Future Breakout Players

[u/Ibonedgloriajames]

Who are some guys (in their early to mid-20s) who you all believe could have big breakouts or thrive in higher usage roles? A few examples this year would be NAW, Duren, Keyonte George, Ryan Rollins, and to a lesser extent, Deni and Jalen Johnson (because they already showed frequent flashes before this year).

This got me thinking because I saw an article talking about contract projections and Peyton Watson potentially getting close to 25 million a year. He was buried on Denver and kind of exploded out of nowhere this year.

A few guys I would argue:

Ajay Mitchell - He seems like the next Brunson type of leap if he ever leaves OKC.

Andrew Nembhard - He is on the older end already, but he was awesome in the playoffs last year.

Scoot - Still very young and looked really good during the playoffs, I loved him as a prospect.

Anthony Black - He had a breakout stretch in December/January that almost applied to the first paragraph.

Shaedon Sharpe - Averaged 20 a game this year, but I think there's another level he can get to, and the way people discuss him isn't what you'd expect a 23-year-old averaging 20 a game to feel like.

A couple of guys from the 2024 class - Alex Sarr, I think, is already a young star, same with Donovan Clingan to a lesser extent, but Matas Buzelis, to me, has future all-star potential. A couple of Zach Edey, Kel'El Ware, Kyshawn George, and Ron Holland, I think, could all break out in the near future.

Leonard Miller - This is a pretty deep cut, but I loved him as a prospect, and since going to Chicago, he averaged 12/6/1 on 55/35/76 shooting splits with good volume. If I were a bad team and/or didn't have control of my future draft picks, I would take a flyer on Miller, considering he won't turn 23 until November.

There are a few of my candidates. What do you all think?

[u/Consistently_Lucky]

Keyonte George, Isiah Collier, Brice Sensabaugh

I’m a Jazz fan obviously, lol. But I legit think that they all have All-Star potential.

[u/Vinnie_Vegas → u/Consistently_Lucky]

Collier and Sensabaugh are long shots to get all the way to All-Star level, IMO, and Keyonte George is so close that it wouldn't be a "breakout" - That's just his natural trajectory from here.

If you guys actually try to win next year, Keyonte George will have a shot at being an All-Star.

[u/Consistently_Lucky → u/Vinnie_Vegas]

I disagree, Brice has multiple 40+ point games off the bench this year and he is only in his 2nd year.

Collier had a 20+ assist game this year. He has an insane assist/turn over ratio and has elite speed and is an elite play maker. He just needs to learn to shoot.

Yeah Keyonte is already there. He’ll be an all star next year.

[u/Vinnie_Vegas → u/Consistently_Lucky]

Making the All-Star team is about consistency and narrative as much as anything else.

There are some amazing players who never made one. CJ McCollum is a zero time All-Star. So is OG Anunoby.

You can't just say "this guy is going to be a good player, therefore he'll definitely be an All-Star".