Santi Aldama and the important intersection of size and skill

Santi Aldama is an adaptable basketball player that can do a bunch of different things on the floor, allowing interchangeability for the Grizzlies, and aligns with the NBA's biggest trends.

I’ve had this spiel for years about “position-less” basketball, beginning at the peak of powers for how the Warriors redefined basketball with Draymond Green moving down to the 5. Over the past decade, “position-less” basketball has evolved as the league has seen players with size come in with more skill. These bigs with a vast perimeter skillset were called unicorns, but it’s becoming normal. As a result, there’s a lot more versatility, interchangeability, and unpredictability in how teams can attack their opponents.

Enter Santi Aldama.

I’ve been beating the drum since the offseason about how Santi Aldama’s skillset doesn’t grow on trees. He’s a fluid forward that shoots threes, puts the ball on the deck, and operates creatively as a driver, finisher, and passer. He’s a legitimate dribble-pass-shoot seven-footer. It enables the Grizzlies to leverage his skillset in several components, since he can function as a forward, big, or wing.

“He’s a very unique wing because of his combination of length, athleticism, skill and vision,” Tuomas Iisalo said. “He’s able to get into the paint in a way that he generates pretty high shot quality but also low turnovers. To have that dribble penetration from position four, from a guy who still has vision.”

Aldama’s game is adaptable to any required action or situation. He shows the importance of stacking and linking skills with size, an important trend in where basketball is going.

---

A big component of Aldama’s game is his three-point willingness and accuracy for his size. The attempts are down compared to years past, but he’s still a 7-footer that shoots 4-5 threes per game. He’s hovered around 35 percent from three since entering the rotation his sophomore season.

With his size, he has a shot that’s hard to block, mainly shooting over defenders because of the height discrepancy. While he’s not a knockdown shooter, he’s a lights-out shooter in the corner. Among players with at least 40 three-point attempts, he’s shooting 55.1 percent on corner three’s — good for 3rd in the NBA.

He’s a good release valve in drive-and-kick situations, because he’s a willing shooter with solid accuracy and with a hard jumper to block. He also loops in a strong sense of spatial awareness when relocating to open space and shooting in movement.

What happens when defenses have to command a lot of attention to the shooter? Opportunities to attack closeouts. Aldama leverages the threat of his shot to create advantages off the dribble. It opens up the drive, and from there, Aldama can either get to the rim — where he’s been effective this season too. In the half-court, he’s making 67.5 percent of his shots at the rim. He also shoots 48 percent in the short mid-range — typically known as the floater zone — which ranks in the 93rd percentile among forwards, per Cleaning the Glass. His control and touch through contact have gotten noticeably better this season.

Now on the other side of his closeout creation, Aldama is a sound playmaker — a reliable creator when it comes to attacking closeouts, stringing actions together, and looking for high-value shots. He’s in the 88th percentile in potential assists per 100 possessions (89), per databallr. His most underrated skill of value is when you intersect his size and playmaking with his ball security. He sports a 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio, an assist percentage of 16.1, and a turnover percentage of 9.6.

Here are the only players 6’11” or taller in NBA history with assist percentage >= 15 and turnover percentage <= 10:

Lower the height, and it’s still impressive company. Let’s try 6’10” and 6’9”:

“My game is pure basketball, reads, and knowledge. Whenever I make decisions, it tends to be a good one, for the most part. On ball, off ball, cutting, screening, whatever puts my teammates in the best position. That’s the key, and that’s what we all got to do, regardless of where we’re at during the game. Just play the right way, and do what we’re asked,” Aldama said. “I just try to find ways to win, and sometimes it’s one thing, sometimes it’s another, I’m just trying to make the right read in every situation.”

Having a player of Aldama’s caliber that can shoot, attack closeouts, finish effectively near the rim, and make reads with a low turnover number is vital for an NBA predicated on creating advantages and maximizing possessions. Once he attacks closeouts, it triggers a power play where Aldama can find the highest quality look possible.

Frontcourt playmaking has been a vital component for teams that play and win in high-leverage basketball. Right now, Santi Aldama is the primary contributor in this category for the Grizzlies.

At the same time, Aldama has shown an ability to find the paint against a more set defense, and to turn a corner on drives. His Creation relative-True Shooting Percentage (C-rTS% — creation = isolations, post-ups, and pick-and-roll ball-handler) is at a +4.5, which is in the 88th percentile in the league.

His movement patterns are fluid and unorthodox — in a way reminiscent of former Grizzly Kyle Anderson, who had a similar funky style of play to find driving lanes and finishing windows near the paint. He knows how to make himself skinny in the middle of traffic. He’s also developed his slow-step as well to survey the defense for a scoring or a kick opportunity.

When you have a player like Aldama that has this fluid skillset, it creates interchangeability within different actions.

“His ability to fit into almost any offensive role, whether as a screener, as a spacer and even as a handler. It’s really a testament to his adaptability,” Tuomas Iisalo said. “He’s also put up some very big games because he’s developed into a really nice triple threat, whether it’s off the catch playing with those airtime decisions, making quick decisions off the catch, finishing over guys at the rim, taking shots, whether they’re open or contested, or finding guys because of his length when he gets into that paint.”

Back to the point about closeouts, he leverages the threat of his shot in transition to generate the defense’s attention and to easily score with a wide-open paint.

In transition, he can take on different roles. When it comes to initiating transition, he runs the floor well, can grab and go off rebounds, and either finish or make one more pass as a trailer.

Finally, the Grizzlies have two sets where a bulk of their offense comes from: Iverson and Flow. Within these sets, they also have a Get action they run for the guard to create after the ball reversal and screen.

