Every NBA Team's Hidden Gem Who Needs More Respect
As the 2023-24 NBA season heads into the home stretch after the All-Star break, most fans are well acquainted with the league's top-line stars and featured players.
Superstars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Stephen Curry and LeBron James will command most of the national attention as the playoffs approach. But we should take time to acknowledge the less recognized contributors who'll have an impact as well.
Every team has a player or two who isn't getting the attention they deserve.
Loyalists will be familiar with our selections, but the idea is to highlight the under-celebrated players around the NBA. Think of this a deep-cut primer for fans of the league at large.
Who knows? Maybe a few of our picks will level up and affect the playoff standings as if they were starters or stars. Even if they don't, it's still worth taking the time to appreciate the league's lesser-known difference-makers.
Atlanta Hawks: Garrison Mathews
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Lest anyone doubt we're digging deep for some of these hidden gems, little-used reserve Garrison Mathews is our pick for the Atlanta Hawks.
The 27-year-old wing grades out miserably by most catch-all metrics (minus-4.5 Estimated Plus/Minus), but Mathews has played just 12.6 minutes per game, so the numbers are especially subject to small-sample quirks. Example: Opponents are shooting 41.4 percent from deep with Mathews on the floor. He can't be blamed for that exceptional hit rate, which contributes to Atlanta's minus-5.4 net rating when he plays.
Put that aside for a moment and appreciate what Mathews does well, namely: shoot the lights out and grift fouls at a truly elite rate.
A career 37.4 percent sniper from deep, Mathews is canning 44.0 percent of his treys this season on solid per-minute volume. At 8.8 long-range attempts per 100 possessions (10.3 for his career), Mathews is trigger-happy enough to command constant defensive attention on the perimeter.
On the other end, he's arguably the league's best at drawing fouls on illegal screens. Mathews averages 1.57 non-charge offensive fouls drawn per 100 possessions, the highest rate of anyone who's logged at least 100 minutes on the season.
Mathews shouldn't be playing so much over rookie first-round pick Kobe Bufkin, but his niche gifts are still worth appreciating.
Boston Celtics: Neemias Queta
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A 7'0" center whom the Sacramento Kings picked 39th overall in the 2021 draft, Neemias Queta's size and athleticism are double-take inducing. He moves more quickly than you'd expect for someone his size, but he still manages to play with extreme force.
In addition to the occasional highlight, Queta tops all Boston players with 5.1 screen assists and 13.1 screen assist points per 36 minutes. That's another way of saying his involvement in pick-and-roll sets and as a road block for teammates coming off pindowns is a real asset. his plus-19.1 on-court net rating is by far the best of any Celtic who's played at least 200 minutes.
Defensively, Queta holds opponents to 55.4 percent shooting inside six feet. Though admittedly amassed at much lower volume, that figure is roughly in line with those produced by Brook Lopez and Jaren Jackson Jr. and significantly better than noted rim-protectors like Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen and Anthony Davis.
Queta hasn't played more than 15 minutes in a game since December, and the trade-deadline acquisition of Xavier Tillman adds another big man ahead of him on a crowded depth chart. With that said, he's made a habit of doing a lot with a little playing time.
Maybe Queta will continue to be a quietly excellent per-play contributor even as his role shrinks down the stretch.
Brooklyn Nets: Dennis Smith Jr.
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Dennis Smith Jr. is playing for his sixth team in seven years and is making a minimum salary. Those aren't great outcomes for a player picked in the top 10 of the 2017 draft, one whose off-the-charts athleticism convinced more than a few analysts that he had superstar potential.
It no longer appears Smith has that kind of upside, but he deserves immense credit for carving out a career as a specialist. The 26-year-old is one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the league.
His plus-3.0 Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus ranks in the 98th percentile leaguewide, and he's posted steal rates in the top 10 percent at his position in each of the last four years. You don't even really need the numbers when it comes to Smith's impact. All you have to do is watch him smother whatever poor soul is stuck across from him, and you can appreciate what he does.
