Jan 7, 2020; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert (22) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Terrance Ferguson (23) in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA, for better or worse, is such a superstar driven league that often fans take for granted the ascension, or come up, of players transitioning from role players to impact players to legit stars. It’s a process.
There are seven players on the verge of a breakthrough season and reaching that next level of NBA’s stardom. All have varying degrees of experience, accolades, and career statistics. None are All-Stars. Some have higher ceilings than others. But the potential is clearly there for them to blow up. Here are the players, from West to East, primed for big things in the 2020-21 NBA season.
Montrezl Harrell
2019-20 Stats: 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 58.0 EFG%
The 2020 Sixth Man of The Year posted career-highs in points (18.6), rebounds (7.1), and double-doubles off the bench last season with the Clippers. Now a member of the Lakers, Harrell is primed to make an even bigger jump with the purple and gold. Once considered an expendable casualty of the CP3 to Houston deal, Harrell flourished as a rim running, high energy option to make the Clippers’ bench one of most formidable second unit sin the league last season. As a solid scorer in the low post, a lob threat, and a relentless rebounder, Harrell provides the Lakers with a high-level scoring option off the bench. Pick-and-roll opportunities with Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Dennis Schröder should be plentiful.
While his offensive skills and energy off the bench should translate with his new squad, can Harrell make strides defensively? His struggles guarding bigger centers. However, that doesn’t mean that Harrell can’t be impactful. A defensive minded coach in Frank Vogel can try to address Harrell’s weaknesses defensively. With Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, and now Harrell, the Lakers have a formidable front court.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
2019-20 Stats: 18.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 35.2 FG3%
When Klay Thompson went down with a devastating Achilles injury just before the NBA Draft in November, the Warriors wasted no time using a trade exception on Oubre, a versatile wing. After stops in Washington and Phoenix, Obure showed promise with his athleticism on offense and length on defense. In the Warriors system, Oubre could feast even more in transition and benefit from playing alongside a generational talent in Steph Curry.
This year, the Warriors are looking to play uptempo meaning Oubre should l have a plethora of fast break opportunities. With the attention defenses will give Curry, look for Oubre to also diversify his offense a bit with more 3-point attempts than he’s had at other stops as well. Last season with Phoenix, Oubre connected on 108 three’s on 5.5 attempts per game.
Defensively, Oubre will be asked to guard opposing point guards and twos at times. While he struggles with the occasional blow by, Oubre shines when he’s involved in the press. With his 7’3” wingspan, he’s effective in trapping schemes and coming up with the occasional steal.
Gary Trent Jr.
2019-20 Stats: 8.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 41.8 FG3%
The Trail Blazers were ravaged with injuries for most of last season, and it forced head coach Terry Stotts to throw their young players into the fire. The experience benefited the third-year guard the most. Before the bubble, Trent struggling to find a way to contribute to the Blazers in the midst of injuries to Rodney Hood and Trevor Ariza It helped him develop into a solid backup wing. Trent is primed to be one of the Blazers most consistent scorers off the behind Carmelo Anthony off the bench. We saw the potential down in the bubble where Trent was one of the best shooters from beyond the arc. Defensively, Trent was the Blazers’ x-factor, and is capable defender on the other side of the floor. When the Blazers played Memphis with a playoff berth on the line, Trent recorded five steals and two blocks in 35 minutes.
Jamal Murray
2019-20 Stats: 18.5 PPG, 4.8 APG, 34.6 FG3%
As the expectations rise for the Nuggets in the West, so do the expectations for Murray. While he was brilliant in the bubble, Nuggets coach Mike Malone said his shooting guard who is entering his fifth season needs to play with a sense of urgency starting with the opener vs. Sacramento. That means, in part, take some of the playmaking, and scoring burden off of Nikola Jokic. Look for Murray to use his underrated athleticism to create more in pick-and-roll situations and finish strong around the bucket. Of course, Murray continues to be one of the top threats from three. If Denver is to solidify its place as one of the top teams in a loaded conference, it will be because of Murray’s consistency and increased aggressiveness.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2019-20 Stats: 19.0 PPG, 3.3 APG, 34.7 FG3%
Since Chris Paul was traded to the Suns during the offseason, the Thunder is now SGA’s team. Last season, he averaged a team high of 19.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.3 APG while sharing playmaking duties with Paul. During his first two seasons in the league, SGA’s usage rate climbed from 18.2 to 23.7 percent while his field goal percentage and 3-point percentage took slight dips last season compared to his rookie campaign. Those numbers have the potential to improve.
According to Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, SGA will be the unquestioned focal point of the offense and have plenty of creation opportunities. Oklahoma City hopes SGA also makes a leap defensively. With a 6’11” wingspan, SGA has the length of an elite defender and an improvement in his defensive rating from his rookie season to sophomore campaign reflects his development as a dependable two-way player.
Cam Reddish
2019-20 Stats: 10.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 38.4 FG%
Entering his second season in Atlanta, Reddish struggled for most of his rookie season. However, before the pandemic shut down the league and ended the Hawks’ season, Reddish began to emerge and show signs of improvement. In the Hawks’ last 21 games, Reddish averaged 14.6 points and hit 41.7 percent of his threes.
Reddish is poised to build on that stretch because not only is he healthier—his core and shoulder injures seem to be behind him—he’s been working on improving his footwork and the consistency of his jump shot. Because of those rookie season struggles, defenses will continue to sag off of Reddish and dare him to shoot. If he has truly improved, Reddish could eventually move into Atlanta’s starting lineup over DeAndre Hunter on a much deeper Hawks team and live up to the versatile wing expectations many had for him as the 10th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Caris LeVert
2019-20 Stats: 18.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.4 APG
During LeVert's 10 games in the bubble—including six seeding games—he averaged 23.1 PPG and 6.8 APG as the Nets’ goto scorer and playmaker since its stars sat out the restart. Now that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are back in the lineup, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddle make up Brooklyn’s most consistent secondary scorers. New coach Steve Nash has floated the idea of LeVert being their sixth man. Regardless of the role he takes on, LeVert’s versatility will complement the team’s two superstars. If he’s a starter, LeVert’s ability to play off the ball will allow him to thrive with Durant and Irving. As the sixth man, LeVert should provide consistent scoring for the second unit.