Aldama has the size, versatility, and vision to operate the pick-and-roll in multiple capacities. He’s an effective pick-and-roll roll man because he can shoot or finish near the rim — converts on 1.333 points per possession with a 67.5 effective field goal percentage as the roll man.

The interchangeability and versatility can ultimately create different looks within the flow of the offense — whether it’s Aldama getting downhill, a shooter becoming more open after a smaller player sets the screen, or some big-to-big actions.

Defensively, Aldama has the most glaring flaws. He doesn’t necessarily hold up as a drop-big or rim protector. In space, he relies more on his size and basketball IQ to stay on an island, as his foot speed isn’t entirely the best. However, he’s still finding value as a help rim-protector and as an events creator. When merging his size, basketball IQ, and fluidity, he can come away with good blocks when defending drives or when rotating in help. Overall, he’s not a stalwart defensively, but still grades out as a pretty good interior defender:

Santi Aldama is an unorthodox forward that trends positionless due to the versatility he offers with his playmaking, finishing, and creativity. Sure, he has flaws — primarily with his defense and overall consistency, although the latter is a bit overblown. However, you won’t find many players of Aldama’s size with his skill set.

“He’s so much fun to play with because he can do so many things well,” Cam Spencer said. “He can shoot, he can pass, he can put it on the floor a little bit. You can’t really switch with him, because he’s seven-feet and get you under the basket and make some easy layups. He’s evolved so much over time, and it’s a credit to his work ethic, and he’s an even better teammate.”

Ultimately, Aldama showcases the importance of size and stacking skills. His fluidity enables a lot of his game. It’s activated most when he’s attacking closeouts, as teams have to respect his outside shooting with his volume and willingness. From there, he has improved touch and contact absorption to finish near the rim. In addition, he’s a creative passer that can make the right reads with a low turnover rate.

The intersection of these skills shows in how the Grizzlies operate their offense. They want to play fast, and in the half-court, they want to create advantages through interactions. When blending all of these together, you have: speed, advantage creation, possession maximization, and positional playmaking. All vital components for success in today’s NBA.

“I think basketball overall has gone, for a long time, into that direction that it’s more about the toolkits that the players possess instead of the positions that they play,” Tuomas Iisalo said. “Santi has a very unique toolkit that we try to utilize to the best of our capability.”

Santi Aldama’s ability to stack skills with his size and fluidity is an advantage for the Memphis Grizzlies, and resembles the direction in which the NBA is heading.

---

So like the Cam Spencer breakdown a month ago, I want to note several NBA Draft/college prospects that emulate these traits and skills. For this exercise, I pulled a list of players that were at least 6’8” or taller, possessed an assist percentage >= 15 with an assist-to-turnover ratio >= 1.5, and shot at least 5 three’s per 100 possessions.

Some unintentional but intentional Cameron Boozer propaganda, by the way,

These names were the most intriguing.

• Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan. Lendeborg arrived in Michigan from UAB after testing the NBA Draft waters last year. He’s become an even more complete player. Defensively, he’s incredibly versatile — he can contain drives and handle perimeter assignments, provides rim protection, and possesses quick processing for event creation. His rebound is down from sharing the floor more with Aday Mara and Morez Johnson, but he’s going to add value in the possessions game. He’s revved up the three-point volume, and although the percentage isn’t inspiring, the willingness is encouraging and will allow him to create when attacking closeouts. He’s a powerful finisher at the rim. He pops as a connector who can make the extra pass, create out of the short-roll, and initiate fastbreak opportunities. When it comes to stacking skills with size — especially considering his 7’4” wingspan — Lendeborg does that better than anyone in this class outside of Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson.

• Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State. Jefferson has been my biggest returning riser in this class. The increase in volume and steady accuracy from three is a catalyst for it. More importantly, his value as a point forward as a 6’9” player is vital to a powerhouse in Iowa State. He can run inverted actions in the pick-and-roll and off handoffs — keeping actions flowing with his ball-handling and vision. Defensively, he possesses great instincts and has a nose for the ball, contributing to the possessions game and sparking transition offense with his event creation and rebounding. He’s going to plug and play into a contending team so well and provide impeccable value on his rookie contract.

• Neoklis Avdalas, Virginia Tech. Arguably the biggest international prospect to come play college basketball this cycle, Avdalas is one of the best passers in the class — leveraging his size to see over small defenders, manipulating defenses with his vision, and demonstrating poise as an orchestrator. His movement patterns are so smooth for his size — showing in his handling, drives, and separation. His shooting and physicality are two main areas of improvement. Shooting inconsistency can hurt his viability off the ball, and his physicality prevents him from defending bigger opponents. Regardless, at 19 years old, he has intriguing skills to build upon.

• Alvaro Folgueiras, Iowa. Folguieras has an impeccable passing map for a player his size and knows the exact right read to make. He possesses great fluidity out of the pick-and-roll, and he’s a great release valve for drive-and-kick’s with his shooting. His defensive outlook is murky, but he’ll get NBA looks with his combination of size, feel, and shooting.

• Baba Miller, Cincinnati. Miller has been on my radar since Florida State, but hasn’t quite shown enough in previous years. However, he’s really popped when transferring to Cincinnati — primarily with his rebounding, finishing, playmaking, and shot-blocking. He’s not in the query due to his low three-point shooting volume (and accuracy leaves a lot to be desired), but he’s entered my radar as a possible two-way candidate.

If you choose to support my Substack, SubTsakalidis — aka “SubTsak” — follow this link to my Allie’s Allies St. Jude fundraiser page. If you choose to subscribe, all proceeds will go towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Follow me on X and Bluesky. Subscribe to my YouTube channel, SubTsakalidis Scouting.