The Alamodome was witness to a monumental upset in the Final Four as Houston eliminated the mighty Duke. The Cougars’ intimidating pressing led to errors on Duke’s part as Kelvin Sampson’s team ended the game on a 9-0 run. J’Wan Roberts had his fingerprints all over the action as he drew an over-the-top foul from national sensation Cooper Flagg towards the end of the game and sent Houston ahead 67-68..

According to The Athletic, when Duke called a timeout to draw up their final play, Roberts made an unusual and bold request in the Houston huddle: he didn’t want any help. He was ready to take on Flagg one-on-one. Roberts then took on the challenge of guarding the 2025 Wooden Award winner and came up with a stop, stamping the Cougars’ ticket to the championship game.

Averaging 10.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, J’Wan will now end his 6 years long college career, hoping to fall under the radar of the NBA scouts. His current draft projections have him as the second-round pick.

5 teams where J’Wan fits into the jigsaw

1. Phoenix Suns

The Suns do not lack scoring options by any means, featuring the trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. But having one of the worst defensive ratings in the NBA, it would benefit them to acquire a player who displays defensive versatility and is willing to do the dirty work for a team loaded with stars.

2. Nuggets

The Nuggets only have DeAndre Jordan behind Jokic to play the center, and while Zeke Nnaji helps, a player like J’Wan Roberts would certainly help take defensive burden off of Nikola. With the Joker as his mentor, J’Wan would also have the opportunity to develop his perimeter offense, which has been a point of concern for the scouts.

3. Warriors

While the presence of Draymond Green alone makes for a good destination for J’Wan to continue his development, the Warriors system makes the fit even better. The Warriors like playing small ball, often deploying Draymond as the center and benefitting by running the floor. Steve Kerr’s system also deploys a lot of dribble hand-offs and screening action, prompting even their bigs to make decisions on offense. All of the things J’Wan has been doing at Houston for a while now.

4. Jazz

Number one priority for the Jazz heading into the next season has to be their defense. Ranked worst in the league on defensive rating, they also have a lottery pick in the draft which they can surround with a hard-nosed defender in Roberts.

5. Rockets

While Houston is already enjoying a good season on both ends of the floor, another defensive addition would help create depth on a young squad that is the second seed in the West. Valuing defensive versatility under Ime Udoka, Rockets could acquire J’Wan and have him develop alongside All-Star Alperen Sengun. A solid young core that is proving their mettle in the league, J’Wan’s development could be positively affected playing for a team that offers stability and patience in the long run.

Who is J’Wan Roberts’ player comparison in the NBA?

Standing at 6’8″, Roberts is an undersized center who makes up for his lack of size with heart and resilience. A versatile defender who is ready to do the dirty work for the team, his role is becoming increasingly more appreciated in the NBA. Combine that with his ability to execute the right passes as a big and perform dribble hand-offs, there’s a lot of upside to the prospect if his perimeter offense can improve heading into the league.

A fitting NBA comparison would be Defensive Player of The Year frontrunner Draymond Green, who is also undersized compared to the bigs he often guards and is adept at making decisions on the offensive end for the Warriors. Owing to his good playmaking, Warriors enjoy the luxury to run split actions through Draymond, trusting him to make the right read. Although Green is listed at 6’6″, it is his 7’3″ wingspan that enables him to eliminate passing lanes. Playing for Coach Sampson all his career, J’Wan would know the importance of a big’s wingspan.

“One of the first things we do when we bring a kid on campus is we measure their wingspan because of how we play pick-and-roll defense,” Sampson said. “There’s a lot of 7-foot kids that are very lumbering. They have a hard time moving. Those kids would not function well in the way we play defense.” It is no doubt that J’Wan’s has continued to develop year-on-year and the expectations placed on him in Sampson’s system made him the versatile, quick big that he is today. Just like Draymond, Roberts never shies away from guarding the best players on the opposing team as seen in their Final Four matchup against Duke.

While the comparison to Draymond is sure to delight J’Wan, he must keep in mind the role Draymond Green has carved out in the league is a result of years of determination and hard work. Dray was selected with the 35th pick in the second round and as J’Wan is expected to face a similar fate, he must draw lessons.