By Artau Pascual
Maxime Raynaud has been one of the most dominant bigs in College Basketball over the last two years. The 2003-born, 7’1 French Big has played all the cycle for the Stanford Cardinals, and he has fully earned the NBA Draft prospect consideration. Raynaud figures in the NBA Draft Combine invite list. In his Senior season, he averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, alongside a 35% 3PT on over 5 attempts per game.
The last two seasons have been really useful to evaluate him because, simultaneously with his individual improvement, we have seen him being the head of the table under two systems that played through his skillset differently. At the end of the day, however, if we had to describe why Raynaud is such an appealing player for an NBA team, we would say it’s because of the floor-spacing variety he brings in and how he can impact the game by playing face-up and not slowing down the ball. Raynaud’s processing speed and tactical flexibility jump off the page immediately.
RAYNAUD’S LOW-HANGING FRUIT
Raynaud’s shooting approach is optimal for him. His footwork preparation is about a Left/Right stop and his mechanics are compact: lower body energy transfer looks good, and his moves are not segmented at all. The main difference from the 2023/24 season to the 2024/25 season is that, while two seasons ago, there were just many indicators that he had the projection to be a stretch-big type of player and the shooting volume was decent enough, in the season that recently ended shooting turned into the epicenter of his game without harming the rest of his contribution. He increased both volume and effectiveness.
Most of his shots are the type of shots you can expect from a conventional big: spot-up and pick&pop looks that come off good ball movement and ball-screen actions. Raynaud logged an impressive 37/80 (46%) on spot-up threes in the 2024/25 season. However, as said, the most appealing part of his shooting ability is what it draws and how it boosts his contribution.
Raynaud is the best big at attacking the closeout in this Draft class, and he’s also probably the best I’ve seen in the last years. His balance and fluidity at putting the ball on the floor - fueled by the fear his shooting ability creates - are unique in the class, and will translate perfectly to an NBA court.
Raynaud has a perfect foundation to produce off closeouts because of his blend of straight-line speed, footwork variety both in tight and wide spaces -which is unique in the 2025 bigs class- and touch. He’s not an explosive player or a powerful leaper, but his strides are controlled and vary according to the type of space he has in front of him, and he moves in a smooth and coordinated way. The part that shocks the most of his game in this area and can turn into a difference-making attribute at the NBA level is the footwork one. It’s abnormal to see a 7’1 player being able to operate so comfortably off different stops, changing the pace and direction on the drive as he does. Then, obviously, his impressive handwork does the rest of the work easier. The quality of his ball-handling plays an enormous factor in how good of a finisher he is off the live dribble.
Eurosteps, reverse-eurosteps, jump stops, open jab steps and many other footwork variations are in Raynaud’s bag. Something that stands out watching his misses is that none of them are due to a lack of coordination on the drive, but to something that is way easier to work on, such ad adjusting on the finishes, contact issues or just bad luck. What turns Raynaud into an even more special player in this area is that he doesn’t need to attack the closeout from the top of the key or against a slow and conservative big: he can also do that from the corner or against aggressive defenders. He lowers his center of gravity with an impressive level of ease and obtains space with his defender, either using his speed or creating a bit of contact. That’s unique among bigs in the class. His room for improvement in this area is related to his left-hand ball control, since there’s a big difference in how well he feels when he can attack the closeout with his right-hand -dominant one - compared to when he has to start the action with the left one. If he can go through this process and keep working on his finishing through contact, Raynaud will easily reach another dimension on the offensive side.
Raynaud consistently improves the collective scheme as a passer. He doesn’t kill the rhythm by bringing down the ball after receiving it, his willingness to shoot and operate from the top of the key allows him to be a useful hand-off operator who will force defenses to pick their poison and, on the top of that, he’s a smart relocator who can fill different spots allowing cutters and physical forwards to get paint touches and create multiple missmatches in the same possession. Raynaud fits the mold of a connecting piece on the offensive end, as he’s a dribble/pass/shoot threat who will not catch and hold the ball. He can be placed at the 45 degrees area and send an entry pass to a forward, come off a screen the screener action and hit a pass, find the cutter from the top of the key and be involved in delay actions. He’s not an advanced playmaker; he’s just a player with high-level courtmapping talent and enough feel for the game to succeed in a court with NBA dimensions. At the same time, his skillset makes him a very appealing player for some double-big lineups, like the ones we’ve seen being used lately in many NBA schemes in some stretches of the game.
