Player Facts
Height: 6'10"
Weight: 279lbs.
Date of Birth: Aug. 10, 1993
College Experience: UConn (1 year)
Selections
All Star: 2
All-NBA: 1
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 4
Physical Strength: 9
Positional Size: 8
Positional Wingspan: 10
Paint Scoring: 10
Midrange Scoring: 2
Three-Point Scoring: 1
Dribbling: 5
Passing: 6
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 8
Rebounding: 10
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STRENGTHS
Intro
Andre Drummond is a full-time center with solid size and great length. His meal ticket is his historically great rebounding on both ends. The 6'10" five-man is also impactful as a shot-blocker, rim finisher, and putback point producer, with a dash of playmaking.
Unique Physical Toolkit
The UConn product stepped into the NBA with ready-made tools to play in the frontcourt amongst men. His weighty 279 lbs. body still housed enough athleticism for him to show up in the Slam Dunk Contest a few years later. His huge 7'6.25" wingspan was the longest in a draft class that included guys like Anthony Davis.
Generational Rebounder
Any analysis of Andre's on-court impact should begin with his rebounding prowess. A terror on the boards, he has had numerous years of 13+ rebounds averaged with a few 15+ campaigns. Team-wise, he's collected 50%+ of his squad's boards while he's on the floor in multiple seasons.
Interestingly, while perpetually among the league leaders in boards, that isn't always the case for box-outs. Rather, he resides within the narrow role of simply the player who grabs the rebound. Andre provides major surplus-value on the boards matter how you slice it.
His rebounding technique must be highlighted. He typically starts by walking his man under the rim with his body while refraining usage of his hands. With his man out of the way, Drummond will use his bounce and huge reach to go up and get it with either hand before quickly bringing the second hand over for security.
The former Husky has produced video game-type numbers as a rebounder. Dating back to when tracking data in this capacity began (2012-2013), he has led the league in contested rebounds per game all the way into 2019-2020. That level of dominance is rarely seen and is impressive no matter the statistical category.
Second Chance King
Multiple efforts are an integral part of being a prolific rebounder. Andre does this with a penchant for offensive rebounding in this fashion. He can grab boards, then score, against multiple bodies down low.
His second chance scoring is arguably his most valuable offensive skill. Between 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 he led the league in total putback points thrice. He's a classic power finisher here and on offense in general.
Dunking Habits
Drummond is one of the game's most frequent paint point-getters. He should and usually does look to jam it every single time he can. He does also have soft touch off the glass for bankers when the dunk is thwarted.
Drilling down, his scoring volumes in the key are impressive. Drummond was third in the league in both 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 in paint points per night. 2021-2022 had him at 5.8 paint points a night, equal to the likes of Wendell Carter Jr. and Joel Embiid.
Back-to-the-Basket + Rolling
Andre's self-created scoring continues in the post. He backs down with his size and can flip up a jump hook on either block.
He'll sprinkle in a quick move to drive by his man when he thinks he's faster. Using both hands well, he had 220 post points in 2018-2019 which bested Montrezl Harrell, Jusuf Nurkic, and Kevin Durant.
Andre Drummond is a capable dive man albeit not a lethal one. He has good enough hands to catch low passes yet can be a lob catcher for you too. His short roll passing here is pretty good though.
Generating Offense
He can initiate some DHO and other offense for you at the pivot. Andre dimes up cutters while scanning out of the elbow or nail areas. The man can even lead a break for you competently with some skillful hit-aheads to sprung teammates.
His shot creation for others becomes more desirable once you stack it up to other big men. With the expectations far lessened relative to guards and wings, Drummond's facilitation stands out. He generated a usable 395 points for teammates in just 59 games during 2019-2020.
Propensity for Steals
Drummond's perhaps the league's best steals guys within the big man pool. He was fifth in total steals across 2018-2019 and sixth in 2019-2020. The big man also recorded north of 200 deflections during each of those seasons respectively.
Andre is able to be such a defensive playmaker, specifically with the steals, thanks to his length and active hands. He outstretches his arms while backing up to contain the pick-and-roll.
A huge chunk of his swipes/deflections takes place in this commonly defended action. He'll even jump a passing lane here and there like a guard.
Guarding post-ups serves as another spot for potential steals for him. He's got the hand-eye to offer a quick yet accurate swipe down at the instant his man turns towards the basket. Andre collects some of his nightly swats through possessions that commence as post-ups as well.
Help-Man Denials
He is not an elite rim protector, but rather a block-piling machine mostly as the help man. More often than not, his presence will cause opponents to shoot a lower percentage than they normally do at the rim.
The fact of the matter is he's in a class of defensive anchors a tier below the likes of Rudy Gobert or Myles Turner but with the sole swatting portion of their value intact.
All in all, Andre's combination of physical tools, outstanding rebounding, raw defensive playmaking, and decent work containing screen-and-rolls produce a valuable defender. His mobility is good enough to answer the call when things are demanded of him.
WEAKNESSES
Ugly Shooting
Drummond offensively is a throwback, non-shooting center which comes with its spectrum of limitations. He has zero range beyond the paint. This observation is resoundingly supported by the numbers as well.
Just like how a sharpshooter from the field is more than likely a killer at the stripe, the reverse phenomenon holds true for Andre. With his wonky free throw form that uses too much guide hand, it's tough to see that translating to the field when the shots are further and the defenders present. The 6'10" center resides in the 50%'s at the line with multiple sub-40% seasons.
Other Offensive Troubles
Somewhat shockingly, he isn't as accurate a finisher in and around the cup as you'd expect. He tries some tough shots around the rim that can even end in close-range air balls. It would also be nice if Andre had a few more dependable post moves beyond his hooks.
His 2017-2018 to 2021-2022 seasons all included a sub-64% clip at the rim. To put that into perspective, John Collins and Clint Capela were up over 69% in most to all of their seasons during that timeframe.
Rounding out his offensive problem areas are some turnover tendencies. He can hold the ball for way too long with nothing developing as precious seconds dwindle off the shot-clock. Drummond will also attempt to squeeze in passes to cutters that require an elevated skill level. In 2019-2020 he was 12th in the league in turnovers.
Wilting
He can play a little soft against the league's tougher five-men. They tend to get the best of him in head-to-head matchups. Some skills are in there to hang with a lot of these guys but unfortunately, Andre can get stuck in his head at times.
This fault in his game bleeds into his work in the post. His big, strong body and plus-plus length would suggest he'd be a near-elite post defender at least.
This tends to be untrue, however, not providing enough physicality in a lot of these matchups. From 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 he was in the 49th, then 17th, then 36th (2019-2020 as a Piston) percentiles for post defense.
Defensive Limits
Some other defensive woes include streaky effort levels, some over-fouling, and moderate switchability at best. Andre is typically within the top 10 or top 15 for total fouls committed in a given season.
This stems from some overzealousness in the paint and some poor positioning sometimes. Moreover, that big body is not ideally suited to guard perimeter players in space which leads to some rough defensive sequences.
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Players Appearing Here – Check Out Their Profiles
- Anthony Davis [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Wendell Carter Jr. [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Joel Embiid [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
- Montrezl HarrellOpens in a new tab
- Jusuf Nurkic [Coming Soon]Opens in a new tab
- Kevin Durant [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
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