David Nwaba
Of all the names on this list so far, David Nwaba is probably the least known. After going undrafted out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Nwaba has spent the last year in the NBA Development League with the Los Angeles Lakers D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders.
During his time the D-Fenders, Nwaba has made a name for himself. He’s not a prolific shooter (shooting 28.6 percent from 3) but he’s as good as it gets when it comes to attacking the rim.
Consistent theme with David Nwaba: dude does not stray away from what he's good at on offense. All at the rim. pic.twitter.com/Mzjv4ITk3N
— Ben Rosales (@brosales12) February 3, 2017
Nwaba is also an excellent defender, only trailing his 7-foot-3 teammate David Foster for blocks on the D-Fenders. His nearly 7-foot wingspan helps a ton with that. Nwaba’s solid all-around game is the reason he leads the D-Fenders with a +6.4 Real Box Plus/Minus.
While other D-Fenders like Vander Blue and Josh Magette are putting up the big numbers, Nwaba arguably projects as a better NBA player than both of them because of his intangibles. With the Lakers, he would have a carved out role as a defense-first guard.
If the Lakers don’t call him up before the end of the season, don’t be surprised if he gets a training camp invite when summer rolls around.