The 2020-2021 NBA season will begin shortly. With every new season, there are players who see drastic improvements. They break out and elevate their games to the next level. Last season we seen many players make big improvements and gain more media attention. Some examples of players who broke out last season are Brandon Ingram, Bam Adebayo, Devonte Graham and Jayson Tatum.
It can be very difficult to predict which players will elevate their game to the next level. We will be looking at players around the league who are most likely to have a breakout season. We will be taking a players potential and current team situation into consideration to determine which players will have a breakout year.
Lauri Markkanen
Lauri Markkanen was the 7th overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. In his rookie season with the Bulls he showed flashes of his potential. He averaged 15.2 points per game and shot 36% from 3 as a 7 footer. In his 2nd season he made even more improvements. Markkanen shot 36% from 3 on 6.4 attempts per game. He also gained more muscle and worked on his aggressiveness. Markkanen also raised his rebounding and scoring statistics.
Despite making constant improvements, Markkanen took a huge step back in his 3rd NBA season. Markkanen had one of the most disappointing seasons last year. He posted career low averages in almost every major statistical category. At only 22 years of age, Lauri seemed to have regressed. A big factor of his regression was Bulls head coach Jim Boylen. Markkanen and Boylen didn’t have a good relationship last season. Boylen heavily mismanaged Markkanen and didn’t incorporate Lauri consistently into the offensive game plan.
Now that Boylen is no longer the head coach, we should see Markkanen reach his full potential. With more structure, Markkanen should blossom. Lauri is very talented and has lots of potential. He’s a 7 footer with great shooting touch and is also improving his post scoring ability. Markkanen hasn’t played an NBA game since March 10th. This has given him lots of time to work on his game and improve. With the new coaching change, Markkanen should gain more confidence, while also being integrated more into the team’s offence. He can be a potential candidate for the most improved player award next season.
Marvin Bagley III
The former 2nd overall pick has been pretty disappointing so far in his NBA career. Bagley was selected above of Luka Doncic and Trae Young. So far in his career he hasn’t been able to reach these expectations. Marvin didn’t have the best opportunity in his rookie season, despite being the 2nd overall pick. Bagley played most of the season off the bench. Bagley averaged 15 points in his rookie season and he averaged 20 points per game when he started. The biggest concern in Bagley’s rookie season was his injury concerns. He missed 20 games in his rookie season which hurt his development.
In Marvin’s sophomore season he struggled. Bagley struggled even more with injuries. He only played 13 games and missed most of his sophomore season. It’s been difficult to evaluate Bagley’s potential since he has only played 75 career games over the course of 2 seasons.
Despite having a rocky start to his career, Marvin has lots of potential to bounce back. You can’t forget that he was the 2nd overall pick in his draft. Bagley looked amazing coming out of college. In his lone season at Duke, Bagley showed he could be a potential star in the NBA. He is only 21 years old and has had lots of time to work on his game. The last time he played an NBA game was in January. He’s had almost a full year to recover from his injuries and get stronger.
Bagley should be a main focal point of the Kings offence this season. He will be one of the main scoring options and can majorly benefit off of De’Aaron Fox’s playmaking. Bagley has the tools to have a great season. He’s young, athletic and extremely talented. The only thing that can hold Bagley back is his injury concerns. As long as Bagley can stay healthy, then he should have a great 3rd season.
Thomas Bryant
Thomas Bryant is a young center who has made massive improvements from every season in his career. This season Bryant could potentially make another step forward in his game.
Thomas Bryant had a great season with the Wizards. He averaged 13 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from 3 point range. Bryant is skilled offensively. He can space the floor, as well as score in the post. He shown huge flashes of greatness during the NBA bubble. During his 8 bubble games with the Wizards, Bryant put up impressive numbers. He averaged 19 points per game and 9 rebounds per game. He also shot 53% from the field and 41% from 3 during this span. Despite these impressive numbers, the Wizards had a record of 1-7 during this span. Washington was also missing Beal and Bertans for these 8 games.