Smith wasn't always this good on D. Far from it, actually. But now that he's settled into a clear role, DSJ is a true weapon against the best offensive players in the league. Smith's most frequent matchups in 2023-24 are Stephen Curry, Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell.
Charlotte Hornets: Tre Mann
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It's time to get in on the ground floor with Tre Mann, who fits the bill as a potential change-of-scenery standout.
In his first four games after being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Charlotte Hornets, the 23-year-old combo guard justified the endorsement he once got from Damian Lillard: "I don't know if it's going to be in Oklahoma City, but wherever it's at, Tre Mann is nice. They're deep over there. I think he's going to have to move, but when he gets an opportunity somewhere, I'm telling you."
No longer buried behind OKC's quality guards, Mann is averaging 13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 30.0 minutes per game with the Hornets, all while showcasing the handle, space-creation skill and vision that tantalized Thunder fans in small doses.
The stakes are low in Charlotte, and LaMelo Ball remains out, which creates a good environment for Mann to test himself in a larger role than he's ever played. The early results suggest he's going to thrive.
Chicago Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu
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Chicago Bulls fans know about the shooting tear that Ayo Dosunmu has been on over the last several weeks, and they're aware of how his defensive tenacity can flummox scorers as accomplished as Trae Young. But with most of the national headlines focused on Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, and with Coby White breaking out in an even bigger way, Dosunmu is leveling up in relative anonymity.
Full-season averages of 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.7 minutes don't tell the story, even if including his stellar 50.2/41.4/76.7 shooting split.
In the month of January, Dosunmu racked up 12.9 points per game on even more impressive efficiency, drilling 53.6 percent of his shots and 46.2 percent of his triples. Remarkably, Dosunmu was even better in his six February games prior to the All-Star break, putting up 15.7 points while going a ridiculous 19-of-34 from long range.
Opportunities are plentiful with LaVine out for the season, but the Bulls aren't just handing Dosunmu minutes as they tank down the stretch. Ill-advised as it may be, this organization is trying to win as many games as possible.
Dosunmu, who entered the year somewhere around fourth on Chicago's guard depth chart, is going to be indispensable in that effort.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Sam Merrill
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The Cleveland Cavaliers went 11-2 in January, and most of the credit rightly went to Donovan Mitchell, who guided his team to that mark while getting three combined games of assistance from Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
Let's just make sure not to overlook Sam Merrill's contributions.
Signed to a 10-day deal last March, Merrill barely played during the first three months of this season. But injuries thrust him into the rotation after the new year, and the movement-shooting specialist made the most of the opportunity, going 44-of-103 from deep and averaging 22.9 minutes per game. Most importantly, Cleveland outscored opponents by 9.8 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.
Merrill's role has diminished with several Cavs players getting healthier, but he's shooting the ball even better of late. After drilling 42.7 percent of his threes last month, he's at an even 50.0 percent in February.
Cleveland's 2023 postseason failures owed in part to the absence of threatening floor-spacers. Max Strus was the big offseason fix for that issue, and he's been helpful despite a 33.6 percent hit rate from deep. Merrill is more limited, but he's spent several weeks proving he can also provide exactly what the Cavs need from a role-playing wing.
Dallas Mavericks: Dante Exum
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A bout of right knee bursitis that knocked him out of the rotation for all but two games since Jan. 1 made it easy to forget about Dante Exum. And with the Dallas Mavericks adding PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, one of the best redemption stories in years got pushed further out of the spotlight.
That can't happen.
Undone by shaky shooting and bad injury luck, Exum was out of the NBA for two full seasons before catching on with the Mavs and playing the best basketball of his life. The No. 5 pick in the 2014 draft returned from a pair of seasons in Europe with a stronger frame and a much more reliable jumper, plus all the defensive tenacity and connective offensive instincts that made him such a fascinating prospect.
Now 28, the Aussie guard is hitting 47.7 percent of his threes and averaging 16.8 points, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per 36 minutes. Exum even slotted into the starting lineup for most of December until that knee shelved him.