RAYNAUD’S NEXT STEP AS A ROLLER
To this point, we have described Raynaud as a player who has a good NBA floor because of his low-maintenance requirements and face-up skillset. However, there’s more to his game, as he has some untapped potential in other areas that could end up unleashing an even nicer ceiling. An area that will mark his room for improvement is how complete of a pick&roll player he ends up being.
Raynaud’s tendency as a roller is to gather the ball early on his drive. He’s not a deep roller or one who looks for slips or touch screens to take advantage of his speed and explosiveness. Most of the time, his choice is either sealing for a post-up position or hitting a right-handed floater after pushing off the right foot. While obviously, he will need to add some off the catch game to his repertoire as a roller, which will be easier with an NBA spacing and surrounded by a significant amount of shooting and talent, his processing and tendencies fit perfectly in how ball-screen actions are played in the league, since he has what it takes to punish the coverage through making decisions with the ball in high pick&roll actions.
A player he can mirror too in some aspects in the area we are discussing is Isaiah Hartenstein, who has also masterized the floater -that’s a big reason why his short roll passing is so successful-. While the main difference between these two players is that Hartenstein has established himself as an excellent connecting passer in short roll alongside baseline cutters and other bigs who mostly played at the baseline or relocated, Raynaud is a bit more of an outside passer at the current point, and he doesn’t dive as much in his rolls as Hartenstein, who doesn’t need to put the ball on the floor to lift his floater or give the pass. Also, Hartenstein’s reputation as a shooter isn’t anywhere close to where Raynaud’s one should be if it all goes well. Raynaud will naturally make twitches in this part of his game as he’s on an NBA floor because of the dimensions, so his good spatial awareness will play a role in finding his value in this assignment. He should be a very valid release valve in 4vs3 offense and against multiple coverages. Late this season, many teams started to stunt or send multiple players to him as he received the ball, but that’s something that would harm a defensive gameplan in the NBA given who could potentially be freed. So far, his answers against all pick&roll coverages have been positive for his team:
This offensive skill also belongs to the group of attributes that don’t demand slowing down the game for a player. If Raynaud can do this, it will be a result of him adjusting to the offensive motion and putting his quick processing and execution at the team's disposal, which will make life easier for his teammates and will force the defenses to make risky decisions. Having Raynaud as a big puts a team closer to a coach's dream situation: having five players on the floor who can be proactive with the ball in their hands. If it all clicks, placing him alongside vertical threats, shooters and proactive cutters will lead to astonishing results. Raynaud can be an elite player against hedge defenses in the NBA, given his shooting gravity and ability to make decisions on the drive once he catches the ball would be fueled by being surrounded with an amount of talent that would complicate throwing him help defenders. More movement, less help chances.
HOW WILL RAYNAUD’S DEFENSE TRANSLATE?
Maxime Raynaud’s question marks come down to the defensive area. He’s been a solid defender in his final season for College standards, even though Stanford wasn’t a high-end team on this side of the floor. Raynaud was loud and vocal, and his presence has been noticed enough around the paint, both to secure tough defensive boards and deter drivers and shooters. Kyle Smith built the scheme around his characteristics, and the French big delivered fairly well. Defending in the NBA is a whole new story, though.
In ball-screen actions, Raynaud projects as a below the level of the screen defender. This means that he feels the most comfortable in coverages such as drop and ICE, which have been the most common defensive coverages for Stanford in the 2024/25 season. Raynaud did a fine task at denying the middle in ICE defense. In these schemes, a potential lack of foot speed is less exposed because of the small on-ball pressuring duties the big has, and qualities such as communication or being able to cut the ball-handler off the paint are the basic demands. During the season, Raynaud had to pack the paint and backpedal, since most of the ACC bigs he had to face were players whose shots a defensive tactic can live up with. In the NBA, he will have to meet some additional requirements, since this last won’t be the case.
