Adam Atamna is France's new best hybrid guard prospect
For my first piece I decided to present one of the most interesting prospect in the blooming French core as he accepted to open up about his game for us.
I was able to sit down and talk with the best 2007-born French prospect making waves in the French Third Division at an astonishingly young age, Adam Atamna.
Atamna; a tall, versatile guard who stands 6-foot-5; proved himself to be a solid shooter with a high feel for the game and able to make plays and hold his own on the defensive end. Atamna is playing for LyonSO in NM1 and already has an important role (17.3 MPG) coming off the bench in an ambitious squad.
After dominating Espoirs Elite play at 16 years old, Atamna was sent to LyonSO by ASVEL as part of their collaboration aiming to give playing time to young players who wouldn’t get the opportunities otherwise with ASVEL’s first team. Players like Romain Parmentelot and Noah Manet were a part of that program.
“Felt like going to LyonSO was the right move for me because I wanted to go play against adults and be introduced to professional basketball as soon as possible,” Atamna said. “Playing like an adult played a huge part in my decision and I also felt like it was a great starting point and will serve as a stepping stone for high-level competition”
Atamna came and made his presence felt early and is now the third-highest scorer on his squad. He has enjoyed playing in an environment that permits him to truly enable his skills.
“I feel great here, the coaching staff is great and the team is overall super young so it was easy to settle in,” Atamna said. “I was able to get my bearings pretty quickly and get respected by my teammates and my coach from the start so the environment couldn’t be better.”
On the court, Atamna’s an efficient scorer, capable of scoring in catch-and-shoot situations, creating his own shot on-ball and attacking the rim off the catch. There is still room for improvement concerning his outside shot but the tools are there. His shot mechanics are very academic, his touch around the rim is already very solid and he converts his free throw attempts at a high rate (13-15 in 7 games this season).
“I’ve been working on my outside shooting with my dad (former professional player and skills coach for ASVEL) since I was a kid,” Atamna said. “I’m currently working hard on it to be as constant as possible and will continue to do so.”
Then as a guard that could develop as a full-time point guard in the near future, he needs to be able to create not only for teammates but for himself. As of right now, he’s shown flashes of it but Atamna’s not there yet, which is fine considering how young and advanced he is.
There are two main axes I would like him to develop. First is his handle, which, even if it’s sufficient for him to be a threat on-ball, tightening it up a bit could be huge for his development. The second would be to try and create a bit more separation with his first step. We’ve seen flashes of it off the catch but seeing him doing it on-ball instead of coming out of dribble hand-offs or playing off pick-and-rolls would be a major development.
Then finally my favorite part about his scoring game is how he’s able to read defenders easily and attack quickly off the catch. For example, when you’re watching the tape you see him being extremely efficient against closeouts because, 1.) he’s a good driver, able to absorb contact while still having a large physical margin of progress considering his age, and 2.) he’s also a threat behind the three-point line so the defenders are forced to close out aggressively permitting him to attack them even better.
When he attacks the rim off the catch, he showcases potential as a pull-up midrange threat. All the shooting tools are there and even if he had “bad misses” in his first couple of games, it still looked as if it was just a matter of being a bit more acclimated to his body and trying to be a bit calmer when he’s taking pull-up shots. There’s also a lot to like with what he’s shown as an off-ball cutter. He really knows how to be forgotten by defenders and attack the rim with tons of energy.
“I try to not think too much on the court and base a major part of my decisions on instinct,” Atamna said. “I feel comfortable reading how far the defender is from me to make my choice of either shoot it or drive it and then I’m just reading first and second-level help defenders to know if I can finish to the rim or if I got to make a pass.”
To finish with the analysis of his offensive game, Atamna is already a solid passer and makes his reads from essentially two types of plays: pick and rolls and live dribble passes when he’s driving.
When he’s on-ball in the backcourt a lot of his team’s plays include pick-and-rolls, and not just when he’s on the court, their scheme, in general, is very pick-and-roll centered. He’s been able to feed his big men when in that position, although more on-ball reps could make him take a big leap this season.
Then, as Atamna said, he’s at his best driving to the basket. He has a sufficient handle, even good for his age, and his live-dribble passing abilities are extremely advanced, as he can get the ball out of his hands quickly and read both levels of help defenders at a high rate.
One of the things I seek out when focusing on a prospect is his ability to get rebounds. On the defensive glass, he’s very disciplined, boxing out even when his man is away from the basket and his verticality allows him to grab rebounds on his own. But where he’s really interesting is on offensive boards. He likes to sneak into the pack to either toss the ball out of the paint or grab it, and I see it as a great trait to have in your game at such a young age.
Finally, on defense even if there were some interesting point-of-attack plays from Atamna. He excels at disrupting the offense when defending off-ball, and if he continues reading the game at this rate his defensive playmaking potential could reach the sky very quickly. Sometimes he struggles against more shifty guys because of some naive errors, but that’s inherent for a guy his age.
During his seasons with ASVEL’s Espoirs team, he also showcased some rim protection flashes as a guard, and if he successfully shows those flashes with LyonSO, his defensive profile would take a whole new dimension.
Overall, Atamna projects as another name on the ever-growing list of French prospects with high-end upside. He has room to grow, but that’s what’s most exciting about his game. Born in 2007, there is a lot to look forward to with the young guard, as he continues to show out against players much older than him.