NBA Players: 5 Sophomores who could be an All-Star in the upcoming season
The draft class of 2018 was one of the most versatile and talented one in recent times. It proved yet again that the NBA never fails to deliver top-notch talent every year, and that a good bunch of this group consisting of mostly teenagers have promising careers waiting for them. There seems to exist no palpable doubt that the future of the league is in safe hands.
However, while the possibility of an underperforming sophomore year persists even for the best of talents, it doesn't take away from the fact that we are lined up for some exciting quality of basketball from these youngsters in the upcoming season.
Let's take a look at the five sophomores who could transform into legit All-Stars during their 2019-20 campaign.
#5 Mitchell Robinson
Despite New York missing out on Zion, the front office made sure to surround the up-and-comers on the roster with all-round veteran talent. One of the outstanding bright spots appears in the form of the 7'1 center Mitchell Robinson. The 21-year-old led the rookies in blocks last season averaging 2.44 swats per game while also posting the best field goal percentage (69.42%) of his class.
“I slide my feet more than I did (at the beginning of his rookie season). The game kind of slowed down for me at the end of last season. So the only thing I can do now is pick up where I left off last season, which is continue to stay out of foul trouble and get better,” said Robinson who averaged 3.3 personal fouls per game during his rookie year.
Robinson, the 36th pick in 2018 NBA Draft, certainly emerged as the most surprising prospect, especially with his stellar performance on the defensive end of the floor for the Knicks. His efficiency of 14.84 (while also averaging 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in 66 games for New York) was bested only by the top 4 picks from last year's draft.