After meeting with teams and seeing what he needed to work on, Keisei Tominaga pulled his name out of the NBA draft to return to Nebraska for his senior season. Tominaga, known as the Japanese Steph Curry, already has some NBA-ready skills. But he probably would not have been drafted had he left college. His return gives him another chance to improve his game and enter a much weaker 2024 draft class.
Could Tominaga be drafted in the summer of 2024? Here's why he should be on NBA teams' radar, and what he needs to get better at in order to get his name called next year.
Keisei Tominaga is already an NBA-caliber 3-point shooter
Tominaga could go into the league tomorrow and be one of the better 3-point shooters in the league. He got to ring a bell during his Pacers workout as part of a tradition that they extend to players who hit at least 20 of 25 3-pointers during practice.
pre-draft workout No. 2.📸@NerdWallet | #GoldOnTheClock pic.twitter.com/SwukDHipS9
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 30, 2023
Tominaga hit 40 percent of his 3's as a junior at Nebraska. That should translate directly to the NBA because many of his shots are already coming off NBA-style movement and sets. That is in large part due to former NBA coach Fred Hoiberg, who is coaching Tominaga at Nebraska.
Zoom action is an extremely common set that every NBA team runs. It requires coming off two screens before catching the ball. Tominaga is already very adept at shooting off this action, and his extremely quick lefty release allowed him to get his shot whenever he wanted.
Many players take a while to adjust to the additional distance of the NBA 3-point line as compared to college. This shouldn't be a problem for Tominaga, who is comfortable shooting from Curry range.
Speaking of Curry, that is Tominaga's favorite player. Curry's influence shows up in Tominaga's game. Nebraska runs him in similar actions that have become Curry staples, such as elevator screens and relocation 3s where he passes the ball off to get it back for a 3.
Tominaga even threw in a lookaway 3 during the season, turning his head away from his shot as he let go of the ball as Curry has become famous for doing.
Keisei Tominaga has good feel
Tominaga wasn't just a shooter at Nebraska. He was also able to get to the rim off smart cuts and by pushing the ball in transition. He relies primarily on a hesitation dribble and a lefty floater that he can get off from as far as 15 feet.
Tominaga isn't going to be breaking down defenses too much on his own, but he does have good touch around the basket and can capitalize when he sees an opening.
Keisei Tominaga's lack of size and strength are the biggest challenges that he must overcome
Keisei's father Hiroyuki is a 7-footer who played professionally in Japan for 10 years. If Keisei had inherited his father's height, then he would be a first-round draft pick. Instead, he stands at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, making his path to the league a difficult one.
Of the 539 players that appeared on an NBA roster in 2023, only 54 of them were 6-foot-2 or under. The lack of size presents an issue on the defensive end, and Tominaga acknowledged as much after his Pacers workout.
“Defense stuff or physical stuff. Those types of things, I need to get better still," he said.
Tominaga does have decent footwork and fights hard to stay in front of players. But he struggles with physical matchups, and players can shoot right over his defense.
Players like Curry have turned themselves into solid defenders at the NBA level by getting much stronger. Tominaga is going to have to add a lot of muscle to his frame in order to hold up in the NBA.
Keisei Tominaga has great intangibles
Tominaga has quickly become a fan favorite at Nebraska because of the infectious energy that he plays with. He's not afraid to show some positive emotion after big plays. His teammates are constantly rooting for him to succeed, and his coach has raved about him throughout the year.
“Keisei’s played on the biggest stage. I think that’s the reason why he’s such a confident player and never backs down from anybody," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg told the Big Ten Network. "He represented his home country in 3-on-3 [olympics], where he was the best player on the floor.”
Tominaga also has excellent sportsmanship, winning the Charles Sesher award given to the player demonstrating the best sportsmanship through his actions toward teammates, coaches, opponents and officials while playing for Ranger College.
Tominaga has already worked hard on his game to become one of the best players on Nebraska's team. He will have to continue to improve, but teams are always looking for shooting. If he can show that he's not a defensive liability, then he will have a chance to get drafted next summer.
