Labaron Philon: Do it All Facilitator or Star Creator?
Philon was the floor general for an Alabama team that made the Elite Eight in his first year. But is there more than meets the eye?
Labaron Philon might be the single most interesting long-term prospect in this entire draft. As a firm believer that guards must have an elite/dynamic handle in order to be a star in the NBA, I rarely find players with the level of ball control and pace that Labaron Philon possesses. I feel that a lot of evaluations of Philon consist of a “false ceiling”. There is definitely a chance that Philon is one of the best players from this draft, so let’s get into why this is the case.
Basic Stats (2024-2025): 24.7 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 1.7 TO, 45.2% FG
Pros:
Possesses a unique combination of pace and handle
Elite ability to change the speed he is playing at: Very good at catching defenders off guard by decelerating and then bursting out of that in his attacks
*I wish Philon used his speed and took guys off the dribble more. In Alabama’s system, he primarily operates as a facilitator and connector, but he has shown flashes where he keeps the ball on a string and is able to leave defenders in the dust.
Good pick & roll facilitator
Consistently generates paint touches out of the pick and roll
Has a good understanding of driving angles and uses his handle well to create advantages and break the paint
Stays very controlled, allowing himself to play off of two feet in the paint
Has a very nice floater/runner that he can go to
1.19 PPP on runners (95th %-tile) via Synergy
Passing out of the pick and roll
Averages 1.009 points per possession on plays where he passes out of the pick & roll (82nd %-tile)
Able to free up the rolling big by leveraging his ability to break the paint, forcing the defending big to commit to him on drives.
(1.081 PPP on pick and rolls where the defense commits (89th %-tile))
Transition efficiency
25.5% FGA in transition (97th %-tile) & 60% FG (73rd %-tile)
Is able to run out and finish at the rim in transition
Has a variety of different euro steps and floaters, and he likes to use one-on-one when in transition
Transition passing
Able to initiate the break straight off of getting a rebound
Good at throwing passes to teammates in stride. Whether it leads to a transition three or a layup, Philon locates his teammates and gets them the ball quickly
Solid positional defender
2.9% steal percentage (82nd %-tile) and 1.3 steals/game
Aggressive at the point of attack. Will pressure very high up and even right out pick the pocket of opposing ball handlers
Active hands, particularly off the ball. Good at using his length to poke out or swipe down at the ball when he is in help defense
Good instincts: Good at forcing turnovers when the offense is in a scramble. Actively chases down the ball, and always looking to get steals in the passing lanes
Solid positional rebounder: 4.1% offensive rebound pct (72nd %-tile), 3.2 rebounds/game
Good at staying out of foul trouble despite being a more aggressive defender: 1.7 personal fouls per game, Personal foul efficiency of 1.00 (92nd %-tile) → the ratio of steals + blocks for every personal foul
Cons:
Physical profile
Philon’s frame raises questions regarding his ability to defend and score effectively at the next level
Defensively, he has to get better at fighting through screens. Can get overpowered by stronger guards, and also a potential liability on switches.
Offensively: Can be over reliant on touch due to not being a great athlete, raising questions about whether he can finish effectively at the next level.
Athletiscm
Not the best vertical athlete
Below the rim finisher, who is more of a finesse finisher
Shooting concerns
Shooting Breakdown:
Shooting 29.6% on all threes on 3.3 attempts/game: NBA league average for point guards is 35.5% on 4.3 attempts/game
27% on threes off the dribble: Struggles to create separation to get this shot off. Has a slow pick-up off the dribble, limiting the speed of which he can get his shot off
32.4% on catch & shoot threes: Philon has to be able to make these shots at least a league-average efficiency
Shooting Mechanics
Philon has a 2-motion shot that takes a while to get off. He needs to work on his shot preparation so that he can get his shot off at the next level
A lot of his threes are not normal catch-and-shoot shots or threes that come directly after he comes off a screen. Usually takes the three as a last resort
(Ex: When Philon comes off a screen, you can tell that he isn’t hunting the three. He will take a couple of seconds to dribble around and then shoot it if the defense gives it to him.
Philon may get to a point where he can make catch-and-shoot jumpers at a decent rate, but he needs to develop to the point where he is hitting shots off the dribble to become a star guard
Final Take: On Alabama, Philon was used in a connector role as a pure point guard, which is his most likely outcome in the league. However, I can see a world where Philon becomes a lower-end All-Star guard because he possesses a unique combination of ball-handling, pace, and handle that you simply cannot teach. I have consistently been left impressed in the moments where I have seen Philon put the ball on the floor. His change of pace and herky jerky style is one of the most advanced I have seen from a guard his age. If he is ever able to learn how to consistently knock down shots off the dribble he will vastly outperform his draft projection.
Draft Projection: Mid to late first round
Player Comparison: Ayo Dosunmu, Nickeil Alexander Walker, Clippers Shai