Season to season, the NBA add new names to its constellation of stars. Not only for the rookies who arrive in the league, but above all for the players who make a leap in quality and they finish consolidating themselves among the best of the contest.
Who can be the protagonists of that group in the 2023-2024 season? Next, seven candidates that appear as possible new figures.
Jordan Poole
Poole’s may end up being one of the biggest jumps in terms of scoring average. It is that he will go from some Warriors where he was the third or even fourth offensive option, to a Washington, which is probably going to have him as its main reference in attack junto and Kyle Kuzma.
Poole comes from averaging 20.4 points in 2022-2023 and it would not be surprising if it was around 25 in the coming seasonin which he will surely have many more minutes and shots at his disposal in a Wizards projected to be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The key for the former Golden State does not go through so much the volume of points, but rather raise your efficiencyespecially triplera: it stayed at 33.6% in the last contest.
Cade Cunningham
cunningham seemed ready to have this quality leap in 2022-2023but a serious injury to his left leg quickly put a stop to his second NBA season, after being chosen with the first pick of the 2021 Draft.
In the 12 games he played last season, he averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6 assists. And although he must raise his percentages considerably (41% from the field, 28% in triples), Cade does not seem to be that far from a 25-7-7 worthy of the best players in the competition.
Without going any further, in the last 30 years of the league, only LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic reached those values. Yeah improve the shot of threeCunningham can – at least – come close to the door of that exclusive club.
It is also that he will not have too much offensive competition in a Detroit with Bojan Bogdanovic y Jaden Ivey as other references to the attack.
Jabari Smith
Jabari Smith looked vastly improved in the last Summer League, with much more confidence in shooting and in his one-on-one attack. The number three of the 2022 Draft had a difficult rookie year, but he improved over the months to close with averages of 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 36% in triples in the 18 final matches of the Bell.
The only possible brake on Smith’s development is that he will share a team with players who don’t exactly stand out for involving their teammates, such as Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks or to a lesser extent, Frank VanVleet. Likewise, in the long run talent prevails and Jabari has it in abundance.
Jalen Williams
It is exceedingly rare for a novice to be not only productive (14.1 points), but also efficient (52% field). But that was exactly Jalen Williams in his rookie year with the OKC Thunder. Even in a perimeter overloaded with talent, the 22-year-old guard has everything to establish himself as a young star in a team that will probably fight for a place in the Playoffs 2024.
Williams isn’t the most dangerous 3-pointer, but he has a sensational ability to create with the ball and define inside the paint or in the middle distance. It should be consolidated as the Second leading scorer on the roster in 2023-2024, perhaps around the 20 points per game.
Scottie Barnes
Neither Scottie Barnes nor Evan Mobley had the expected leap in quality after a great season as rookies in 2021-2022. And while it can be a little more difficult for Mobley to explode on a team with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell dominating the ball, Barnes should have a lot more opportunities in Toronto.oh sin Fred VanVleet and possibly with Pascal I’m hungry coming out of roster in the short term.
If you manage to give a small step forward as a shooter and consolidates all the good things he has already shown as a passer and creator with the ball, Barnes would end up establishing himself as one of the most versatile forwards in the league and one of those players that is not surprising to see close to a triple-doble night after night.
Tyrese Maxey
Maxey’s case bears some similarities to Poole’s. He was already a 20-point scorer last season, but circumstances could lead him to have many more shots in 2023-2024. In his case, without leaving Philadelphia, but surely with greater prominence after an expected transfer of James Harden.
Of course, Joel Embiid will continue to be the 76ers’ main offensive reference, but Maxey seems to have the talent to get close to the barrier of the 76ers. 25 goals per match. In fact, he was already close to that mark in the 41 games in which he started in 2022-2023: he averaged 22.3 points with a 49% from the field and 46% in triples in those duels.
Shaedon Sharpe
Just as Maxey should benefit from Harden’s possible departure from the 76ers, Sharpe will probably do the same in the Portland post-Lillard. The explosive Canadian had a good rookie year and shone every time he started: 18.5 points in 32.9 minutes during the 15 parties in which he started for the Blazers.
Regardless of what happens to Dame, Sharpe will start in Portland in 2023-2024 and, if you were already over 18 as a rookie, you shouldn’t have as much trouble getting past 18 points. 20 average points. He has plenty of conditions from an athletic point of view, but he also has a shot and creation with the ball.
2023-07-24 10:00:05
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