2. Andrew Bogut
Before the knee injuries caught up to him, Andrew Bogut did the Milwaukee Bucks logo proud by running the floor with the quickness of a 7’0″ deer. After the injuries, however, Bogut remained an elite rim protector, tremendous rebounder, and generational passer.
Kyle O’Quinn isn’t quite as athletic as a pre-injury Bogut, but he has the raw tools to be the same type of center as the Australian big man was for the Bucks and Golden State Warriors.
At his best, Bogut was a dominant rim protector who averaged 1.9 blocks per game and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes between 2007-08 and 2015-16. He also averaged 9.3 rebounds per game and 11.6 rebounds per 36 minutes during that time frame.
Those numbers are comparable to O’Quinn’s, but they came with more significance and substance due to Bogut’s superior defensive fundamentals—fundamentals that can be acquired.
Offensively, Bogut’s finishing ability was of a high caliber, and his passing ability bordered on being unparalleled. In many ways, Bogut was Marc Gasol before Marc Gasol; a player whose versatility was in no way limited by the fact that he wasn’t a Dwight Howard level athlete.
O’Quinn compares favorably to Bogut in a number of ways. His best bet is to learn from what made Bogut a genuinely feared defender for the better part of a decade.