This is a reclamation project of the highest order, and hopefully Exum's return after the All-Star break will remind everyone that it's far from over.
Denver Nuggets: Peyton Watson
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Up to 18.4 minutes per game after averaging just 8.1 as a rookie last season, Peyton Watson is a little less hidden than he used to be. The high-flying 21-year-old still needs more recognition, if only because he figures to have a major impact on the Denver Nuggets' attempted championship repeat.
With Bruce Brown Jr. and Jeff Green gone from last year's squad, Watson and fellow second-year player Christian Braun are going to see high-leverage playoff minutes.
Watson, like many players we've featured here, makes his living on defense. A 94th percentile DEPM captures his overall impact, but you only need to watch the 6'8" forward reject shots from all angles to understand how disruptive his length and lift are on D.
There aren't many combo forwards who can occupy a weak-side corner shooter and still make it to the rim to break up a lob to a center. Watson is one of them.
Watching plays like that, his 99th percentile ranking among forwards in block rate somehow seems low. He has a dozen games with at least two swats on the season, despite relatively little playing time.
Denver will go as far as its stars and starters take it, but Watson will be called upon when it matters, too. Expect him to answer. Loudly.
Detroit Pistons: Marcus Sasser
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With Alec Burks traded and Killian Hayes waived, the Detroit Pistons' surplus of guards isn't quite as problematic as it once was. But it's still a little too easy to overlook rookie Marcus Sasser.
It's true that Sasser isn't as high on the "this guy might salvage the franchise" depth chart as Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson or even Quentin Grimes. But the 23-year-old out of Houston has already shown enough in his first season to suggest he's going to earn rotation minutes—whether it's in Detroit or elsewhere.
Sasser's defining skill is his three-point shooting. Though he's been subject to hot and cold streaks, he's at 42.4 percent for the year and hasn't shot worse than 37.5 percent in any month. An 85.0 percent free-throw hit rate is a good sign the 6'2" guard's stroke is legit.
The Pistons are correctly allowing Sasser to push his limits since shaking up the roster at the deadline, giving him a season-high 20.8 minutes across his first eight games in February. He's responded with season-best averages of 10.4 points and 4.8 assists while hitting 48.5 percent of his treys in that span.
Defensive questions persist, and Sasser's lack of size makes it tough for him to finish in traffic or see all the available passing angles. But if he's going to can threes at this rate, those deficiencies will matter a lot less.
Golden State Warriors: Brandin Podziemski
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It's getting harder for Brandin Podziemski to avoid recognition, what with full write-ups and laudatory quotes from teammates trickling out with increasing frequency.
The kicker line comes from Kevon Looney in the latest Podz piece from The Athletic's Anthony Slater: "He's got a delusion to him that makes him good."
The line refers to Podziemski's outsized confidence and razor-sharp competitive edge, but it might also be helpful in explaining how a 6'4" rookie guard averages 8.0 rebounds per 36 minutes. He chases boards like they're worth actual points, routinely out-jumping forwards and centers to high-point the ball while also beating speedy opponents to long rebounds.
An ace connector on offense who excels at exploiting angles and getting to spots that create passing lanes, Podz plays at a breakneck pace but somehow avoids the mistakes most slower-playing rookies commit. Head coach Steve Kerr is notorious for not trusting youngsters, but he's now starting Podziemski ahead of in-house legend Klay Thompson.
Podz also (ho-hum) leads the league in charges drawn. His willingness to stand fast and absorb hits from larger players actually makes him a quality rim-protector. And if that sounds ridiculous, maybe Podziemski is making me a little delusional, too.
Houston Rockets: Tari Eason
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The only way Tari Eason counts as overlooked is if you focus on how injuries limited him to 22 games prior to the All-Star break. A stress reaction in his lower left leg might even threaten his season. But when the frenetically active forward is actually on the floor, he's impossible to miss.
When healthy, Eason seems to be everywhere at once. He's elite on both the offensive and defensive glass, and he's a steal and block magnet. Only five other players are matching Eason by averaging at least 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steal per 36 minutes, and only Matisse Thybulle joined him on that list last year.
