NBA: 10 relative unknowns entering defining seasons in 2019-20

5. Torrey Craig, Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have more wings than a B-Dubs on Super Bowl Sunday. Their roster is, fundamentally, Nikola Jokic and a bunch of shooters, a sort of mirror match of Milwaukee’s roster-building around Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Into that fray last year entered Torrey Craig, a second-year player out of USC Upstate, working his way into the starting lineup at small forward for 37 games on a roster with 11 guys who started at least twice.

Craig’s numbers were … underwhelming. At just 44.2 percent from the field and a hideous 32.4 from long range, Craig was an offensive liability whose 12.4 usage rate functionally meant that about one in 10 possessions was a wasted effort that ended in Craig’s hands.

What Craig has that many of Denver’s wing players do not is a preternatural nose for defense. He’s another guy who fits the mold of so many of these players on this list, the guy whose great defense could make him a star even as his atrocious offense makes his team play 4-on-5 when they have the ball.

If he stops doing to Denver’s offensive efficiency what Lawrence of Arabia did to the Hejaz Railway in the Great War, he has a chance to start more than 37 games this year. If not, he’s going to be a situational super sub when the Nuggets need a stop, but otherwise suffer from a limited role.

Craig turns 29 in December. He’s making $2.1 million this season. If he wants to cash in and get a big NBA contract to secure his financial future after basketball, he’ll need to make a few more shots this time around.