Kam Taylor is Ready for Takeoff

Highlighting why Florida State's Kam Taylor could be the 2027 NBA Draft's breakout commodity

The modern landscape of the NBA has indoctrinated a clear process as to how it goes about scouting prospects. Players who can blend both high-end athleticism with legit ball skills tend to separate themselves from the general pack, and those who have those gifts on top of analytical prowess are the ones who rise to the top. However, trying to project the development of prospects across years and spot breakout candidates can be a bit more difficult of a task. It would be easy for me to list off all of the typical names when it comes to returning prospects in the 2027 draft — the Tyler Tanner’s, Pat Ngongba’s, Braylon Mullins’ — the guys who have already proven themselves to be NBA-level talents. However, those guys weren’t in last year’s draft for a reason. Each of the guys I mentioned at one point or another considered making the NBA leap, but chose to stay in college because of the feedback they were given.

And although it makes complete sense for a player to go this route — getting feedback from the ultimate decision-makers and improving their games based off of it — I don’t necessarily see a clear path for any of them to boost their stock and leap into lottery discussions. No matter how much Tanner improves as an off-the-dribble shooter and playmaker, he is still going to be a pocket-sized guard who doesn’t have true go-to option juice as a creator. Ngongba could very well become a more consistent threat on both sides of the ball and have a clean bill of health. But he is also going to have to compete with two incoming freshmen with stellar talent looking to do anything in their power to take his job. In Mullins’ case, I question what else he can prove. Even if he does shoot the cover off the ball, prove he can make plays as a second-side creator and give impactful minutes as a defender, he will still be locked into the mold of a 3-and-D player. I am by no means counting any of those three out as prospects or NBA talents and can see a clear path to success for each of them at the next level. They just don’t possess the things I’m looking for when trying to find the 2027 draft’s true breakout star.

Every class has one — a returner who was relatively unknown the season prior and makes the leap into stardom. Finding said player is no easy task, as oftentimes they are just that, an unknown commodity. However, each player of the past that has fit this billing has left clues. Whether it was Johnny Davis, who showed immense flashes as a freshman and earned a chance on the FIBA U19 team, or Cedric Coward, whose steady rise to stardom could be tracked step by step all the way back to his freshman year at DIII Willamette University. Even last year’s draft had guys like Morez Johnson, Aday Mara and Dailyn Swain who had always hinted at the upside they had, but needed a change of scenery to fully extrapolate the value that lay within them. In this upcoming cycle, I expect no different — a guy who has proven what he can do on a smaller stage taking the leap of faith, betting on himself and hoping that his new home can take him to the places he wants to be. No reason in hiding the name anymore, as after all, you clicked on the article. My number one breakout candidate for the 2027 draft class: Florida State’s Kam Taylor.