Raynaud’s defensive issues aren’t about major movement limitations or lack of understanding, so there are no reasons to believe there’s real danger of him being a one-way big or an unplayable element. In most of the situations, he identifies which is the right thing to do and he can execute it. The whole point of his success in the NBA will be doing all these things at a faster, better level. Raynaud will need to improve at turning hips, picking the angles, using his chest to contain the driver, vertical intimidation and, especially, working on his straight-line speed for the defensive recoveries because in the NBA, most of the bigs will shoot the ball if they have the chance. His balance is good, and he doesn’t lose the verticality while backpedaling, so he will need to focus on improving his lateral movement patterns, reactivity and accuracy of the angles he picks. In any case, he has the defensive perception to overcome most of the physical limitations he eventually has to face.
Something Raynaud did remarkably well at the College level was defending ISO late-clock situations. He has been able to force guards who tried to go against him to shoot uncomfortable off the dribble looks. In the NBA, against more talented ball-handlers and in wider spaces, he will likely notice more the above-mentioned lack of reactivity and footspeed, but he already possesses good fundamentals such as balance and not baiting to shot fakes.
THE OUTCOME
The good thing for a player like Maxime Raynaud is that, while his best-case scenario is encouraging and high, there are many other situations in which he’s not as fun, but he still makes money in the NBA under different standards. His selling point is shooting, and a 7’1 guy who can shoot has an easy path to collecting paychecks. If he’s able to put together some of the mentioned ancillary playmaking skills and his rebounding and defensive floor are safe enough, he will be highly touted for the years to come. Many teams want a stretch big, almost all want a connecting piece at the Center spot as a rotation tool, and absolutely all of them crave a Playoff-playable 7’1 guy by their side. There are many reasons to believe Raynaud could belong to the last group, and it’s worth investing for this case.
This does not mean that he’s the best Big in the class, but if we compare his skillset to the one of players like Derik Queen, Joan Beringer or Collin Murray-Boyles, Raynaud brings to the table an entirely different repertoire, so there’s a case for him being a unique player in the group -same applies for the rest of the names-. It will be fun to see how his strengths, as well as the sustained improvement over the last four years, weighs in the Draft process compared to the one the other bigs have, given that there’s not a clear-cut difference-making Center who sits on a tier apart in this year’s NBA Draft.
Maxime Raynaud has been one of the most dominant bigs in College Basketball over the last two years. The 2003-born, 7’1 French Big has played all the cycle for the Stanford Cardinals, and he has fully earned the NBA Draft prospect consideration. Raynaud figures in the NBA Draft Combine invite list. In his Senior season, he averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, alongside a 35% 3PT on over 5 attempts per game.
The last two seasons have been really useful to evaluate him because, simultaneously with his individual improvement, we have seen him being the head of the table under two systems that played through his skillset differently. At the end of the day, however, if we had to describe why Raynaud is such an appealing player for an NBA team, we would say it’s because of the floor-spacing variety he brings in and how he can impact the game by playing face-up and not slowing down the ball. Raynaud’s processing speed and tactical flexibility jump off the page immediately.
RAYNAUD’S LOW-HANGING FRUIT
- Shooting
Raynaud’s shooting approach is optimal for him. His footwork preparation is about a Left/Right stop and his mechanics are compact: lower body energy transfer looks good, and his moves are not segmented at all. The main difference from the 2023/24 season to the 2024/25 season is that, while two seasons ago, there were just many indicators that he had the projection to be a stretch-big type of player and the shooting volume was decent enough, in the season that recently ended shooting turned into the epicenter of his game without harming the rest of his contribution. He increased both volume and effectiveness.
Most of his shots are the type of shots you can expect from a conventional big: spot-up and pick&pop looks that come off good ball movement and ball-screen actions. Raynaud logged an impressive 37/80 (46%) on spot-up threes in the 2024/25 season. However, as said, the most appealing part of his shooting ability is what it draws and how it boosts his contribution.
- Floor-spacing A: it all comes from shooting
Raynaud is the best big at attacking the closeout in this Draft class, and he’s also probably the best I’ve seen in the last years. His balance and fluidity at putting the ball on the floor - fueled by the fear his shooting ability creates - are unique in the class, and will translate perfectly to an NBA court.
Raynaud has a perfect foundation to produce off closeouts because of his blend of straight-line speed, footwork variety both in tight and wide spaces -which is unique in the 2025 bigs class- and touch. He’s not an explosive player or a powerful leaper, but his strides are controlled and vary according to the type of space he has in front of him, and he moves in a smooth and coordinated way. The part that shocks the most of his game in this area and can turn into a difference-making attribute at the NBA level is the footwork one. It’s abnormal to see a 7’1 player being able to operate so comfortably off different stops, changing the pace and direction on the drive as he does. Then, obviously, his impressive handwork does the rest of the work easier. The quality of his ball-handling plays an enormous factor in how good of a finisher he is off the live dribble.
