NEW YORK — If Olivier-Maxence Prosper decides to do something, he's "all-in," he said. And it's hard not to believe him. The draft prospect out of Marquette had just stepped off the court at the office of the National Basketball Players Association, where he was giving 100% of his attention to the kids participating in a Jr. NBA clinic, and turned 100% of his attention to this interview. In a small corridor leading to the locker room, he was talking loudly, like he really means it.
Prosper was not supposed to be here. And not just in the broad, overcoming-the-odds sense. Almost exactly 24 hours earlier, ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported that he had been issued a last-minute invitation to the green room. This meant he had a whole new schedule. Prosper got a haircut in the morning, not just for the draft the following day, but for the photoshoot, media availability and "content circuit" that he completed before heading to NBPA HQ with other top prospects.
When Prosper's name was called with the No. 24 pick on Thursday -- drafted by the Sacramento Kings, reportedly traded to the Dallas Mavericks -- it was the culmination of a draft process that saw his stock skyrocket like no one else's in his class. On May 16, the night of the lottery, ESPN ranked him 56th in their mock draft. On June 1, after a strong showing at the combine in Chicago and his decision to keep his name in the draft, he was up to 28th. By the time his schedule blew up, he was 20th.
Even though he initially held on to his college eligibility, Prosper approached the draft process as if there were no turning back.
"I'm not going to tiptoe or be like, 'Oh, let me see.' No. I'm like, I know I'm better than a lot of guys that were at the time projected above me. And I'm like, I'm going to show them. I'm going to show them who I am and I'm going to go up this draft. And that's what I did."
Part of his rise can be attributed to him scoring 21 points in 22 minutes in the first scrimmage at the combine, with seven rebounds, a block and a steal. NBA executives, however, typically know better than to overreact to one game. The whole story is much more compelling.
Plug, play, prosper
Prosper made some moves off the bounce at the combine, but he did much of his damage by simply being more active than everybody else. "A lot of it was just the energy and the hunger that he plays with," Chris Ebersole, the NBA's head of elite basketball, said. To Prosper, this is why he'll be able to help a team immediately.
"There's a lot of things that I do that I feel players don't necessarily pay attention to," Prosper said. "Like, they feel like they should come in and score 20 -- nah, that's not what it's all about. It's how can you come in and help a team win and impact the game. You see a guy like Christian Braun with the Nuggets, he earned his minutes by doing the little things. I'm a guy that's going to come in, that's going to defend multiple positions, that's going to play hard, that's going to cut, that's going to finish, that's going to rebound. All the things that can bring a lot of value to a team even if they've already got two superstars."
Funny he should mention Braun, who, like Prosper, played three years in college and impressed at the combine. The Denver Nuggets picked him No. 21 last year, and, leading up to the 2023 draft, they've made multiple trades in hopes of drafting more rotation players on rookie contracts. For winning teams with steep payrolls, this is one way to deal with the new collective bargaining agreement, which comes with harsh penalties for franchises that overspend.
Braun did not make an All-Rookie team, but he helped the Nuggets on both ends in the NBA Finals. Similarly, Prosper profiles as someone who can "contribute tomorrow," Ebersole said. "He could play in a playoff series and give you good minutes, with great energy, great defense, versatility and solid offensive play."
At Marquette, Shaka Smart's coaching staff tracks what he calls "EGBs" (energy-generating behaviors). "It could be a high five, screaming, slapping the floor on defense, anything that brings energy to your teammates, that lifts the team up," Prosper said. The idea is that, if you're consciously trying to bring energy, the team will be be more connected. Prosper fully bought in.
"You're never going to question the baseline with him, in terms of the work ethic, the energy, his attitude," Ebersole said. "All those things are non-negotiables for him."
Interviews = opportunities
The buzz about Prosper wasn't just that teams loved his game; it was that they loved meeting him. Ebersole, who first got to know him in the summer of 2019, when Prosper participated in Basketball Without Borders in Medellin, Colombia, said that it was obvious that he'd excel in interviews.
"He puts a smile on your face when you're talking to him," Ebersole said. "He's just such a good person to be around. And he's also extremely thoughtful and wise and mature, kind of beyond his years. He understands how to be a great teammate, how to be a leader within a team."
Later that summer, Ebersole spent time with Prosper and his family, talking about the NBA Academy program. Prosper had already left his hometown of Montreal to play at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, and he was considering moving all the way to Mexico City to level up at NBA Academy Latin America. "He was clearly very focused," Ebersole said, and decided to make the jump with the long view in mind.
Ask Prosper about his time in Mexico City and he'll tell you the move, the long days and the competition all made for a tough transition, but that was the point. "I needed to be challenged to grow my game, to find that next level, to find that extra in me," he said. Ask him about his one season at Clemson, in which he averaged 9.7 minutes, and he'll tell you that it "didn't work out the way that I wanted back then," but it was "an extremely big growth experience for me." That season taught him "how to manage emotionally" when things aren't going your way.
Prosper approached the draft with professionalism. He wanted to show teams a side of him they couldn't see on film.
"Everything you do in the process is important," he said. "From interviews to how you play on the court to how you engage with the people you meet. And that's how interviews are opportunities. You don't only draft a player, you draft a person as well, and you want to bring high-character people, people who are going to elevate your culture and bring positive vibes and energy to the team."
'I will only grow'
For prospects whose main selling point is being able to play right away, there is usually a trade-off: They won't get much better. Prosper, however, has made it his mission to show the NBA that he can handle the ball and shoot better than he showed in a limited offensive role at Marquette.
"I've got significantly better each and every year, and that trajectory is going to stay the same, even in the pros," Prosper said. "Just because of the work I put in and my work ethic, the way I'm determined, the way I feel like I'm never satisfied, the way I'm disciplined about doing what it takes. And by having that mindset, I will only grow. The player I will be in five, six years is not the player I am now, and I know that."
Shortly after Prosper's performance in Chicago, Ebersole started getting texts about him from NBA teams. As impressive as all the points were, though, Prosper insists he wasn't even focused on scoring.
"My mindset was I'm going to go after it with everything I have and focus on the things I can control. Go in there, be the loudest guy in the gym, be the hardest worker, talk, play defense, rebound, do all the little things that I know I can control and let everything else be. And by focusing on that, I was able to score 20 and do all the things I did."
A year ago, Bennedict Mathurin, a fellow Montreal native and NBA Academy alum whom Prosper has known since they were kids, told the Washington Post that LeBron James would "have to show me he's better than me." It is not Prosper's style to make that kind of declaration, but he relates to the mentality.
"We used to talk about being on this stage together since a very young age," Prosper said. "Me and Benn never had no clout, no glamour coming out of high school. We were in the shadows, but we had to work in the dark. And that underdog mindset from where we come from has helped us get to where we are now because we have that mindset of like no matter who's in front of us, we're going to go after them."
Prosper is nice and polite, but has an edge. He's ready to play, but he's far from a finished product. He said he knows he'll find his way in the NBA, and, once again, it is hard not to believe him.