Year Two: Harry Giles Unleashed

The 21 year-old will look to break-out in his second season of NBA action

After sitting out for the entire 2017-18 season, Harry Giles III made his highly anticipated debut for the Sacramento Kings last season.

Giles, the former number-one high school recruit, was held under a minutes restriction for the entirety of the season due to the rehab process of his right ACL. Giles had suffered the injury back in 2015 during his first scrimmage of the high school season. Three knee surgeries later, Giles suited up for Duke University, playing in 26 games during the 2016-17 season before declaring for the NBA Draft. Giles spent the 2017-18 season rehabbing his knee while building strength, something he hadn’t had the chance to do since suffering the devastating injury.

Last October, Giles said hello to NBA basketball.

Although it was a small sample size, the Duke alumnus put up respectable numbers while on the floor during his rookie season. Giles’ per game averages might look average on the surface (7.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.5 apg), but there is much more to Giles than basic per-game averages.

Over the course of the 2018-19 season, Giles averaged 14.1 minutes per game. That placed him below the likes of Corey Brewer, Justin Jackson, Troy Williams and Yogi Ferrell in minutes per game. This, of course, is largely due to the fact that Giles was being eased back into game action, seeing that he only played 11.5 minutes per game in his lone season at Duke before sitting out last season. What really paints a bigger picture from a production standpoint is his averages per-36 minutes:

Big minutes equals big numbers.

Over the course of his rookie season, Giles played 20 minutes or more only eight times. In those eight games, he averaged 13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. In the other 50 games that he appeared in, Giles appeared in only 19 minutes of action or less. If the green light is given in year two, expect Giles to produce at a high clip.

Skill Set

In 2018-19, Giles showed that he has a knack for scoring near the rim. From three-to-ten feet from the basket, the 21 year-old shot 41-percent. For comparison, that is a higher average than DeAndre Jordan, Clint Capela and Andre Drummond (minimum 110 attempts). Giles has taken a liking to the floater, a shot that Kings fans saw often last season:

Of course, Giles’ greatest skill is scoring at the rim. Last season, he was very effective when scoring at point blank range, converting 68-percent of his chances at the rim. This was largely due to Giles being useful on the lob-pass during a fast-break or pick and roll:

When it comes to stepping out away from the basket, Giles has an incredible ability to pass the ball. His 1.5 assists per game rank himself among the top-10 on the Kings roster. If he decides to hold onto the ball, Harry showed flashes of his mid-range game, something that he, in all likelihood, will improve on as time goes by. Last season, Giles shot 39-percent from 10-to-16 feet from the basket.

After showing Kings fans what he can do in a small sample size, expect the second-year big to make a leap in 2019-20. With over a year-and-a-half of rehab and rest under his belt, Giles is ready.

For Harry Giles III, the time is now.

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