5 NBA players at risk of losing their star status in 2023-24

Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards

One could argue Jordan Poole wasn't a star before, but he was. This was a player that averaged more 20 points per game last season while dealing with the notoriety of being punched by a teammate and coming off the bench for half the season. That's a star.

He was supposed to take another leap this season as a result of being sent to the moribund Washington Wizards, where he was expected to take on much of the scoring and usage load of the team. But the results have been disastrous, turning Poole into a punchline.

Poole's scoring has actually dropped from a year ago, down to 16.7 points per game. That's largely because he's struggling to find the net. He's hoisting more than six three-point attempts per game, but only kocking down 29.5 percent of those attempts. That would be the worst three-point percentage since his rookie season.

Poole has been merely existent on the defensive end, but his offensive has been atrocious, worth negative 1.0 win shares, according to Basketball-Reference. The only other players who have been worth at least a full negative win share on the offensive end are rookies (Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson).

The 24-year-old is already falling out of favor among Washington's fans. He's generally going viral for misses and mistakes, creating a circus-like atmosphere around his play similar to another former Wizard, Nick Young.

Washington is one of the league's worst teams, hampered by Poole's inability to seize on his opportunity to be the alpha of a team. The fact that he still has several years left on a deal signed in Golden State only adds insult to injury.

Poole's best chance to remain is a star is going viral for the wrong reasons.