Strengths: Despite his age he plays the game with maturity and intelligence, and has a great deal of experience … Ball handling ability is top notch as he can lead the fast break or take opposing guards off the dribble … Belinelli is one of the best shooters off the dribble anywhere in his age group … Even more impressive is that he needs little time to get his shot off thanks to his ultra quick release … Moves extremely well without the ball using an assortment of cuts and fakes to get open … Works very well off of picks and screens where he is superb off the catch and shoot … Possesses legit three point range … Mechanically he does everything well no matter if he is off balance he always keeps his body fully squared … Defensively he possesses great anticipation skills and quick hands which enable him to disrupt passing lanes … Does not get intimidated by pressure situations nor when facing physical defenders … Mid-range shooting has improved as he is starting to fuse this with his long range shooting and slashing ability …. Extremely coachable player who has a solid work ethic … Athletically he shows solid leaping ability and quickness … A great finisher in the open court …

Weaknesses: Defensively he may struggle to defend more athletic shooting guards as his lateral quickness is average at best … Tends to get caught up in shooting from the perimeter instead of driving the lane and drawing fouls. Should concentrate on becoming more aggressive using his athleticism to attack the basket … Ball protection is a work in progress as Belinelli can get careless with the ball … Does not make much of an impact on the glass … Needs to continue to work on conditioning as he shown the tendency to get worn down as the season progresses … Court vision leaves a little to be desired … Doesn’t convert shots when contact occurs on his drives due to his lack of upper body strength … Belinelli can go through streaky periods where he struggles with shooting consistency …

Strengths: The top Italian guard prospect for at least 10 years, can play both guard positions, but he definitely prefers to play PG due to his leadership qualities. He's a natural scorer: can shoot from three very well, hit the middle-range jumper or finish with a lay-up. Has a great fake and hesitations package, which he uses to beat his defender off the dribble or on fast-break. Excellent ball-handler and very good passer as a PG, deadly one-on-one skills as SG. Despite his offensive skills, he's also a solid team player. Very good athleticism makes him able to dunk in many ways and, with quick feet and legs, defend on speedy opponents. Knows the game very well and has an above average basketball IQ. A key characteristic is he always plays at a high intensity level (even in a friendly match). His outlook is bright: he can grow to 6-7 and become a Marko Jaric type of player with more offensive awareness and shooting qualities.

Weaknesses: Needs to increase his body strength and weight, without losing speed and quickness, to absorb physical contact and defend bigger guards. Also needs to learn many aspects about the PG position at high level as he accustomed to playing with poor quality teammates (in young division) and taking all the shots. Another weakness is the low experience although this should be no surprise considering his age.