3 NBA players outplaying their contract this season

NBA players out-playing their contract this season: Nicolas Batum

Win Shares: 1.4

BPM: 4.0

Salary: $3.17 million

WS / ($M): 0.442 (NBA rank: 14)

BPM / ($M): 1.262 (NBA rank: 4)

Nicolas Batum contains multitudes. From promising young player on the Trail Blazers (where he teamed with the aforementioned LaMarcus Aldridge), to burgeoning star, to overpaid disappointment on the Hornets… Batum has seen a lot.

The Clippers signed him at the start of the 2020 season with low expectations, but he quickly became the glue guy he was always destined to be. He moved the ball well, knocked down threes, and defended anyone and everyone. Batum was a key piece of the Clippers’ shocking success without Kawhi in last year’s playoffs, especially while torturing Utah in the second round with a steady stream of triples and a ton of steals.

This year, he’s done all that and a little bit more. In Kawhi’s absence, Batum is averaging more points (9.6 vs. 8.1), rebounds (5.7 vs. 4.7), steals (1.2 vs. 1.0), and blocks (0.8 vs. 0.6) per game than last year, while shooting higher percentages, in the exact same amount of playing time.

Batum’s flexibility on defense and knockdown shooting make him the perfect 3&D role player for a team with title aspirations. The fact that he is on a bargain contract only makes him more valuable.