National Basketball Association

Atlanta Hawks Prospect Watch: Marcus Eriksson

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Atlanta Hawks have a total of four players under their draft rights stashed overseas. How is Marcus Eriksson faring with FC Barcelona?

The Hawks selected Sweedish swingman Marcus Eriksson with the 50th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. He was coming off an ACL tear in Barcalona’s 2014-15 season, but his previous time and physical traits made him a Hawk draft pick regardless. The season before his injury, he played for La Bruixa d’Or in Liga ACB. He was the third-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game, and was one of only six players on the team to play in over 30 games. Doing all of this at the age of 19 will surely rise your draft stock.

The EuroLeague is commonly known as the second-best basketball league in the world, behind only the NBA. Barcelona, while known as a soccer powerhouse, is also a great basketball club. The team has had a number of sucessful NBA players come through their program, like the Gasol brothers and Ricky Rubio. Is Eriksson playing like a future NBA stud like his predecessors?

2016/17 Per Game Averages: 0.6 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.0 assists in 6.5 minutes

Well, no. At least not yet. In limited minutes, Eriksson hasn’t had nearly enough time to showcase his abilities. Though he has played in all five games so far, he has yet to play in more than 18 minutes, which was by far a season-high. His scoring high so far has been three, which came against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade on October 26th.

An hand injury to Victor Claver, who had started four of the team’s first five games, will hopefully open up Eriksson’s minutes. Claver is expected to be out for about four weeks, and in the event that Eriksson stars in his place, he may play well enough to take Claver’s spot permanently. Along with Claver, Pau Ribas, Shane Lawal, Justin Doellman and Juan Carlos Navarro have all found themselves injured recently, which is a great sign for Eriksson to receive more playing time soon.

Eriksson is a shooter, to say the least. An example:

When he is given the chance to play, either on an NBA level or with Barcelona, he will be on the court to shoot to the lights out. At 6’7″ with a pure jumpshot, it seems reasonable to compare him to a current Hawk: Kyle Korver. Right now, it is unfair to compare the two. Korver has had over 12 years of NBA action to show off his shooting prowess, while Eriksson has played less than six years overseas. But with a couple more seasons of seasoning, there is no limit to what Eriksson could end up doing for the Hawks.

Best Marcus Eriksson Video of October:

As a disclaimer, this was also one of the only Eriksson videos of October. Nevertheless, we will enjoy this future Hawks presence on our screens. Here, we can see Eriksson showcasing his deep-range ability. He begins the video by introducing himself, then proceeds to shoot half-court shots for 30 seconds. He goes on to his three out of five shots from half-court, then points into the camera and says something obviously tailored for the Spanish audience.Next: Dwight Howard Proving the Skeptics WrongBe sure to return next month for another edition of Atlanta Hawks Prospect Watch: November Edition to keep up with Marcus Eriksson and his ever-developing game.