NBA: The Association’s All-Future Team

The present day stars of the NBA have been firmly established and solidified. The question is, which active players will represent the Association in the next decade?

With the 2015-16 NBA regular season nearing its end, a vast majority of the league’s brightest young stars will have their flames temporarily extinguished. Some are fighting for an elusive postseason berth, but in more cases than not, the stars of tomorrow will be left to watch the stars of today from the outside looking in.

Before that temporary omission inevitably comes to fruition, we must pay respect to the future of the NBA.

The tide is turning in the NBA, with a new generation of stars making the current era theirs to rule. Without losing sight of how important those players are, it remains vital to acknowledge how bright the future is beyond them.

With the postseason certain to shine the light on the stars of today, it’s time to pay those stars of tomorrow their due in 2015-16.

This list does not include players who are starring on the high school, college, or international levels of basketball. The players listed are already in the NBA, having commenced the process of becoming the next great basketball superstars.

Many could live up to their potential and join them, but the question at hand is simple: which current NBA players are on their way to being the future faces of the Association?

Next: The Next Kobe?

G: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves

Position: Shooting Guard

Age: 21 (2/23/1995)

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 1 (2014)

Slash Line: .456/.289/.754

Season Averages: 35.1 MPG, 20.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 3PM

Andrew Wiggins plays with tunnel vision that is accurately reflected in his lackluster average of 2.0 assists in 35.1 minutes of action per game. He pursues his shot and, more times than not, would rather attempt to create that look than to find his teammates.

At 21 years old on a rebuilding team, you can chalk that up to the coaching staff wanting the future face of the franchise to find his offensive game.

Wiggins has been compared to many basketball legends, including Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Carmelo Anthony. Wiggins added to the Bryant hype when he and The Black Mamba dueled earlier this season, with the former dropping 30 points and the latter tallying 38.

This was as Bryant versus Michael Jordan a moment as you’ll find in the modern era:

Even Bryant acknowledged the magnitude of the duel—specifically the moment in which Wiggins hit him with his own move and sank a flawless fadeaway.

Chills.

Wiggins is better suited for the 2 than the 3 due to his heavy reliance upon his height and strength advantages. His positional versatility will improve as his fundamentals follow suit, but the 21-year-old is already one of the better scorers in the NBA.

Wiggins is No. 19 in the NBA in scoring average, No. 10 in free throw made per game, and he’s still only 21. His upside is limitless.

Next: The Point Forward

G/F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Position: Point Forward

Age: 21 (12/6/1994)

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 15 (2013)

Slash Line: .506/.213/.725

Season Averages: 35.2 MPG, 16.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.2 SPG

For roughly two-and-a-half seasons, Giannis Antetokounmpo gave us nothing more than brief glimpses of brilliance. He was a fine young player, but the Milwaukee Bucks crowded the rotation with too many playmakers for The Greek Freak to develop into the point forward many expected him to become.

Since Michael Carter-Williams was moved to the second unit and later sidelined by a hip injury, Antetokounmpo has taken over as Milwaukee’s primary facilitator—a role he’s thrived in.

Since his first 10-assist game, February 22, Antetokounmpo is averaging 19.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game. That’s borderline elite production in every single one of those statistical categories, and it comes over a healthy 15-game period.

Suggesting Antetokounmpo can maintain those averages may seem crazy in theory, but it’s no more insane than a 6’11” player with a 7’3″ wingspan racking up triple-doubles like it’s nothing.

It’s no more unlikely than a player going from the 3-point line to the rim in just two steps without even traveling.

Those happenings seem unfathomable, but that’s exactly what they are: things that are happening.

Antetokounmpo has four triple-doubles in his past 15 games, with 10 double-doubles during that same frame. Beyond his stuffing the stat sheet in traditional ways, The Greek Freak is also becoming one of the best defensive playmakers in the NBA.

At 21 years old, it doesn’t make sense that Antetokounmpo is already physically overwhelming his peers in the NBA.

Next: What If or When?

