Great Leap: 7 NBA players who could make the leap from good to great this season
Paul George has greatly evolved to become the mainstay of the Pacers Time passes, champions are crowned, MVP awards are won, everyone gets a year older, your favourite players slowly fade into oblivion, and life goes on. But for every star that begins to die down, a new star is born! Every year, a new group of players make a giant leap from good to great. It usually happens between the second and fourth years in the career of a young NBA talent, as the player begins to fully grasp the true potential of his basketballing powers and begins to get comfortable with the pace and systems in the NBA.In recent years, we have seen the likes of Paul George and Jimmy Butler make such a leap, going from solid starters to NBA All-Stars. Here are the players who could make that great leap this season.
#1 Andrew Wiggins
I’m predicting bright things for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. They’re blessed with the new number one pick Karl-Anthony Towns, have welcomed a healthy return of Ricky Rubio, and have an eclectic mix of veterans and youth to keep things exciting up in the Twin Cities.
But the biggest reason for my projected T-Wolves jump is second-year swingman and reigning rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins. I believe that Wiggins can take the leap to become one of the best swingmen in the league, and even on tough offensive nights, his ability on the defensive end ensures that he will always earn ample playing time on the floor.
Wiggins was thrust into the eye of the storm last season in the league’s worst teams, but the silver lining was that he got to play major minutes and learn through his mistakes. As the season progresses, watch for Wiggins to blossom into a better player, realize the limitlessness of his own talents, and unleash hellfire on to the rest of the league. The future is very, very bright.