Though he's perhaps most dangerous roaming away from his man, Eason nonetheless draws difficult individual assignments. He's spent more possessions this year guarding Michael Porter Jr. than any other player, but No. 2 and No. 3 on that list are Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant.
While he's typically not called upon to score, Eason is a career 34.7 percent three-point shooter (36.0 percent this year). That's just good enough to give him a smidgen of off-ball value—outside of his work on the offensive boards, course.
The ultimate on-the-margins contributor, Eason changes games in ways few players can.
Indiana Pacers: T.J. McConnell
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In the modern era where threes are king, it's astounding that T.J. McConnell has as much value as he does.
The veteran point guard makes up for rarely shooting treys (21 attempts in 798 minutes) or making them (23.8 percent) by pushing the pace, piercing the defense and setting up teammates for clean looks in the Indiana Pacers' high-octane offense.
McConnell is averaging 17.4 points, 11.4 assists and 2.2 steals per 36 minutes and is somehow posting a solid 54.7 effective field-goal percentage while taking over half of his shots from the low-percentage short mid-range area. To his credit, McConnell has perfected a quick rise-and-fire motion in that 6-10 foot no-man's land, and it makes him just enough of a threat to pry open the passing lanes he prizes.
The 31-year-old does everything on the court with urgency, and his manic energy infects teammates, getting them to sprint on the break and keep the ball zipping around in half-court sets.
Tyrese Haliburton drives the Pacers most of the time, but McConnell excels at stepping in and stomping on the accelerator for a frantic 17.3 minutes per game.
Los Angeles Clippers: Amir Coffey
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Every team needs more rangy wings who can contribute on both ends, even one that already has two All-Stars filling that niche. That's why Amir Coffey is such an important part of the Los Angeles Clippers team that has played better than just about anyone else over the last few months.
The 6'7" forward is just eighth on the Clips in minutes per game and falls well behind fellow reserves Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook in terms of name recognition. But Coffey is quietly putting together the best season of his career at age 26. He's scored more prolifically in the past, with the 9.0 points per game he averaged in 2021-22 still a career high. But Coffey has never been anywhere close to this efficient.
With a sterling 55.3/44.0/89.4 shooting split, Coffey makes the absolute most of the few attempts he sees every game. A dependent scorer who scores via assists on 78.9 percent of his buckets, Coffey benefits hugely from the presence of master facilitator James Harden.
You know what? So does everyone else who plays with Harden.
Coffey has been even hotter of late, hitting 60.2 percent of his shots from the field and 51.0 percent of his deep attempts since Jan. 1. Keep that up, and he'll play his way into a significant raise in 2025 free agency.
Los Angeles Lakers: Rui Hachimura
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On a public team that has as many avid fans as the Los Angeles Lakers do, it's hard for anyone to go unnoticed. What tends to happen instead is every deep-bench player has a rabid support base that clamors for him to get more minutes.
Look hard enough, and you'll probably find arguments online that rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino and his 24.4 percent field-goal percentage should see more action.
Rui Hachimura has his diehard believers as well. The difference between him and several other Lakers role players is that his constituency is right. Hachimura is a sneaky key to his team's best lineups and needs to be on the floor more often than the likes of Taurean Prince.
The career-high 36 points Hachimura scored just before the All-Star break may have been an inflection point, but data already existed that said he needed a larger role.
With great combo-forward size, a 2023 postseason run that showcased his skills and a shot diet that is now thankfully lower on mid-rangers than ever, there's a ton to like about the 26-year-old.
Memphis Grizzlies: Vince Williams Jr.
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In a season as lost as the one the Memphis Grizzlies are enduring, everyone involved slips out of the broader NBA consciousness.
Quick! Who's played more minutes than any Grizzlies player other than Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane? Unless you happen to reside in the greater Memphis area, odds are you have no idea off the top of your head.
