After a less than stellar year in 2017-18, here’s a look at 10 prominent NBA players who will be looking to bounce back in 2018-19.
Regression is natural in the NBA, as is learning to take your lumps as a young player. Not every star can preserve his place at the top of the food chain forever, nor can every developing prospect improve year after year without fail.
As they say in life, it doesn’t matter if you fall. What matters is how quickly you’re able to get back on the horse.
Whether it’s due to injury problems, a diminished role, age, poor team fit or all of the above, plenty of prominent players had down seasons in 2017-18. Now joining new teams, returning to full health or simply entering the season with a brand new outlook, quite a few of them have a good chance of turning things around during the upcoming campaign.
With some time to kill before the start of the new season, here’s a look at 10 recognizable NBA players who should be due for bounce-back seasons in 2018-19.
Honorable Mentions: Tim Hardaway Jr., Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, Tristan Thompson, Avery Bradley, Reggie Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Cody Zeller, Dion Waiters, Maurice Harkless, Patrick Beverley, Wilson Chandler, Seth Curry, Patrick Patterson, Danilo Gallinari, Nerlens Noel, Brandon Knight, George Hill, Omri Casspi, Elfrid Payton
10. Ryan Anderson, Phoenix Suns
Ryan Anderson‘s flaws stood out like a sore thumb on a Houston Rockets team that drastically improved its defense to take the next step as legitimate title contenders. Going from the best regular season team in the NBA to the worst (and sixth-best defense to dead-last outfit) should lead to a more important role with the baby Phoenix Suns.
At 30 years old, Anderson’s days as a potential star are done, but his 3-point shooting will be crucial to a Suns squad that ranked 30th in both offensive rating and 3-point percentage last year. In new head coach Igor Kokoskov’s system, he’ll provide breathing room on offense after watching his numbers shrink to 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game last season.
Phoenix doesn’t have a starting-caliber point guard, its best player is notorious sieve Devin Booker and its defensive anchor is a rookie with plenty of question marks on that end. This young roster isn’t going to sweat the defensive lapses as much as a team like Houston, and because of the veteran experience and floor-spacing he brings to the table, Anderson might surprise some people in 2018-19.
9. Isaiah Thomas, Denver Nuggets
Thanks to Isaiah Thomas‘ injury-ravaged season, nobody backed up the Brinks truck for him over the summer. In a reduced role on a likely playoff team out West, he has a chance to take that first step back toward stardom.
The Denver Nuggets already have their point guard of the future in Jamal Murray, but on a one-year “prove it” deal, IT could very easily seize control of the sixth man role and inject some life back into his market value, especially if he embraces that role and continues to get this bunch talking.
The big concern here is Thomas’ hip is still bothering him and he’s not back to 100 percent yet. Once he gets there, however, he should be leagues better than the guy who averaged 15.2 points and 4.8 assists on .373/.293/.893 shooting splits last year. The raw averages might not be as impressive, but Thomas’ bounce-back season will be measured by improved efficiency as a microwave scorer off the bench more than anything.
8. Jeremy Lin, Atlanta Hawks
Jeremy Lin may be coming off the bench behind lightning rod rookie Trae Young, but he’ll get his opportunities to prove he can still play, especially after missing all but one game last season and sitting out 46 games the year before that.
Lin’s time back in the Big Apple was nowhere near as successful as the New York Knicks stint that first put him on the map, but following a trade from the Brooklyn Nets to the Atlanta Hawks, the 30-year-old enters a contract year on a young team where minutes will be available.
Whether he jumps into the sixth man role he embraced during his time with the Charlotte Hornets or a trade frees up more playing time as a combo guard, it’d be nice to see Lin stay healthy and just put up some raw numbers for a tanking Hawks squad.
7. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Jimmy Butler situation is bound to work itself out in the form of a trade at some point in the near future, and when it finally happens, the pressure will be on Andrew Wiggins to step his game back up. After last year, he needs to prove he hasn’t already reached his ceiling as a one-dimensional scorer with no 3-point shot or wing defense to speak of.
From the concerns over his work ethic to a reportedly rocky relationship with Butler, it’s no secret the arrival of one of Tom Thibodeau’s favorite pupils had an adverse effect on Wiggins. Last year, he saw his numbers drop from a career-high 23.6 points per game on .452/.356/.760 shooting splits in 2016-17 to 17.7 points per game on .438/.331/.643 shooting.
With or without Butler, the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ potential is capped out if Wiggins never adds anything to his game. Even if Karl-Anthony Towns becomes an absolute two-way monster, Wiggins is the quintessential piece that needs to prove he can still be this team’s wing of the future — and not just because of his unmovable contract.
6. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
After missing all but 12 games last year, a 30-year-old Mike Conley will need to stay healthy for the Memphis Grizzlies to have any outside shot at the playoffs. In fact, they have $30.5 million riding on his health — not to mention $32.5 million the following season, and then another $34.5 million the year after that.
Conley’s designation as the best point guard in the NBA to never make an All-Star Game remains, but he wasn’t his best self in his very limited action last year, averaging 17.1 points and 4.1 assists per game on 38.1 percent shooting from the floor and 31.2 percent shooting from long range.