Eurosteps, reverse-eurosteps, jump stops, open jab steps and many other footwork variations are in Raynaud’s bag. Something that stands out watching his misses is that none of them are due to a lack of coordination on the drive, but to something that is way easier to work on, such ad adjusting on the finishes, contact issues or just bad luck. What turns Raynaud into an even more special player in this area is that he doesn’t need to attack the closeout from the top of the key or against a slow and conservative big: he can also do that from the corner or against aggressive defenders. He lowers his center of gravity with an impressive level of ease and obtains space with his defender, either using his speed or creating a bit of contact. That’s unique among bigs in the class. His room for improvement in this area is related to his left-hand ball control, since there’s a big difference in how well he feels when he can attack the closeout with his right-hand -dominant one - compared to when he has to start the action with the left one. If he can go through this process and keep working on his finishing through contact, Raynaud will easily reach another dimension on the offensive side.
- Floor-spacing B: court placement and stationary passing
Raynaud consistently improves the collective scheme as a passer. He doesn’t kill the rhythm by bringing down the ball after receiving it, his willingness to shoot and operate from the top of the key allows him to be a useful hand-off operator who will force defenses to pick their poison and, on the top of that, he’s a smart relocator who can fill different spots allowing cutters and physical forwards to get paint touches and create multiple missmatches in the same possession. Raynaud fits the mold of a connecting piece on the offensive end, as he’s a dribble/pass/shoot threat who will not catch and hold the ball. He can be placed at the 45 degrees area and send an entry pass to a forward, come off a screen the screener action and hit a pass, find the cutter from the top of the key and be involved in delay actions. He’s not an advanced playmaker; he’s just a player with high-level courtmapping talent and enough feel for the game to succeed in a court with NBA dimensions. At the same time, his skillset makes him a very appealing player for some double-big lineups, like the ones we’ve seen being used lately in many NBA schemes in some stretches of the game.
RAYNAUD’S NEXT STEP AS A ROLLER
To this point, we have described Raynaud as a player who has a good NBA floor because of his low-maintenance requirements and face-up skillset. However, there’s more to his game, as he has some untapped potential in other areas that could end up unleashing an even nicer ceiling. An area that will mark his room for improvement is how complete of a pick&roll player he ends up being.
Raynaud’s tendency as a roller is to gather the ball early on his drive. He’s not a deep roller or one who looks for slips or touch screens to take advantage of his speed and explosiveness. Most of the time, his choice is either sealing for a post-up position or hitting a right-handed floater after pushing off the right foot. While obviously, he will need to add some off the catch game to his repertoire as a roller, which will be easier with an NBA spacing and surrounded by a significant amount of shooting and talent, his processing and tendencies fit perfectly in how ball-screen actions are played in the league, since he has what it takes to punish the coverage through making decisions with the ball in high pick&roll actions.
A player he can mirror too in some aspects in the area we are discussing is Isaiah Hartenstein, who has also masterized the floater -that’s a big reason why his short roll passing is so successful-. While the main difference between these two players is that Hartenstein has established himself as an excellent connecting passer in short roll alongside baseline cutters and other bigs who mostly played at the baseline or relocated, Raynaud is a bit more of an outside passer at the current point, and he doesn’t dive as much in his rolls as Hartenstein, who doesn’t need to put the ball on the floor to lift his floater or give the pass. Also, Hartenstein’s reputation as a shooter isn’t anywhere close to where Raynaud’s one should be if it all goes well. Raynaud will naturally make twitches in this part of his game as he’s on an NBA floor because of the dimensions, so his good spatial awareness will play a role in finding his value in this assignment. He should be a very valid release valve in 4vs3 offense and against multiple coverages. Late this season, many teams started to stunt or send multiple players to him as he received the ball, but that’s something that would harm a defensive gameplan in the NBA given who could potentially be freed. So far, his answers against all pick&roll coverages have been positive for his team:
- Drop? He punishes slow weakside stunts and shy rotations.
