[The following scouting report is part of a series on potential 2023 draft prospects from Sports Business Classroom alumni.]

Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Frame: 6’7″ 210 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Marquette
2023 Draft Age: 20
Stats via www.sports-reference.com

Offense

Prosper’s appeal offensively comes from his athletic versatility as a play finisher. He is an above-the-rim finisher who can operate as the screener in pick and rolls and navigate open spaces around the rim to get open looks. Capable of finishing with either hand, he is dangerous when attacking closeouts.

Prosper will straight-line drive into open space and get an attempt off before the defense can rotate to him. It is common for him to fly over two defenders around the rim for a flush. This past season for Marquette, he shot 68.8 percent at the rim on 141 attempts, according to www.barttorvik.com. 

A positive development for Prosper has been his jump shot; despite the percentage only climbing from 31.7 percent to 33.9 percent, he took 115 threes this past season compared to just 60 in 2021. 

His shooting form has noticeably improved, utilizing a higher release with his guide hand more aligned with the ball until his followthrough. He is readier to shoot when open with his feet parallel—although his guide hand could use more work preventing wild shots. Shooting could be a potential swing skill to monitor.

Prosper doesn’t put the ball on the floor well. If caught in traffic or a defender swipes at the ball, he is vulnerable to cough it up. When he attacks off the dribble, he generally puts his defender on his back and utilizes his size to back them down and get to the rim. However, he wasn’t asked to be a key ball handler in college, which won’t likely change in the NBA. 

As a result, his facilitating isn’t a strong suit, as his clunky ball handling can cause trouble, leading to him missing open looks for his teammates. When Propser is attacking in space, he can find the open man in the corner, but he will not thread any needles or manipulate defenders to create open looks for others. He averaged 0.7 assists and had a 4.0 assist percentage this past season.

Defense

Prosper is tantalizing as a versatile point-of-attack defender. Shaka Smart employed Prosper as his stopper defensively, at times disregarding the position of the opposing player. His length and agility made him a pest for lead guards, picking them up as soon as they crossed halfcourt.

The struggles for Prosper on the ball come when he is put in a ball screen, as he has a difficult time maneuvering around them, as his lower body seems to freeze up, usually creating an advantage for the opposing team as his big man is left on an island with a ball handler. Or Prosper himself is stuck on a big man where he mightily struggles. His off-ball screen navigation is slightly better, as he does a better job of using his tools to get around screens, but it can be a step or two late to close out on his man. 

Despite his length and size, Prosper struggles to give any sort of resistance to big men in the post. Often he is overpowered and is left to foul his man. He does a better job of contesting their shot attempts when they elect to face up instead of keeping him on their backs, but adding proper weight to his frame should be a priority for Prosper going forward. 

Prosper’s lack of production via turnovers is alarming as well. Despite being a good defender on the ball, he rarely looks to pry the ball loose. This stays true when he is positioned as a help defender, too, he rarely uses his speed and wingspan to jump passes, and he chooses to stay put and wait till the ball arrives to his man. He also offers little to nothing as a rim protector, hardly ever roaming around the rim when on the weak side, and doesn’t come over to contest shots at the basket much. This should be better, given his 35-inch standing and 40.5-inch maximum verticles, which all ranked amongst the top four in this draft class. He also finished amongst the top 5 in lane agility at 10.59 seconds and shuttle run at 3.00 seconds. This past season, he averaged 0.9 steals and 0.1 blocks, with a 1.8 steals percentage and 0.5 block percentage.

Looking Ahead

Prosper is an intriguing prospect with his potential two-way versatility. His prowess as a play finisher, both inside and out, and strong on-ball defense paired with an elite physical profile should warrant an NBA team taking a chance on Prosper developing into a rotation player in the future. For this to happen, he must maximize his athletic tools defensively and continue to improve as a shooter. 

Prosper projects to be an end-of-the-rotation or G-League player to start his career, as his weaknesses hinder his ability to be an immediate impact player. But as he improves, he could become a longtime pro that impacts both sides of the ball.