30 NBA players that got better after leaving their first team

30 NBA players who got better after leaving their first team: 18. Jerry Stackhouse

Jerry Stackhouse was starting to really figure things out in his first two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. In his second campaign, he averaged 20.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. After two and a half seasons, he was shipped to the Detroit Pistons where he would become one of the most prolific scorers in the league.

Stackhouse still holds the franchise records for most points in a single game at 57. In his third season with Detroit, he had the most total points in the league and finished second in the scoring race at 29.2 points per game. He added on 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Stackhouse was a two-time All-Star in Detroit during that time period but was unfortunately moved before the team got back to real winning.

Stackhouse was traded to the Washington Wizards (returning Rip Hamilton to the Detroit Pistons) where he had the distinction of being the only teammate to average more points than the player he was most compared to coming out of the University of North Carolina, Michael Jordan. Continuing the trend of Stackhouse being moved for the next pillar of a franchise to replace him, he was sent to the Dallas Mavericks after two seasons in Washington for Antawn Jamison.

With the Mavericks, Stackhouse would make the NBA Finals in 2006, one of the more controversial series in recent memory. Stackhouse was suspended after a flagrant late in the series. After five seasons in Dallas, Stackhouse would make single-season stops with the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets before transitioning into coaching.