A healthy Conley and Marc Gasol has generally been enough for the Grizz to reach the playoffs, but that formula might not hold true in 2018-19. For Memphis to shock the world, it’ll need the return of the same Conley who put up a career-high 20.5 points and 6.3 assists per game in 2016-17.
5. Paul Millsap, Denver Nuggets
Despite Paul Millsap missing 44 games last season, it took a loss in the Denver Nuggets‘ regular season finale to keep them out of the playoffs. If he can stay on the court and keep the defense respectable, a high-powered offense is going to transform this team a Western dark horse.
Millsap wasn’t spectacular in his half-season with the Nuggets, averaging 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. It’s unlikely his individual numbers are much prettier this year, since the offense will run through Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray and maybe even Isaiah Thomas first.
However, Millsap’s 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game indicate the kind of impact he can have on the other end for a Nuggets squad that desperately needs to improve its defense. If he can post comparable numbers, stay healthy and maybe improve on that 34.5 percent shooting from downtown, he’ll force Denver to think long and hard about that $30 million team option for 2019-20.
4. Carmelo Anthony, Houston Rockets
Suffice it to say Carmelo Anthony had a disappointing one-year trial run with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Olympic Melo never emerged, Hoodie Melo never made a guest appearance, and OKC was left with an inefficient ball-stopper who couldn’t stop anyone on defense and was indignant at the mere mention of a sixth man role.
That potentially awkward situation hasn’t worked itself out for the Houston Rockets yet, but Anthony is a much better fit on paper with this team. Chris Paul and James Harden are not only on great terms with Melo, but they’re arguably the best two facilitators in the NBA. If anyone’s going to get Anthony to embrace a lesser role as more of a spot-up threat than an iso scorer, it’s Houston.
There’s concern about the Mike D’Antoni angle, especially if — and when — it becomes obvious Melo should be coming off the bench. However, in a 3-point heavy offense with two elite floor generals who make life easier on everyone, a 34-year-old Carmelo Anthony actually stands a better chance of fitting in on a modern contender than people might think.
3. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
After a four-year, $78 million payday this summer, Zach LaVine has a lot to prove for an inexperienced Chicago Bulls team that needs another go-to scorer to take the pressure off second year big man Lauri Markkanen.
Step one is shaking off the rust he showed last year. Though LaVine averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, they came on 38.3 percent shooting from the floor and 34.1 percent shooting from 3-point range. Either way, it was a far cry from the 18.9 points per game on .459/.387/.836 shooting splits he posted the year before.
After only playing in 24 games for the Bulls, LaVine will be paid like a franchise player, and the opportunities will certainly be there for him to look like one. Though he’s flawed defensively, his game has always been deeper than the surface level “Slam Dunk Contest champ” label. Now this 23-year-old gets the chance to prove it in a major NBA market.
2. Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors
On the court, off the court, in the media, in the public eye, whichever angle you want to look at it from, Kawhi Leonard had a season to forget in 2018-19.
From a basketball perspective, he missed all but nine games dealing with a quad injury and was pretty underwhelming when he was available, averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on 31.4 percent shooting from deep.
Then there was the whole distrusting a respected organization that’s historically been as close to pristine with player-team relations as any in the NBA. Demanding a trade and all the rumors about threatening to sit out or his desire to play in L.A. only made matters worse.
Now as the best player on the Toronto Raptors, Leonard has the chance to repair his image and let the world know that he’s a fun guy.
The best way to do that would be leading this Finals-desperate team to its first Eastern Conference title without that LeBron James-shaped obstacle in the way. With the go-to scoring, multi-positional defense, clutch shot-making and Finals experience he brings to the table, Kawhi’s one-year trial period has a lot of pressure riding on it for everyone involved, but he’s such a good player and good fit on paper it’s hard to see him and the Raptors falling flat.
1. Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics
Technically speaking, Gordon Hayward didn’t really have a 2017-18 season. He played a grand total of five minutes before the gruesome ankle injury that ruined opening night in the NBA. Still, because of the devastating nature of the injury and how difficult it was to come back from, it felt wrong to leave him off the list.
Another reason it would’ve been wrong to exclude Hayward: The Boston Celtics are going to be really effing good this season, and Hayward is a near perfect fit for what Brad Stevens is trying to prove on both ends of the floor.
Hayward’s defense, 3-point shooting and underrated shot creation will be a boon to Boston’s mediocre offense from last season, and he’ll lend even more switchability to what was the league’s top-rated defense.
Kyrie Irving‘s return will be a huge boost for the offense, but Hayward shouldn’t be overlooked in that category either. His return will make it impossible for defenses to limit the Celtics’ wings when he shares the floor with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, since it’ll be a true pick-your-poison situation. Those small-ball lineups are going to be absolutely lethal.
This might be more of a “comeback” season than a bounce-back, but either way, it’ll be great to see Gordon Hayward finally playing big minutes for a system perfectly tailored to his skill-set on perhaps the runaway favorite to win the East.