F: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

Position: Power Forward

Age: 23 (3/11/1993)

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 1 (2012)

Slash Line: .493/.324/.758

Season Averages: 35.5 MPG, 24.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.9 APG, 2.0 BPG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 3PM

The New Orleans Pelicans have a bright future, and that much is true because of the franchise player. Already elite at 23—an age he turned less than two weeks ago—Anthony Davis has already led New Orleans to an improbable postseason appearance.

A 2015 All-NBA First Team honoree and two-time league leader in blocks per game, Davis is well on his way towards one day winning NBA MVP.

Davis was expected to be a shot-blocking monster coming out of college, but no one knew how quickly he’d develop offensively. He’s already a nightly threat for 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, which makes his upside as a defensive anchor all the more compelling

The elephant in the room: Davis can’t seem to stay healthy.

When healthy, Davis is already one of the Top 10 players in the NBA—something that no one else in his age range can accurately claim.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, only two players averaged at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 steal in three consecutive seasons with streaks ending or beginning in 1995-96. The first two players to do so were Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, and Davis joined them in 2015-16.

Take the steal out of the equation and the list consists of Davis, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and Robinson.

Simply put, Davis is already on a Hall of Fame pace—if he can remain healthy.

Next: Built for Glory

F/C: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Position: Center

Age: 20 (11/15/1995)

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 1 (2015)

Slash Line: .547/.344/.818

Season Averages: 31.5 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.9 ORPG, 1.7 APG, 1.7 BPG, 0.7 SPG

Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis are close to identical as case studies. Both played a defensive-oriented role in limited minutes for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats, both were selected at No. 1 overall, and each possess genuinely elite potential on both ends of the floor.

While Davis is clearly further along in his development, the 20-year-old Towns has an advantage over his peer: a body that’s built to take more punishment.

Injuries can happen to even the most physically fit players, but Towns, 250 pounds, has a stronger build than Davis, 222 pounds, did coming out of college. He’s equally as skilled offensively and explosive athletically, and some might even go as far as saying that Towns’ post game is more evolved.

Regardless of which player you prefer, there’s no way around how far ahead of the pack Towns is in the race for Rookie of the Year.

Statistically speaking, Towns is already one of the best centers in the NBA.

For the season, the 20-year-old is averaging a double-double with just under 2.0 blocks on an incredibly efficient slash line. Since January 1, Towns has been even hotter, tallying marks of 19.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.2 offensive boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game.

There are clearly flaws that Towns must address, but they are few and far between. He may already be one of the Top 35 players in the NBA.

Next: Double-Double Machine

F/C: Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

Position: Center

Age: 22 (8/10/1993)

Drafted: Round 1, Pick 9 (2012)

Slash Line: .522/.333/.357

Season Averages: 33.1 MPG, 16.5 PPG, 14.9 RPG, 4.9 ORPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG

In an era that’s supposedly guard-dominated, the future appears to be geared more towards big men than any other breed of player. That much can be seen in the fact that Andre Drummond is currently leading the Detroit Pistons to a resurgent 2015-16 campaign.

Most are well-aware of the fact that Drummond is a double-double machine who leads the league in rebounding, but not enough attention goes to the fact that he’s become this dominant force at 22 years old.

Drummond’s free throw shooting is atrocious, and that’s being acknowledge upfront so we can move forward. It will be an issue until he, at the very least, is able to make one of every two attempts—and yes, he’s that far away from 50 percent.

Here’s the thing: Drummond is already showing such incredible signs of progression that it’d be naive to act as though his free throw shooting is the only area of his game worth acknowledging.

When players are posting numbers like that, and Drummond routinely does, they deserve to be acknowledged as the stars they are.

Drummond is on pace to be the fourth player to average at least 15.0 points and 14.0 rebounds at age 22 or younger over the past 40 seasons. The players joining Drummond are Moses Malone in 1977-78, Dwight Howard in 2007-08, and Kevin Love in 2010-11.

Drummond is being groomed to be the Pistons’ version of Howard, and Stan Van Gundy—the man who coached D-12 to the NBA Finals—is the perfect coach to make that happen.

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It’s not hard to see why Detroit believes he can be that player.