Person of Interest: Raptors’ No. 27 pick Cameroon's Pascal Siakam [+video]

Just a couple hours after taking Austrian big man Jakob Poeltl ninth overall, the Toronto Raptors appeared to go off the board a bit with the No. 27 selection to take Cameroonian forward Pascal Siakam.

Here’s what you need to know about the second first-round pick made by Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri that made basically everyone go, “Wait, who?”

Name: Pascal Siakam
Position: Power forward
Height: 6-foot-10 | Weight: 227 pounds
Drafted: 2016 – First round, 27th overall by the Toronto Raptors
2015-16 collegiate stats: 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 54.9 FG%
While a Cameroon native, Siakam played his college ball at New Mexico State where he was recruited to after moving to the United States at age 16 in order to devote himself to getting a basketball scholarship and earning a professional contract one day.

As such, he isn’t a complete greenhorn project the way Bruno Caboclo was when he was first drafted in 2014. Siakam does have a ways to go from a development standpoint, but he has been playing high-level basketball for the past two seasons.

Did the Raptors really go that off the board?
In short, yes.


According to DraftExpress.com, Siakam was the 52nd best prospect out of the top-100 2016 prospects and in mock drafts was expected to be picked in the early-to-mid stages of the second round. The Raptors, on the other hand, ended up taking him in the first.

Granted, it was very late in the first round, but that’s about 15 picks higher than he was projected to go.

Compound this with the fact projected lottery picks Deyonta Davis, Skal Labissiere and Dejounte Murray were all still on the board and you have a recipe for a classic reach.

The Raptors may not have had a second-round pick, but that doesn’t mean they should’ve went out and got a second-round prospect.

He’s not without pedigree
With that said, however, that isn’t to say Siakam is talentless. Far from it, in fact.

In his two seasons at New Mexico State, Siakam ended up being named WAC freshman and WAC player of the year, respectively.

As previously stated, despite the pick being a reach, this isn’t a Caboclo situation where the prospect Ujiri is bringing in has next to no high-level basketball experience, yet alone accomplishments.

In the two seasons Siakam played with the Aggies he showed real shot blocking instincts, something that will instantly draw him comparisons to Raptors free-agent-to-be Bismack Biyombo, who is also an athletic, all-energy, shot-blocking big man.