Xavier Cooks Is An NBA Player, Even If The NBA Has Not Noticed This Yet

Having spent his college career in the Big South Conference, Xavier Cooks passed largely under the radar.

He had put in production across the board, averaging 17.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.1 blocks per game as a senior, doing so in a slender 6’8 frame that should translate to the professional game. But the Big South is the Big South. Outside of the realm of pro scouts, few would have noticed.

Nevertheless, enough of said scouts noticed for Cooks to get some NBA looks. Upon graduating from Winthrop in the summer of 2018, he went to summer league with the Golden State Warriors, and came back for a second summer league stint the following year, this time with the Phoenix Suns. As Juan Toscano-Anderson proved in his fairytale rise to the rotation with the same Warriors team that had Cooks on its radar, if you have an NBA physical profile, you will be found. And Cooks does.

Aside from spending his first season in Germany, Cooks’ professional career to date has taken place back in his native Australia, where he is in his fourth year as a member of the Sydney Kings. Over the course of those four years, he has grown further as a player, and particularly offensively; the rather unique per game averages of 6.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game of his first season now give rise to 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game so far this year.

Furthermore, in addition to the added output, he has become Australia’s highlight reel. Big dunks are becoming a regular occurrence, and with his NBA length, athleticism and burst, he can crush it on anyone. So, he does.

Beyond his NBA physical profile, Cooks brings skills to the table as well. With a decent-enough handle for a face-up four man (and/or more traditional small forward), Cooks can run, post, shoot a bit, and has excellent passing vision to hit other cutters. He can be the one others drive and kick for a drive of his own, or the one doing the driving and kicking. He can be the one running the lane in transition, or the one leading it. Cooks rolls, runs, moves off the ball, attacks the rim, attacks the glass, posts the smalls, drives closeouts by the bigs, and passes on the move better than most forwards. Without being a go-to guy, he is always into something.

Cooks is also always into something defensively, too. With a history of having to defend the paint due to his time in the Big South, he takes charges in the lane, and outside of it, his good length and activity make him a threat to deflect. He can be backed down by bigger opponents, but he is invariably quicker than them (at the Australian level at least), and he times everything well. Those hands get everywhere. With good length and great hands, Cooks fronts and anticipates, is always aggressive, and his hands get everywhere.

If the above sounds something like the skillset of Giannis Antetokounmpo, then I got carried away. Cooks is best in space with time to drive; his handle is not too tight in traffic, he does not have the strength or skill to much seal and finish or create down low, and the snatchy shooting form means jumpers will likely always be an occasional part of his arsenal. Despite the burst, he does not have the power of a Giannis type, and he never will.

The aforementioned Toscano-Anderson, though, would again serve as a decent comparison. And precisely because of that, there is no reason that Cooks could not occupy a place on an NBA bench just as his Mexican forebear does. After all, now aged 27, he is about the same age that Toscano-Anderson did it too.

Because it ends far sooner than every other basketball league with an autumn start date, the Australian NBL is uniquely positioned. Players can sign up for a season in Australia, complete it, and then still come over to join an NBA team for the final stages of this, just as Andrew Bogut did in the 2018/19 season.

I am not saying that Xavier Cooks will do the same. But I am definitely saying that he could. And if he can, he should.