It's Vince Williams Jr., a shooting guard whom the Grizzlies picked 47th in the 2022 draft. He was likely ticketed for a season in the G League before injuries ravaged Memphis' roster.
The first subject in any introductory course on Williams is this: The man can guard. Capable of staying in front of the league's most dangerous ball-handlers for inordinate amounts of time, Williams can also throw a wrench in the offensive works away from the rock. He's second among Grizzlies in deflections.
On the other end, Williams' rapid development as a playmaker warrants notice. He tallied at least five assists in each of his last six games leading into the All-Star break after reaching that total only four times in his first 38 appearances.
Miami Heat: Nikola Jović
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That he hadn't played in six of the seven games immediately preceding his breakout 24-point performance in an easy win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 13 says everything about Nikola Jović's plight with the Miami Heat.
"Either I start or I don't play," Jović told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "It's wild."
He's not wrong. Jović has started 14 games and logged an average of 21.7 minutes in those contests. He also has loads of DNPs and only averages 7.5 minutes per game when he comes off the bench. That's a difficult tug-of-war for a young player to endure, particularly one who's shooting 45.5 percent from three while also flashing legitimate facilitation skill from a forward spot.
For most of his rookie year in 2022-23, the 6'10" Serbian was probably best known as a potential sweetener in whatever blockbuster trade the pick-poor Heat planned to execute next. Still the youngest player on the team, despite being halfway through his second season, the 20-year-old Jović has done more than enough to escape his trade-fodder label.
If Miami ever lets him play consistently, he'll be recognized for what he can actually do on the floor.
Milwaukee Bucks: Andre Jackson Jr.
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It's not a stretch to say rookie Andre Jackson Jr. is one of the most important pieces of a hypothetical Milwaukee Bucks championship puzzle.
Nobody would argue Jackson matters more than veteran stars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and both Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton figure to have their say as well. But an already thin Bucks rotation lost depth it couldn't spare in the Lillard trade, which left the second-rounder out of UConn as the team's standout wing defender.
New head coach Doc Rivers is historically mistrustful of rookies, which is part of the reason why Jackson averaged just 8.0 minutes in his first six February games. But Rivers is bound to eventually realize the Lillard-Malik Beasley backcourt combo is profoundly ill-equipped to handle tough postseason matchups on D, Pat Connaughton and Middleton can't be relied upon as stoppers, and veteran irritant Patrick Beverley is more bark than bite.
That'll leave Jackson, an energetic 6'6" disruptor with great length and quick feet, as a critical contributor. Consider this a bet that he's ready to help.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
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Sixth on the team in minutes per game and averaging just 7.0 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is easy to overlook if you only focus on the numbers. But his impact on a Minnesota Timberwolves team currently sitting atop the Western Conference is far greater than those basic stats suggest.
As The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski recently chronicled, Alexander-Walker's early career was one long struggle to find a role. Traded twice (actually four times, if you count a series of deals prior to the 2019 season that sent him from the Brooklyn Nets to the Atlanta Hawks to the New Orleans Pelicans) before he turned 25, NAW couldn't figure out where he fit.
With the Wolves, he's got it down.
A rangy and high-energy defender at 6'7", Alexander-Walker can change games on that end with his ball pressure and screen navigation. When necessary, he can also pick his spots as a scorer whether on or off the ball. This more disciplined version of NAW doesn't remotely resemble the low-percentage chucker that played for the New Orleans Pelicans for his first year-and-a-half as a pro.
Sixth Man of the Year consideration is on the way, and Alexander-Walker is still young enough to develop into a high-end starter on a good team.
New Orleans Pelicans: Larry Nance Jr.
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On a team loaded with capable perimeter defenders—Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall, the injured Dyson Daniels—Larry Nance Jr. stands out as the only one who brings any oomph nearer the basket.
Though he's just 10th among New Orleans Pelicans regulars in minutes per game overall, Nance's defensive mobility, passing and versatility (everyone is versatile compared to starter Jonas Valanciunas) allow him to make an outsized impact in close-and-late moments. New Orleans has outscored opponents by seven points in Nance's 17.2 clutch minutes this season, significantly better than minus-7 they've managed in Valanciunas' 31.2 clutch minutes.
