Second-year NBA players having breakout seasons this year: Cole Anthony
Even with a recent injury absence, Cole Anthony has emerged as one of the breakout players of this NBA campaign. After a challenging rookie season, he is flying around the court with aplomb for the Orlando Magic.
Anthony has suited up in 18 games this season, starting all of them. The Most Improved Player candidate is averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game. He’s also averaging one steal per game, for good measure.
Anthony is simply a bigger part of the offense this season. His assist percentage is up significantly and his shooting percentages have risen across the board. The Magic’s offense largely flows through their second-year guard. Both his assist average and assist percentage rank 20th in the league.
He’s also much more willing to launch it from three. His average shooting distance is 16.5 feet, up more than three feet from last year. Forty-six percent of his attempts are threes when only 31.2 percent of his attempts were threes as a rookie; he’s shooting 35.8 percent from three.
Anthony missed a handful of games recently, but he hasn’t shown much rust upon his return. In his two games since returning, he has averaged 25 points and seven assists, playing at least 36 minutes in both games.
It’s too soon to say if Anthony will win the Most Improved Player award, but he’s definitely proving to be the breakout star among the second-year players.