Why You Can't Forget About Jahmai Mashack This Draft Cycle

Forbes

3 days ago

Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee Volunteers.
While having a higher pick gives you a greater probability of landing a stud, it seems that every single year, one or two teams get lucky and uncover a gem in the second round/undrafted free agency.
Last year, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Jaylen Wells with the 39th overall pick and watched him finish third in Rookie of the Year (ROY) voting. The year before that, Toumani Camara was taken 52nd in the 2023 NBA Draft. Nowadays, his defense is being compared to the likes of Scottie Pippen. And the year before that, Andrew Nembhard – who just finished starting every postseason game for an Indiana Pacers' team that came within one win from the NBA title – was taken with the first pick of the second round.
Identifying which player will be the next second round stud is the million-dollar question every team drafting in that range is trying to answer, but if I were a betting man, I'd say a strong candidate to continue this legacy is none other than now-former Tennessee Volunteer Jahmai Mashack.
One Of The Best Defensive Prospects In The Draft
The one thread that connects the three players we cited in the lede (Wells, Camara, and Nembhard) is that they are all great defenders. This season, all three of them ranked in the 74th percentile or higher in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (per Dunks & Threes).
Coincidentally, that was Mashack's calling card during his four years at Tennessee.
"I say this with a lot of confidence, but I think I'm going to be one of the best defenders in the league right away," Mashack told me in an interview for Forbes. "I'm not saying this because I'm cocky. It's literally just the experience that I've had at the college level. I've guarded multiple NBA level players, but I've also handled a variety of different matchups and player archetypes (speedy guards, bruising bigs, etc.)."
When you look at the data, Mashack makes a great point. According to Bart Torvik, Mashack tied for fourth in the entire nation (with St. John's Kadary Richmond) in Defensive Box Plus-Minus (DBPM). He was also one of just ten players to have a block rate over 2% and a steal rate over 3.5% (minimum 70% of minutes played). If those pieces of information don't sell you on his splendor, he was also named a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year (along with his teammate Zakai Zegler) for good measure.
Another bow in Mashack's quiver here is that defense is back in vogue (or maybe it never left!). The Oklahoma City Thunder just won the 2025 NBA Championship on the backs of one of the greatest defenses we've ever seen.
"I watch a ton of film on NBA players," Mashack shared with me. 'I like guys like Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort Dort because they aren't just trying to get steals and blocks. They really want to get into their guy and contain the ball. That's what I hang my hat on. I don't want to just be the guy who gets the most steals or the guy who gets the most blocks. I want to be the guy who has more control over the possession than the offensive player. I want to be the one who dictates.'
Funny enough, both Caruso (undrafted) and Dort (undrafted) fall under the category of player we outlined earlier. Even more ironic is the fact that Mashack (6'4 and 200 pounds with a 6'8 wingspan) has a nearly identical physical build to Dort (6'4 and 220 pounds with a 6'8 wingspan).
Questions On Offense
The take that Mashack is one of the best prospects in this draft class is not an original one (as seen from the tweet above). That's not the reason that Mashack isn't getting any buzz as a first round pick. As it stands, the main concern around Mashack is his offense.
In his senior season at Tennessee, Mashack averaged just 6.0 PPG and shot just 35.1% from three on 1.5 attempts per game. On the surface, these aren't numbers that suggest an NBA-level offensive player. However, some context is needed here.
"I'll admit that I did shoot a low volume of shots in college," Mashack explained. 'But I don't think that's because I can't shoot. Rather, it was part of our scheme at Tennessee. My role was to be a lockdown defender. We had other guys who could take a lot of shots for us on offense."
'Anyone who has played with me knows that I am a confident shooter. That just isn't what my team needed from me at Tennessee.'
Even though Mashack is sure of his abilities as a floor spacer, he isn't content with them. During our conversation, he assured me that he's spent countless long nights in the gym perfecting his release – ensuring that he can get his jumper off swiftly and efficiently against NBA competition.
Regardless of how much more he can increase his offensive load, notice what Mashack said. He bought into his "role" at Tennessee. That is the key to being great at the next level. Not every player can be a 20+ PPG scorer. Throughout NBA history, all great teams have unselfish guys who are willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team (like Dort and Caruso did for the Thunder this past season). Mashack projects to be one of those players, which is evidenced by his being a recipient of Tennessee's Torchbearer Award – an honor given to student-athletes for academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to serving others.
At 22 years old, Mashack is already wise beyond his years. Pay close attention to how he speaks. In his answers to questions, he mentions things like "player archetypes" or making sure to "win/dictate possessions." These are buzzwords/phrases you often hear from basketball nerds such as myself. Mashack has the mind of a basketball scholar while also boasting the physique of a Greek God. As someone who has had the privilege of interviewing dozens of NBA players, I can tell you firsthand that this is a rare combination.
His agent, Noah Reisenfeld of Young Money APAA, shared with me that, during the pre-draft process, one general manager referred to Mashack as "the smartest player he's ever interviewed."
This postseason showed us that there will always be a place for intelligent, team-first players with the ability to defend and play with physicality. That is why, despite his place on some draft boards (ESPN currently has him at 98th), I am confident Mashack will carve out a nice career for himself at the next level.