Mo Bamba, by all accounts, is an incredibly intelligent individual. Jay Bilas called him “one of the most intelligent players in the draft,” while Suns GM Ryan McDonough did him one better: “He’s a super bright guy. One of the smarter guys I’ve seen in the last 10 or 15 years come through the pre-draft process.” One of Bamba’s hobbies is playing chess. He twice attended the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. According to his high school coach, Bamba “qualified to go to Harvard with his grades and test scores.”

But being an intelligent person is far from a guarantee of being an intelligent basketball player.