Profile
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
Guard/Wing
Kansas
6’7″, 210 pounds
Wingspan: 6’4″ (NBA Combine)
7/10/97 (Senior)
Big Board Ranking: 56 OVR, 21 WING
Bio
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, or better known as Svi, was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine. He was a professional basketball for Cherkaski Mavpy and known as a sharpshooter. While he decided not to take the direct NBA route, Mykhailiuk’s two college choices came down to Virginia Tech, and The University of Kansas; he chose Kansas. During his senior year, which was his most productive at Kansas, Mykhailiuk averaged 14.6 points, two rebounds, and two assists, while boosting his career average to 40 percent from three-point range. His career at Kansas came to an end at the Final Four with a loss to eventual national champion, Villanova.
Strengths
Mykhailiuk is a very underrated athlete, with the ability to create crafty European style finishes on his own, and out-of-the-gym leaping ability with his 37-inch vertical jump. Mykhailiuk has incredible footwork that he’s worked on since he’s been at Kansas when he arrived at sixteen years old. Aside from this, he may be the best shooter in this draft class. Mykhailiuk came into college with this reputation, and he got better each and every year.
On the defensive side of the ball, Mykhailiuk uses his foot speed and impressive lateral quickness to stay in front of his man, and can also use his height and frame to his advantage. For example, in this years NCAA Tournament; Marvin Bagley’s main defender was Mykhailiuk, and he was held to only scoring four points on Mykhailiuk, and Mykhailiuk that entire game only gave up six points.
Weaknesses
Although he can shoot at a very high clip, Mykhailiuk is not very adept at being able to shoot off of the dribble. He doesn’t have a sufficient enough escape dribble to create separation against noticeably bigger defenders no matter what division in the NBA he happens to land in. Mykhailiuk tends to also get cut on back cuts when he is covering offensive players in the corners, and when the ball isn’t in his hands on offense, and there is no screen set for him, he has a tendency to get stagnant and somewhat hinder the motion of the offense of Kansas.
Best NBA Fits
Philadelphia 76ers
With the Sixers having six draft picks upcoming, the front office has more than enough time to go pick up Mykhailiuk, who can bolster their shooting along with J.J. Redick, Dario Saric, and Robert Covington. The addition of Mykhailiuk would probably boost the Sixers team three-point percentage and would give them the much-needed shots that could have pushed the Celtics to at least six games in this past year’s conference semifinals. Couple the addition of Mykhailiuk, with the possibility of signing LeBron James in free agency, Philadelphia could possibly put the league, even the Golden State Warriors on notice.
Golden State Warriors
As if one of one of the best shooting teams that the league has ever seen needed any more firepower from three-point range. With the Warriors having to probably release players that they signed for the veteran minimum, this could leave some room to sign Mykhailiuk to a short-term rookie deal. As he once said in an interview at Kansas, he reminds himself of Klay Thompson when he gets hot, and to his credit, the comparison is accurate but on a smaller scale. Having a Klay Thompson 2.0 on the team is a viable option to possibly three-peat, barring Golden State finishing off Cleveland.
Los Angeles Lakers
Drafting Mykhailiuk would improve the Lakers young core, and would give himself to have plenty of open looks playing with a pure point guard like Lonzo Ball, along with a guard who likes to also look for open teammates as well in Isaiah Thomas. Pairing him with the likes of Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma, they have a lot of young guns who are ready to compete. Pair that up with the possible addition of Paul George, the Lakers can set up a serious playoff run in the years to come.
Overview (Written by Ben Pfeifer)
Svi Mykhailiuk is a good shooter and a good athlete with great defensive potential. He fits the mold of a modern Three-D wing, making him very valuable.
