Second-year NBA players having breakout seasons this year: Desmond Bane
Desmond Bane is another player who was drafted with expectations of a 3&D role. The TCU alum is quickly growing into so much more for the Memphis Grizzlies, though.
After starting exactly 25 percent of his games last season, Bane has taken on the role of a full-time starter this season. He’s averaging 15.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He’s also hitting 40.1 percent of his threes, a drop from last year, but on several more attempts per game.
Bane is looking much more confident hunting for his shots this season. He’s averaging 12.9 attempts per game this season, an increase of more than five attempts per game. Bane is also shooting 89.3 percent from the free-throw line, though on just 1.2 attempts per contest.
Many of Bane’s advanced metrics look stagnant compared to last year, but his usage is much higher. His usage percentage this year is 22.0 percent, up from 16.1 percent last season.
The next step in Bane’s development is to make more improvements on the defensive end. As a rookie, Bane accounted for 1.3 defensive win shares, sporting a -0.3 defensive box plus/minus. He’s struggling much more this season, with just 0.2 defensive win shares and a -2.2 defensive box plus/minus.
Bane’s versatility is also proving to be a big asset. He split his time evenly between shooting guard and small forward as a rookie. This season, 55 percent of his estimated minutes have been at small forward and 42 percent have been at shooting guard, but he’s also had minutes at power forward and point guard.
Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are the core of the future for Memphis. Bane seems to be making a case that he belongs in the conversation too.