What will EuroLeague star Kevin Pangos bring to an NBA team?

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Cavaliers guard Kevin Pangos

Kevin Pangos is a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Pangos has agreed to a two-year deal with the Cavs.

Following four seasons at Gonzaga, Pangos went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. He's spent the last six years overseas playing for Gran Canaria, Zalgiris Kaunas, FC Barcelona and Zenit Saint Petersburg. He earned an All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2021, as well as an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2018. 

Born on Jan. 26, 1993, Pangos will turn 29 years old during the 2021-22 season.

What will Kevin Pangos bring to an NBA team?

Pangos can shoot, first and foremost.

Since going pro in 2015, Pangos has attempted around half of his shots from the 3-point line while connecting on 41.7 percent of those opportunities. He's coming off of a season in the EuroLeague in which he averaged a career-best 5.8 3-point attempts per game and knocked them down at a 39.0 percent clip.

In addition to being able to operate off-ball as a spot-up shooter...

...Pangos is a threat to pull-up, making him a dynamic pick-and-roll scorer.

According to InStat, Pangos generated the bulk of his offence (47.7 percent) out of the pick-and-roll last season. Not only that but there were only two players — Vasilije Micic (216) and Wade Baldwin IV (209) — who attempted more shots than him (206) out of the pick-and-roll.

In addition to being able to punish teams for going under screens from 3-point range, Pangos is comfortable shooting from midrange. His size (6-foot-2 with a 6-foot wingspan) limits him in the paint and he doesn't get to the free throw line much, but he can score over bigger defenders with floaters.

While Pangos hasn't been the most efficient scorer inside the 3-point line in his career, he shot a career-best 52.2 percent from 2-point range in EuroLeague play last season.

Those same skills made Pangos one of the EuroLeague's leading isolation scorers last season. He might struggle to consistently break defenders down in the NBA — his size and lack of burst were concerns ahead of the 2015 NBA Draft — but he makes up for some of his physical limitations with his ability to shoot off the dribble at a high level.

Pangos averaged 13.5 points per game in the 2020-21 season, a career-high that ranked him 18th in the EuroLeague. He also dished out 6.6 assists per game, another career-high that put him behind only Alexey Shved (7.7) and Pierria Henry (7.3) for most in the EuroLeague.

Pangos turned the ball over a decent amount last season (2.9 per game), but he rewards teammates for running the floor and thrives as a facilitator out of the pick-and-roll. He pairs well with rim-runners and has good vision on drive and kicks.

Between his shooting and the tempo with which he operates, the spacing and speed of the NBA would play to Pangos' strengths on offence.

The other end of the court is the bigger question for Pangos, because he lacks the size and length to be a multi-positional defender. He competes defensively and moves his feet well, but he's someone teams would likely look to target when he's on the court. It wouldn't be as big of a factor if he were to compete against mostly backups, but it could be an obstacle in him earning more minutes.

Joining a team that can surround Pangos with plus-defenders would go a long way in easing his transition to the NBA.

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Author(s)
Scott Rafferty Photo

Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News