Bryant shown great individual talent and he can potentially take another big leap next season. During his time in Washington, Bryant hasn’t had the opportunity to play with an elite playmaker. He has been forced to create most of his own offence and doesn’t have many players to feed off of. With Russell Westbrook being recently acquired by the Wizards this season, this should change.
Westbrook has been one of the league’s best passers for the past couple of seasons. He has a career assist average of 8.3 assists per game and has had 4 seasons where he’s averaged more than 10 assists per game. Westbrook has also led the league in assists twice in his career. Westbrook is great with finding shooters, as well as playing with bigs in the pick and roll. Bryant can benefit from both. He can space the floor and be a great pick and roll partner for Westbrook.
Bryant isn’t amazing on the defensive end. Despite this, he’s a very skilled offensive player who will heavily benefit from playing with Russell Westbrook. Expect Thomas Bryant to make a big leap next season.
Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson was one of the lone bright spots on the New York Knicks last season. He led the league in field goal percentage last season by shooting an absurd 74% from the field. Mitchell Robinson now holds the record for highest field goal percentage by a player in a single season. He is extremely mobile and excels in the pick and roll. Robinson is also a big lob threat.
Mitchell is also a beast on the defensive end. He averaged 2 blocks per game last season which ranked him 7th in the entire league for blocks per game. In his rookie season he was even more elite as a shot blocker. He averaged 2.4 blocks per game which ranked him 2nd in the entire league for blocks per game. Mitchell Robinson has great length, athleticism and defensive instincts. All of these tools make him a dangerous defensive player.
Although he’s proven to be extremely efficient and a great defender, he still has room to improve. Mitchell Robinson often finds himself in foul trouble. This issue can keep him off the court for long periods of time. He needs to foul less and stay more disciplined on the defensive end. If he can do this, it will elevate his defensive play to another level. Mitchell Robinson should also see major improvements on the defensive end thanks to the Knicks coaching change. Tom Thibodeau is a great defensive coach that will help the defensive development of Mitchell Robinson. Thibodeau coached Joakim Noah who is a former defensive player of the year winner. He played a big part in elevating Joakim’s defense to defensive player of the year level. He could potentially have the same effect on Mitchell Robinson.
Another issue with Mitchell Robinson last season was his fit on the roster. The Knicks had Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle as the primary bigs on the roster, despite their inability to play next to each other. This proved to be very problematic. Because of their poor fit, Mitchell Robinson was moved to the bench. They couldn’t play together due to the lack of spacing. Mitchell Robinson doesn’t shoot jump shots and Julius Randle was atrocious from 3 point range last season. He shot 27% from 3 on almost 4 attempts per game.
The Knicks fixed this problem during the 2020 offseason. They drafted Obi Toppin with the 8th overall pick. Obi Toppin has proved that he can be a great 3 point shooter and should be a great fit next to Mitchell Robinson. These two will fit alongside each other great in the front court. This should help elevate Mitchell’s game.
Mitchell Robinson is a 22 year old center with extreme athleticism and defensive abilities. With a new coach and system change, along with better pieces around him, he should have a breakout season for the Knicks and be one of the bright spots on the team next season.
Markelle Fultz
Markelle Fultz has had a very strange and abnormal start to his NBA career. He was a star in college during his time at Washington. He was then selected 1st overall in the 2017 NBA draft. Markelle suffered an injury in his rookie season which allowed him to play a mere 14 games. He suffered one of the weirdest rookie seasons in NBA history. He got a shoulder injury and forgot how to shoot a basketball. Markelle had to relearn how to shoot a basketball. This led to many memes mocking his unorthodoxed form. Despite this abstract rookie season, he became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple double. He was 19 years old at the time.
After a strange career in Philadelphia, they gave up on him. He was traded to the Orlando Magic to get a fresh start and to unlock his full potential. Last season he played his first full season for the Magic. This was also his first full season in the NBA. He was Orlando’s starting point guard for the majority of the season and showed flashes of greatness. He recorded 6 games this season where he scored at least 20 points. Markelle also recorded 4 double doubles and 1 triple double during the season.
