NBA: 15 Candidates For Breakout Seasons In 2016-17

7. Steven Adams

To this point in his fledgling NBA career, Steven Adams has largely benefitted from having two top-five players on his team in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. But with KD gone and Adams coming off the most promising playoff series of his life, the future appears very bright.

At only 23 years old, Adams is already one of the most well-rounded, toughest centers in the league. Getting hit with an Adams screen is like running into one of the stone heads from Easter Island, he’s already found his way under most opposing players’ skins and at just 22 years old, he’s displayed some innate passing ability.

Last season, Adams averaged 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 61.3 percent from the field. In the playoffs, however, he established himself as a potential top-five center, averaging 10.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while grounding one of the postseason’s nastiest defenses.

Adams is already an electric finisher at the rim as a regular alley-oop threat. With KD gone and Westbrook running the show, Adams will need to step up on the offensive end while also gobbling up all the available rebounds left by Durant and Serge Ibaka’s departures.

Westbrook is a dynamic facilitator, and with him and Adams building that pick-and-roll chemistry, there’s no reason — other than some sort of unforeseen injury — that he won’t be able to deliver a breakout season for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016-17.