Johni Broome has a very particular set of skills. A set of skills he developed over a very long college career, skills that made him a nightmare for opposing teams. (Liam Neeson would be proud of him.)
The question that surrounds Broome as a draft prospect is how many of those skills translate to the NBA. But the Chicago Bulls could certainly use a man with his particular set of skills.
Chicago ran with a big man rotation of Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith and Matas Buzelis for most of the 2024-25 season. Zach Collins came along at the trade deadline.
However, no one in that group possesses the physicality, strength and two-way interior presence that Broome would bring to the Windy City.
Johni Broome 2025 NBA Draft scouting report
Broome was the Sporting News National College Player of the Year for 2024-25 and finished second to Cooper Flagg in a handful of other outlets' player of the year awards. He was the SEC Player of the Year, a consensus First-Team All-American, led Auburn to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Men's Tournament and was twice voted a member of the All-SEC First Team.
Those are just a handful of recognitions that the 22-year-old earned during a heavily decorated college career that started with a pair of seasons at Morehead State.
Broome was a fifth-year senior when he dominated the SEC last year and, as stated above, has a limited skill set. But the skills that he has, he possesses in droves, and at a high level.
He may never be more than a role player in the NBA, but he's certainly capable of filling a niche that every championship-caliber team seems to have.
Offense
Broome was a dominant interior player on both ends of the floor for the Tigers. At 6-foot-9 ¼ barefoot, 249.4 pounds with a 7-foot ¼ wingspan and 9-foot ½ standing reach, he has the strength and physicality needed to bang with bigs at the pro level. He's also skilled in the paint with a full arsenal of hooks, pump fakes and pivots, and has a soft touch near the rim.
He averaged 18.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game last season; nearly four of those boards came on the offensive glass. Broome is experienced enough to be in the right spots at the right time and burly enough to take advantage of his IQ and instincts.
The Auburn star shot just 27.8 percent from three and 58.7 percent from the free-throw line as a super senior. He doesn't have much of a face-up game, either, although he did show some progress in that area.
He did, however, shoot 51.0 percent from the field and 55.9 percent on twos, evidence that he has the ability to score near the basket in a variety of ways.
He's not much of an athlete at all, however, so most of his damage is done below the rim and with skill rather than explosiveness.
Defense
As dominant as Broome is inside on offense, he's even better defensively. The same awareness he uses to crash the offensive glass serves him as a shot blocker and rim deterrent.
Despite his lack of athleticism, Broome was a monster interior defender at the college level. He swatted 2.1 shots per game last year in the strongest conference in the country and averaged 2.5 blocks for his career. He registered a whopping 3.9 blocks a night during his sophomore season at Morehead State.
It's a bit of a conundrum how someone with Broome's lack of physical gifts managed to become such a defensive force, but he knows where to be and when to be there, stays upright, avoids fouls, plays the angles and is physical enough to excel in a drop scheme.
Johni Broome's fit with the Chicago Bulls
Every once in a while, a prospect like Broome comes along; a player with dozens of college accolades but with a ton of question marks about how his game will translate to the NBA. It's usually an athleticism or size issue, and for Broome, it's the former. He was one of the least explosive players at the combine and never looked it on tape.
The Bulls don't have a player like him on their roster, though. Vucevic is a defensive sieve, Smith isn't very physical, Buzelis is more of a wing than a big man and Williams has long crossed into bust territory. Collins is on an expiring deal and isn't long for Chicago.
Broome will more than likely never become a starter in the NBA. He may not even be a crucial part of a team's rotation. But the Bulls lack someone with his playing style, as a defensive-minded big who will crash the glass and protect the rim.
He's not Khaman Maluach, but he shouldn't be completely off the table when Chicago picks at No. 45 in the second round.