Fabian Kayser Scouting Deepdive
Fabian Kayser is one of the top prospects in European basketball right now. Let’s dive in.
2009-born German wing Fabian Kayser, who stood out in this year's FIBA U-17 World Cup and U-16 European Championship tournaments, and who attracted attention with his transfer from Paderborn to Real Madrid's youth team, started the new season at Torneo Internacional Junior Ciutat de Torrent with the Real Madrid U-18 team.
He will play for the same team as Sidi Gueye, Declan Duru, Gildas Gimenez, Maximo Garcia Plata and Andrej Bjelic. The future is here!
In these three tournaments, Kayser has shown impressive performances at times but has also learnt to react quick in the face of some disadvantageous situations.
So, what are the 15-year-old Kayser's on-field qualities that stand out so much already? Let's take a look together.
Awareness
One of Fabian Kayser's most praiseworthy qualities is his awareness, which he never loses on the court.
You don't even need to be locked in on him at certain moments while watching his matches to realise that his anticipation and tracking are at a good level.
When he is without the ball in half-court attacks and defences, his sense of the game's flow is at a very high level.
When he doesn't have the ball on offence, he always moves in a way to slip by the defence, and he doesn't forget to position himself well in order to take advantage of any shooting option that may arise. This brings a lot of fruits to his game, such as the ability to find extra good shooting opportunities and the ability to mix up offensive rebounds. This grants him qualities such as adding up on quality looks for himself and mixing things up on the offensive glass.
In terms of spacing, we are talking about a wing player that a head coach would definitely want to see in his team, a player who can stretch the floor and make the most of the opportunities he gets.
On the other end, it should be mentioned that he has good potential in help defence thanks to this awareness. The way that he chases the ball-handler or the player who cuts to get the ball, shows that he is keen on defending a certain way.
At one-on-one defence, he can be slow on his feet at times but despite these deficiencies, he is not bad defensively. Furthermore, physically, he can become a good defensive candidate as well.
In the video below we will see some highlights of Kayser's defense:
The fact that he moves all the time should also be attributed to this awareness. He is one of the players who runs the most and takes good positions in transitions, on offensive and defensive transitions both.
Vision
In these transitions or fastbreaks, if he’s the one handling the ball, he also has good vision. It is not limited to transitions. He also has good vision and game awareness when he directs the ball in half-court attacks. He can feed his teammates well.
It should also be said that he can also operate pick and roll plays well in the moments that he handles the ball. He is very suitable to be a complete winger on offense.
After these screens, if he attacks the rim as a ball handler, his repertoire is quite rich. With his drive and kicks, he can find the shooter positioned outside or go directly to the hoop with the help of his physique and finishing.
However, he can sometimes make lazy passes in such situations. As a consequence of being too relaxed in terms of his playing characteristics, he can cause turnovers.
Scoring
In terms of scoring, it is not easy to say that he offers a seriously explosive potential for every match.
But Kayser's touch is very good. His shooting mechanics also look very clean. His footwork, release and balance are really good for his age. I don't expect him to have problems with scoring in this context.
He also has the profile to be fed by the team's primary ball handlers. In the Torrent Tournament games with Real Madrid U-18, he was mostly not used as a ball handler, but this tournament showed that he is a perfect fit as a catch & shoot scorer too.
To make definite judgments about his offence, we need to see more and more challenges in which he will take the reins.
Moreover, he needs time to develop into a complete scorer. Considering that his handle is also not at the top level, it will not be enough if he only has a better physique than his peers.
He’s quite a valuable prospect even at this stage, but he must add new scoring weapons besides his physical qualities that close the gap with his older peers. Although it is questionable how much he’s able to utilise his physicality on offence. He needs to be less contact averse and be more involved with the ball. The Real Madrid youth system offers a difficult but reliable ground for Fabian to face this challenge.
Physique
Considering that he is only 15 years old, Fabian Kayser's physique looks very promising for the upcoming years. Compared to his peers and many other wing players like him, his girth, wingspan and height seem to be the physical characteristics that make Kayser stand out for now.
Offensively, his footwork, which allows him to change direction quickly while dribbling, diversifies his game. From time to time, he can also take advantage of his footwork in post-up situations.
At one-on-one defence, his stance seems to be problematic and his foot speed is insufficient for a good defender. However, it is also a fact that he takes bumps well in transition defence and screen exits.
Summary
Kayser has maturity beyond his age in terms of the character of his game. However, he has a long journey ahead of him before he can showcase new utilities that may surface, the elements that he can develop in his game, and the skills that we have already mentioned that he is already good at.
Although it is too early to comment on his participation in the NBA Draft and his possible selection there, this early look at the German wing player has given us some food for thought.
As Fabian continues his journey at Real Madrid and with the German youth national team, it will be exciting to follow his career development, the challenges he will face and the effort he will make to overcome them.