Although he didn’t shoot well from 3, he did well in other categories. He proved to be a good playmaker by averaging 5 assists per game and facilitating the Orlando Magic offence. Markelle also showed flashes of being a slasher. He shot 47% from the field on the season and proved to be very effective with the floor spaced out. Markelle is great in the open court and very athletic. Fultz also showed defensive promise. He averaged 1.3 steals per game and proved to be a tenacious on ball defender when locked in on defense.
Fultz is a former 1st overall pick and is just scratching the surface of what he can become. He may not ever become the player he was expected to become out of college, but he can still become an all-star caliber player. Next season he will improve and will most likely get more touches. He should get more opportunity next season which will help him break out. He’s only 22 years old and is very talented. Don’t give up on him just yet.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been surprising people since he first entered the league. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick and made an immediate impact in his rookie season. Shai was the starting point guard on a playoff team in his rookie season. He only stayed with the Clippers for one season and was one of the major pieces of the Paul George trade. Shai surprised lots of people in his sophomore season and was in most improved player of the year discussions. In Shai’s sophomore season he raised his points per game by 8.2. He also improved his ability to create his own shot, as well as create for others.
During the 2019-2020 season, Shai had to share the ball with lots of players. Danilo Gallinari, Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder all had a significant role on the team. This offseason the Oklahoma City Thunder retooled their roster and have went into full rebuild mode. They traded away Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder, while also letting Danilo Gallinari sign elsewhere in free agency. With all of these players gone, this creates more opportunity for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Shai will now be the main ball handler on the team. Last season Chris Paul was the main ball handler for OKC, with Schroder being the secondary ball handler. Shai will have an increased playmaking role this season and will be expected to orchestrate the team’s offence. We can see his assist numbers take a huge leap this upcoming season.
Shai will also be the go to scorer of the team. Although Shai led the Thunder in points last season, he wasn’t their primary scoring option. He shared scoring responsibilities with Gallinari, Schroder and Chris Paul. With these players now gone, Shai will be taking a majority of the shots next season for the Thunder. Expect his volume of field goal attempts to heavily increase.
Shai is only 22 years old and has shown flashes of his potential already. Now that the Thunder have depleted their roster, Shai should be getting unlimited touches next season for OKC.
Deandre Ayton
People are quick to forget about Deandre Ayton. Players drafted after Ayton have been gaining more attention in their NBA careers. Luka Doncic and Trae Young were part of the same draft class as Ayton. The hype around Luka and Trae has caused Deandre Ayton to play in their shadows. Ayton was the 1st overall pick of the 2018 draft.
His first two seasons in the league have gone under the radar. He averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game in his rookie season. Ayton also shot 59% from the field in his rookie season. In Ayton’s sophomore season he got even better. He averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in his 2nd season. He also improved his shot blocking abilities and raised his blocks per game average to 1.5 blocks per game.
In Ayton’s first 2 seasons in the league he has shown great potential. Last season Ricky Rubio’s presence severely improved Ayton’s development. Rubio’s playmaking brought Ayton’s game to the next level. During the 2020 offseason, the Phoenix Suns acquired Chris Paul. Chris Paul is one of the best floor generals and playmakers in the league. He will help elevate Deandre’s game to a new level. Chris Paul and Ayton can form an elite pick and roll duo. Ayton has struggled with aggressiveness during his NBA career. With Chris Paul on the team, he will help push Ayton to be more aggressive on the offensive end. Ayton has also been making massive improvements on the defensive end. He can potentially make massive defensive improvements next season as well.
During the NBA bubble, Ayton showed flashes of his full potential. Ayton showed improvements in his floor spacing ability. He shot 30% from 3 point range during the NBA bubble. He’s started to attempt 3 pointers and showed promise of extending his range. Ayton will look to improve on his floor spacing ability and it can help take his game to the next level.
Deandre Ayton is a former 1st overall pick with lots of potential. He has just scratched the surface of the player he can become. Ayton has the potential to be one of the best bigs in the NBA. He is only 22 years old and has showed constant improvements in every season of his career. Playing next to Chris Paul will do wonders to Ayton’s game. He can potentially become a first time all-star this upcoming season.
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