3 Up-and-coming NBA players popping off in the 2022-23 season

NBA: PJ Washington, Charlotte Hornets

I’ve always held a soft spot for PJ, but even I’ve been surprised with the leap Washington’s made in his fourth season.

A disappointing third-year campaign that saw him stagnate from his sophomore season tempered my expectations, but Washington has been a bonafide offensive engine for a Hornets team that desperately needed some juice following a tumultuous offseason and an early injury to star LaMelo Ball.

Without Miles Bridges, Ball, and even Terry Rozier for several games, Charlotte needed someone to shoot the rock. PJ has answered with an unusually aggressive mindset, firing a career-high 13.8 shots per game (he lofted 23 and 21 in Charlotte’s recent two games against Golden State and Sacramento). He’s taking a shocking 34% of his shots from midrange and draining them at roughly league-average levels, per CTG. The elbow stepback, long the domain of true superstars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, has become a trademark move.

Washington’s jumper is wet from distance, too: he’s splashing 38% of his threes on more than five attempts per game. And like any good undersized big man, Washington has a terrific floater, perfect for lofting over the outstretched arms of despondent defenders who know they’re about to hear an earful:

Washington’s always struggled a bit against the brutal mashers of the world, particularly when he has to play center, but he has active hands and a high activity level that can cause defensive chaos. His strength is as a switch defender: he’s quick enough to stick with guards and long enough to bother bigger players, and he was a core component of the zone defenses Charlotte loved to run in previous seasons.

Washington is a little overstretched right now. The efficiency numbers aren’t good enough to justify his volume over a longer period of time, and he’s still not drawing enough free-throw attempts. But these reps under a heavier burden are good practice for whenever Charlotte next finds itself in meaningful games, and it’s fun to see him learn and grow after last season’s frustrating quiescence.

In some respects, I’m reminded of Jerami Grant’s stint in Detroit: PJ is stretching his wings and expanding his limits so that he can perform even better when he resumes a more limited role. The playoffs have increasingly shown that every player on the floor, not just the stars, need to be a threat. Washington’s burgeoning two-way game will make him a valuable contributor in any situation.