With the 2022-23 NBA regular season quickly approaching, we’ve scoured league rosters to identify six players entering their third year in the association that need to show big improvement this season.
We’re not talking about players who have already established themselves as major contributors and important pieces for their respective teams. Third-year NBA players like Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Desmond Bane, and Cole Anthony have all shown they have what it takes to be mainstays on their teams and key building blocks for the future.
Which third-year NBA players need to show a big improvement in 2022-23?
We’re looking at the players who have somewhat fallen short of their pre-draft expectations. These are players who have been through their rookie season, they’ve been through their second season, and had opportunities to grow and/or get healthy if they were injured for an extended period.
Those in this list are players who desperately need to show their respective teams they’ve improved, can perform consistently and are worthy of a rookie extension next offseason. Let’s dive into our list, starting with a couple of former top 10 picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.