NBA’s best out-of-nowhere performances this season

8. Graham goes ham in Brooklyn

Last season, Devonté Graham was on the verge of being outted by the association in favor of a potential G-League or overseas role due to his poor play as a rookie. An all-time great Kansas Jayhawks point guard, Graham entered his rookie campaign with four years of college experience under his belt, and some of the more high-pressure big-game experience of any newcomer in his class.

His lack of tantalizing size and athleticism saw him fall to the Atlanta Hawks at the 34th overall slot in the 2018 draft, but the confidence of one Charlotte Hornets executive in his own self-administered eye-test on Graham led him to trade for his rights that night in hopes of making him an adequate long-term fit.

And for a while, it seemed as if Michael Jordan was totally wrong. Graham averaged 4.7 points per on 34.3 percent from the field, while finishing 84 of 93 point guards in ESPN’s real plus-minus rankings.

For all the rust he accumulated last season though, 2019-20 absolutely shot him out of a cannon. He exploded on to the scene, seeing tremendous boosts in points (18.7), assists (7.5 from 2.6) and 3-pointers made per game (3.5 from 0.7).

No shooting night was bigger for Graham, though, than his 40-point slaughtering of the Brooklyn Nets’ defense on Dec. 11. Graham was nearly perfect from deep range, nailing seven 3-pointers to accompany five respective rebounds and assists.

Graham’s found himself a nice niche running the show for Jordan as the team’s primary ball-handler alongside Terry Rozier. In fact, he was top-three in the league for most games with at least eight three-pointers made. His name will surely be in the candidacy pool for the Most Improved player title once award ceremonies (and of course, large gatherings) commence.