- Hedge? A shooting/driving opportunity opens up. He will also be able to pay attention and understand all the moves and relocations that happen around him.
- Switch? He may shoot the ball over your guard or duck him in.
This offensive skill also belongs to the group of attributes that don’t demand slowing down the game for a player. If Raynaud can do this, it will be a result of him adjusting to the offensive motion and putting his quick processing and execution at the team's disposal, which will make life easier for his teammates and will force the defenses to make risky decisions. Having Raynaud as a big puts a team closer to a coach's dream situation: having five players on the floor who can be proactive with the ball in their hands. If it all clicks, placing him alongside vertical threats, shooters and proactive cutters will lead to astonishing results. Raynaud can be an elite player against hedge defenses in the NBA, given his shooting gravity and ability to make decisions on the drive once he catches the ball would be fueled by being surrounded with an amount of talent that would complicate throwing him help defenders. More movement, less help chances.
HOW WILL RAYNAUD’S DEFENSE TRANSLATE?
Maxime Raynaud’s question marks come down to the defensive area. He’s been a solid defender in his final season for College standards, even though Stanford wasn’t a high-end team on this side of the floor. Raynaud was loud and vocal, and his presence has been noticed enough around the paint, both to secure tough defensive boards and deter drivers and shooters. Kyle Smith built the scheme around his characteristics, and the French big delivered fairly well. Defending in the NBA is a whole new story, though.
In ball-screen actions, Raynaud projects as a below the level of the screen defender. This means that he feels the most comfortable in coverages such as drop and ICE, which have been the most common defensive coverages for Stanford in the 2024/25 season. Raynaud did a fine task at denying the middle in ICE defense. In these schemes, a potential lack of foot speed is less exposed because of the small on-ball pressuring duties the big has, and qualities such as communication or being able to cut the ball-handler off the paint are the basic demands. During the season, Raynaud had to pack the paint and backpedal, since most of the ACC bigs he had to face were players whose shots a defensive tactic can live up with. In the NBA, he will have to meet some additional requirements, since this last won’t be the case.
Raynaud’s defensive issues aren’t about major movement limitations or lack of understanding, so there are no reasons to believe there’s real danger of him being a one-way big or an unplayable element. In most of the situations, he identifies which is the right thing to do and he can execute it. The whole point of his success in the NBA will be doing all these things at a faster, better level. Raynaud will need to improve at turning hips, picking the angles, using his chest to contain the driver, vertical intimidation and, especially, working on his straight-line speed for the defensive recoveries because in the NBA, most of the bigs will shoot the ball if they have the chance. His balance is good, and he doesn’t lose the verticality while backpedaling, so he will need to focus on improving his lateral movement patterns, reactivity and accuracy of the angles he picks. In any case, he has the defensive perception to overcome most of the physical limitations he eventually has to face.
Something Raynaud did remarkably well at the College level was defending ISO late-clock situations. He has been able to force guards who tried to go against him to shoot uncomfortable off the dribble looks. In the NBA, against more talented ball-handlers and in wider spaces, he will likely notice more the above-mentioned lack of reactivity and footspeed, but he already possesses good fundamentals such as balance and not baiting to shot fakes.
THE OUTCOME
The good thing for a player like Maxime Raynaud is that, while his best-case scenario is encouraging and high, there are many other situations in which he’s not as fun, but he still makes money in the NBA under different standards. His selling point is shooting, and a 7’1 guy who can shoot has an easy path to collecting paychecks. If he’s able to put together some of the mentioned ancillary playmaking skills and his rebounding and defensive floor are safe enough, he will be highly touted for the years to come. Many teams want a stretch big, almost all want a connecting piece at the Center spot as a rotation tool, and absolutely all of them crave a Playoff-playable 7’1 guy by their side. There are many reasons to believe Raynaud could belong to the last group, and it’s worth investing for this case.
This does not mean that he’s the best Big in the class, but if we compare his skillset to the one of players like Derik Queen, Joan Beringer or Collin Murray-Boyles, Raynaud brings to the table an entirely different repertoire, so there’s a case for him being a unique player in the group -same applies for the rest of the names-. It will be fun to see how his strengths, as well as the sustained improvement over the last four years, weighs in the Draft process compared to the one the other bigs have, given that there’s not a clear-cut difference-making Center who sits on a tier apart in this year’s NBA Draft.
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