As the 2018-19 NBA season approaches, here’s a look at 10 relatively unknown talents who will determine their standing in the league this year.
The hierarchy of talent NBA is a pretty easy league to follow. Some players and athletic marvels are quite clearly superstars. Then there are the secondary stars, role players, end-of-bench guys and, of course, the aging veterans and inexperienced rookies. Most players’ standing in the league is pretty obvious and fits neatly into one of those categories.
However, the transition from young, moldable ball of clay into one of those specific roles is not always as cut and dry as all that. For the first two, three or even four years of some players’ careers, it’s difficult to tell where they’ll pan out in the league.
Do they need a change of scenery to thrive? More minutes? Is this as good as they’ll ever be? Will they ever reach that high ceiling their pre-draft profiles ranted and raved about, or are they more likely to crash and burn before quickly finding themselves out of a job?
Heading into the 2018-19 NBA season, there are plenty of players who have been in the association for a fair amount of time, but are still impossible to place. With some time to kill before the new campaign, it’s time to take a look at 10 such players and determine what these relative unknowns might become as they approach seasons that could potentially define them.
Honorable Mentions: JaMychal Green, Trey Burke, Dragan Bender, Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson, Nerlens Noel, Norman Powell, Skal Labissiere, Thon Maker, Dante Exum, Patrick McCaw, Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, Julius Randle, Noah Vonleh, Tomas Satoransky, Dwight Powell, Emmanuel Mudiay, Tyler Johnson, Solomon Hill, Frank Kaminsky, Cameron Payne, Ivica Zubac, Alex Abrines, Sam Dekker, Langston Galloway