Noam Yaacov is a confident point guard that can run a team. He is small, tricky with the ball, and posted outstanding efficiency in a lower level of competition than the top tiers of the NCAA. Yaacov played in the BNXT League, the combined professional basketball competition for Belgium and the Netherlands. He averaged 17.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 36.6% from three-point range and 77.2% from the free throw line. At 6'1" with a 6'2.25" wingspan and 185 pounds, Yaacov is very small by NBA point guard standards. Our study of NBA playoff starters showed the average point guard at a 6'7" wingspan and 200 pounds. Yaacov can play. The question is whether he can exist with a 6'2.25" wingspan in that environment. Yaacov posted a 2.35-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, showing legitimate point guard command. He also had a plus 0.6 DDiff, plays with toughness, and will fight through screens. He jumped a 38" max vertical at the G League Elite Camp, so there is some athletic pop despite the lack of length. The most likely next step is that Yaacov plays at the University of Utah in 2026-27. There is an interesting wrinkle here. As an auto-eligible player, he can be drafted and then effectively treated as a draft-and-stash prospect, but instead of staying overseas, he would remain in the United States and play college basketball. There probably comes a point in the second round where Yaacov makes sense as a selection. The NBA team would hold his rights without needing to roster him this season. If he turns out to be great in NCAA play, you welcome him in for 2027-28. If he turns out to be too small, you keep it moving.
