, struggling with a foot problem in 2013 (he was born with an extra bone in his foot that required a special shoe being designed for him) and tearing a ligament in his knee in 2014 that forced him to miss six months. He’s been completely healthy the past two seasons, though.
In his own words
“I had games where we played well and I took my shots, but then the next game I don't. I'm not sure why. I'm 21 and I have to learn a lot. I want to work on my ballhandling. I struggle sometimes with the ball.”
PROJECTIONS
Zipser plays a coveted role in today’s NBA as a combo forward who can stretch the court and defend multiple positions. While he’ll be one of the older international prospects drafted, and isn’t a very flashy scorer, he’ll be an easy player to plug into an NBA lineup.
Look for him to get picked somewhere between Nos. 20-40, depending on how he finishes the season and the number of other top-tier internationals (and NCAA underclassmen) who enter the draft. The fact that an NBA team can either bring him over right away, or elect to stash him for another year or two in what is clearly a great situation in Bayern Munich has to be deemed attractive.
In his own words
“I am really excited to see what will happen this summer. I really want to go one day overseas. … If you have a chance [to play in the NBA], a little bit of a chance, you have to catch it. Not everyone has this chance, I know I will have it in the future.”
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