Kelly Olynyk
Toronto Raptors

Player Facts

Height: 6'11"
Weight: 240lbs.

Wingspan: 6'9.75"

Date of Birth: Apr. 19, 1991
College Experience: Gonzaga (3 years)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 4
Physical Strength: 8
Positional Size: 9
Positional Wingspan: 6
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 6
Three-Point Scoring: 7
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 7
Perimeter Defense: 3
Interior Defense: 7
Rebounding: 6

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Hybrid Big

> Half-Court Node

> Screen-and-Flare

> Rim Pressuring

> Can I Keep It?

> Favorable Back-Downs

> Defensive Contributions

> Disappointing Rebounder

> Defensive Limitations

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

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*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

The Canadian-born player is a combo big man with a diversified offensive skillset. That ability to pass, dribble, and shoot at his size has helped Kelly have a long career. Defensively, he can be matchup-dependent and lacks traditional athleticism but is not a clear negative by any means.

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Hybrid Big

The Gonzaga product has always been an offense-first big man. He is capable of soaking up minutes at the four and five, opening up interesting lineup constructions. He's played beside stretch fours, screen-and-dive centers, and everything in between.

Back in Miami and Houston, he would play a bunch of minutes at the four in addition to his bulk time at center. Due to personnel, he was a full-time five during his Detroit Pistons tenure. Now, in Utah, he spends some minutes again at power forward on a roster that also includes versatile bigs Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler.

Half-Court Node

Olynyk can be used as a transitional node within any given half-court set. His instincts and feel for the game also allow him to work nicely in read-and-react systems. He is a genuine triple threat at 6'11" by being able to shoot, play-make, and put the ball on the deck.

Kelly will often be situated at the top in 5-out or 4-out-1-in spacing. He does a great job of keeping his peripheral vision open to slips and basket cuts even while being in the midst of a primary action. For instance, he may be used in a DHO but will audible and find his backdoor cutter if that materializes.

Olynyk is also a nice next-passer in swing-swing situations or off the short roll. The speed at which he makes these decisions stands out. Impressively, he does not sacrifice discernment with this swiftness, perennially a positive AST/TO guy.

He'll provide in the neighborhood of 3.5-5 dimes per-36 minutes. That is a solid figure for your near-seven-footer. 2021-2022 saw him sandwiched between Steven Adams and Jusuf Nurkic with 7.6 assist points created per night.

Kelly continues to serve as grease in the half-court by being an intuitive off-ball screener with a big body. He will seal would-be help defenders in the lane to wall them off and clear the runway for penetrating teammates. He is also a nice flare screener who becomes a quick threat by slipping to the rim after these picks.

Screen-and-Flare

Kelly can score himself when put in the right positions. One of his pet plays is a simple screen-and-flare into an ATB three. He does a good job getting out of the screen quickly.

Combining 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, he's been hovering around 40% on his catch-and-shoot jumpers. Besides pick-and-pops, he can simply be a spacer in the offense that defenses will respect. Another hat he can wear is the open-court trailer.

Rim Pressuring

A huge value-add for Kelly is that he can legitimately attack a closeout at that size. These rack attacks are slower and more deliberate than most, but they work all the same. Olynyk can then score will all manner of flip shots and layups/dunks around the rim.

Olynyk can also get going toward the rim courtesy of hard rolls. He has phenomenal hands and remains light on his feet once he makes the catch in traffic. He stays calm and collected after receiving the rock against a converging defense.

Another important feature of his offensive package is his ability to be the handler in pick-and-rolls some. This isn't a high-volume component of his game but he's shown an ability to be a threat in these spots. Big-small or big-big ball screen actions can be dangerous with Kelly surprising defenses as the key-holder.

Can I Keep It?

Kelly is one of the league's best with the DHO-keeper move. Dexterity, real ball skills, actual danger as a passer, and great feel meld to make him viable here. Rumbling to the cup from here can allow him to finish and/or earn trips to the foul line.

Favorable Back-Downs

Kelly O. will dribble into post-ups when he likes the switch. This sounds like a rudimentary skillset, but many seven-footers lack the ball skills to continuously pull this off. The ability to commence a back-down by going outside-in all by himself is key (as opposed to requiring a sometimes-risky post-entry pass).

Olynyk has proven to be a reliable scorer in single coverage down low. He has great size and touch to employ on the block. Kelly likes to crab dribble while visually scanning the floor to maximize his options until the very last moment. Deep seals for easy scores are in his aresenal too.

By the numbers, Kelly blends reasonable volume and efficiency with his back to the basket. 2021-2022 saw him finish up his season in the 73rd percentile as a post-up scorer. Olynyk's 1.02 points per chance bested players like Jonas Valanciunas and Bam Adebayo.

The Canadian pivot's selflessness continues on his post-ups, where he gets rid of it early to crank open advantages for pass-catching teammates. His legitimate scoring threat on post mismatches means help will likely be sent from the weak side. Kelly proceeds to find cutters and opposite shooters with a surprisingly high level of precision.

Defensive Contributions

On defense, Kelly knows where to be and how early to get there. He is one of the most optimally positioned defensive bigs consistently and will give you multiple smart, calculated efforts. Sure, he isn't much of a shot-blocker, but he will maximize his gifts by at least being a cumbersome physical presence in the paint.

Kelly instead exchanges swats for ground-bound rim protection. 7.1 contested two-point shots was the figure for both Anthony Davis and Kelly Olynyk (2021-2022). He also has nice hands which he'll use to be a disruptor at his position (lives around 1.5 plucks per-36).

He gets big and will often tally charges in the lane too. Kelly drew 22 charges across 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. That combined total is three shy of the legendary team defender Draymond Green. He rounds out his defensive toolbox with firm post-resistance against like-sized players.

WEAKNESSES

Disappointing Rebounder

Often living on the perimeter on offense and being strung out on defense, Kelly is not consistently in positions to be an impact rebounder. Cleaning the glass is not a core component of his game. Better than middling defensive rebounding would help him pack on some value to what is also a mediocre defensive resume.

An outside-in offensive style means that Kelly is not always in the fray for second-chance points. In fact, 2021-2022 had him in just the 40th percentile for putback scoring productivity.

Defensive Limitations

On defense, he can be exploited in space. He's definitely not horrible, but speedier perimeter players will look to pull him out and can get by with relative ease. Defensive limitations in this vein have always been prevalent in some form of fashion for the NBA-relatively unathletic Kelly.

While Kelly is often right on the scene in help-side scenarios, he cannot always make a tangible difference as a rim deterrent. He's a true 6-foot-11 but actually possesses the rare minus-wingspan. His 6'9.75" reach resembles that of a big guard/wing rather than a five-man.

He is huge but his first jump is non-elite and his second jump can take a while to load up. These things also lead to a very troubling fouling problem for the former Bulldog. 2020-2021 saw him finish with the fifth-most hacks leaguewide. 2022-2023 has him again at the top of these leaderboards.

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Beacon Bacon

Kelly was one of two Canadian-born players selected in the lottery portion of the 2013 NBA Draft