Every year in the NBA there are players that step out from the shadows to steal a headline or two. This season has been no different and here we pay tribute to a handful of those players with a look at the NBA breakout stars of the season.
So, who are the stars who have carried their teams throughout this season?
Number 5. Anthony Edwards
We kick off our list of the NBA breakout stars with a man that has actually flown under the radar a little in spite of what we’d still consider a breakout campaign. That man in Anthony Edwards and he has been having a great time of it with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In just his second year in the league, Edwards is averaging 21.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
Though what makes his season even more remarkable is that he has helped the Timberwolves reach a 37-29 record on the season; that is far better than the vast majority of people anticipated. Edwards has so much confidence on the offensive end right now and his defensive abilities have taken a serious step up as well.
Number 4. Jordan Poole
For a long time, Jordan Poole has looked like a player that would be a bang-average role player on the Golden State Warriors roster. He’s been around the league for a few years now but this season has been the year he’s truly arrived in the big time. He came out of the gates with a real bang and has continued from there. He averages 16.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. All of those numbers are over a 50% step up compared to his previous season in which he struggled to find any rhythm.
What makes this even more impressive is that he has seriously struggled since Klay Thompson has returned from his injury. Whilst you could take that as a negative, what it does show is that whilst the numbers are a little bit down compared to earlier in the year, his earlier form was rather bonkers. With all that considered, Poole has shown the potential to be a huge star in the league.
Number 3. Desmond Bane
When you’re talking about NBA breakout stars, Desmond Bane is a funny one and a few readers might question us placing him third in our rankings.
At the start of the campaign, you would have found nobody disagreeing with us as there was a lot of buzz around the Memphis Grizzlies man. The Memphis Grizzlies went from a fringe playoff team at best last season to a full-blown contender rising on the NBA title odds by Bovada.
Memphis is 44-22 on the season with Morant’s huge breakout season playing a key role. They hold the number two seed in the wildly competitive Western Conference.
Now though, the limelight has turned off him a little for Desmond and that hype isn’t quite the same. We are not really sure why. For our money, he is proving a serious talent.
He has gone from being an average role player to the leading scorer on the roster and, more notably, that makes him the leading scorer on a team that sits with a 44-22 record – that’s not too shabby. As for stats, he averages 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game all while not being the main ball-handler on the court.
His points per game have nearly doubled compared to last season and his steals nearly did as well with his 1.1 average per contest. We have not even mentioned his rebounding and assist improvements!
Number 2. Miles Bridges
Going back to last season, people thought of Miles Bridges as an explosive wing that delivered the occasional flashy dunk. Fast forward to right now and Bridges has turned himself into a serious offensive weapon for the Charlotte Hornets. He averages 19.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
The 23-year-old is scoring the ball much more efficiently; his vision has vastly improved compared to previous basketball seasons and his rebounding remains strong for a small forward. Everything about his game has taken a big step forward from a season ago and it has changed the outlook of the Hornets organisation. Plenty of neutrals are taking note too.
Number 1. Ja Morant
It’s hard to imagine anybody but Ja Morant topping this list of NBA breakout stars this season. He is currently averaging 27.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. To break that down even further, his points per game ranks seventh in the entire league and his assists per game rank 15th.
Everybody has him as the leading contender to win the Most Improved Player award and for good reason, but his improvements haven’t just seen his statistics rise.
There you have it, the top 5 breakout stars of the NBA that were not expected to be overperforming like they are. Is there any name we are missing? Who would you have included?