This season in the NBA, young potential players with super talent are gradually emerging, such as Wembanyama of the Spurs and Holmgren of the Thunder, who can rely on their excellent static talent to play an average of excellent rookie season per game. However, there are more players with mediocre talent in the league, some of these players do not get much playing time due to lack of ability, become water cooler players and fade out of the league, and some can rely on their own efforts to grow into the team's key rotation players, and even play as starters and upgrade to the team's core players. For example, Thomas Jr. of the Nets, the 22-year-old Thomas did not have a high starting point, as the last pick in the first round in 21, he did not get much attention in his rookie season, and only averaged about 10 minutes of playing time per game.
At that time, the Nets happened to have the dream triumvirate of Harden, Durant and Irving, and the three would occupy the vast majority of the ball on the court, and the Nets' young players would not have much opportunity to develop, and the same was true for Thomas. However, unexpectedly, the Nets' big three parted ways in just two years of cooperation due to various reasons on and off the court, and became a rebuilding team, and Thomas also seized this opportunity to show his super scoring explosiveness. He has become the absolute core of the Nets this season, averaging 23.9 points per game, double the number of last season, and has a chance to be named an All-Star in the future. In addition, the same goes for the Grizzlies' Bane, who, like Thomas, is only a first-round pick who is mediocre in his physical fitness, has an extremely short arm span, and can be very limited on the defensive end.
But in the past few years with the Grizzlies, Bane has been able to gradually grow into the second leader of the team, during the Morant ban this season, Bane was appointed as the team boss in danger, and scored more than 35+ points many times, and scored 49 points in the highest game against the Pistons. Now that Morant is back, the Grizzlies are on a winning streak, and they really have a chance to move from the bottom of the Western Conference to the top of the standings. In addition to Thomas and Bane, there is another player who has a lower starting point, only as a second-round pick, and is shorter in height, less than 1.9 meters, but can become the star of the team and lead the team to the top six in the East, that is Brunson of the Knicks.
Brunson was selected by the Mavericks with the third pick in the second round of the 18-year draft, stayed in the Mavericks for 4 years, and averaged 10 points per game, the 21-22 season was his first highlight season, when the Mavericks broke into the playoffs, and the team's boss Doncic unfortunately suffered from injuries, the Mavericks themselves are also a single-core team, but I didn't expect Brunson to stand up and score crazy points in the playoffs, facing the Utah Jazz vs. Mitchell, leading the team to eliminate the Jazz 4-2, after Doncic returned, the two also worked together to lead the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals, and after 18 games in the playoffs that season, Brunson averaged 22 points per game。 After ending his contract with the Mavericks, Brunson was poached with a high salary and went to the New York Knicks, but there was no way, the Knicks really gave too much and gave Brunson a 4-year, $104 million contract.
At that time, the Knicks signed Brunson with a high salary, which was actually very unexpected, because the Knicks played badly in the 21-22 season, and they didn't make the playoffs, and the team boss Randle at that time was in a slump, and the offensive efficiency was extremely low。 Unexpectedly, as soon as Brunson joined the Knicks, he completely activated the team, and Randle also benefited from it.
Last season, the Knicks reached the second round of the playoffs, which was also considered to be more than expected. This season, the Knicks continued to improve, and Brunson also broke out completely, breaking through his ceiling again, averaging 25.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, surpassing Randle to become the team's top scorer, worthy of the name, and led the team to a good record of 16-12, ranking 6th in the East. At the beginning of the season, he scored 45 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against the Bucks, and against the Suns led by Durant and Booker, he hit 50 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals, setting a number of records. 50 points + 45 points! From a second-round show to the boss of the team! Obviously, the Knicks' "gambling" signing was right, Brunson's selection to the All-Star team is just around the corner, and the Knicks have become one of the super dark horses in the East.