That discrepancy gets more support when comparing the Pels' two centers in DEPM, where Valanciunas rates as one of the single most negatively impactful players in the entire league. Meanwhile, Nance is a clear positive, ranking in the 83rd percentile.
Currently striping it at a career-best 45.5 percent from deep, Nance also averages more screen assists, more charges drawn and more deflections per minute than his lumbering counterpart. Considering their rim-protection numbers, as measured by field-goal percentage allowed inside six feet, are basically the same, it's hard to justify Nance's role being so much smaller than Valanciunas'.
New York Knicks: Miles McBride
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Like the Lakers, the New York Knicks are such a known commodity among fans that it's difficult to say anyone on the team deserves more recognition than he's getting. That's especially true because so many Knicks players have had big-minute roles—either for them or another team this season.
In all, 13 players who either used to or currently play for New York have averaged over 20.0 minutes per game.
Let's go with Miles McBride, who has appeared in 43 contests while averaging a sufficiently under-the-radar 12.6 minutes.
The 23-year-old point guard is finally connecting on threes at the rate many expected following his last year at West Virginia, when he hit them at a 41.4 percent clip. In addition to hitting 40.0 percent from deep this season, McBride has also improved his two-point finishing with a career-best 68.6 percent at the rim.
When healthy, the Knicks can spread on-ball reps between Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović. Even Josh Hart joins that crew with an assist percentage above the 50th percentile. That's why it's so important that McBride has been able to provide value as a shooting threat.
There may come a time when he has to handle more conventional point guard duties. For now, McBride deserves credit for filling a necessary role.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Jalen Williams
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If you thought Jalen Williams' No. 2 finish in Rookie of the Year voting last season would knock him out of the "hidden gems" conversation, think again. The Oklahoma City Thunder's second-year superstar-in-waiting remains the best player in the league that nobody seems to recognize.
Start here: Last year, Williams became the only rookie this century to play over 2,000 minutes with a true shooting percentage above the vaunted 60.0 percent mark and a positive Defensive Box Plus/Minus. In 2023-24, Williams is averaging 19.2 points, 4.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds on an absurd 54.4/45.4/80.4 shooting split. If he finishes the campaign with those point-assist-rebound averages and drops to a mere 50/40/80 split, he'll become the first 22-year-old in history to do so.
Williams has the big frame to physically overpower wings and the handle to leave forwards grasping at air. He's shooting 69.2 percent in the clutch and ranks in the 90th percentile in assist rate at his position. His plus-3.9 EPM sits neatly in the 95th percentile leaguewide. And yet, J-Dub didn't get a whiff of consideration for the All-Star Game, finishing with zero media votes and ranking 15th among West frontcourt players in the fan vote.
When a legitimate star is hiding in plain sight, we get to break from the traditional idea of a hidden gem. If you think Paolo Banchero is sure to be the best player from the 2022 draft class, you haven't been paying attention.
Orlando Magic: Jonathan Isaac
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We aren't far removed from a time when it would have seemed ridiculous to slot Jonathan Isaac in this space. The No. 6 pick in the 2017 draft was among the league's best defenders by his second season. That 2018-19 campaign represented a high point for Isaac, though.
Isaac played 75 games in that breakout year but has battled injuries ever since. He missed the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons entirely.
Isaac's 37 games prior to this year's All-Star break are already the second most he's ever played in a season. Though his role remains limited to just 14.9 minutes per game, the flashes of elite defense remain.
Isaac is posting 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per 36 minutes, but remarkable mobility (somehow still intact after so many lower-body injuries) and length define his game. No other player in the league who's appeared in at least 20 contests matches his per-36 averages of 2.9 blocks and 1.7 steals.
There just aren't many 6'10" players who qualify as true multi-position stoppers and off-ball menaces. But Isaac's ability to snuff out offense anywhere on the floor is unparalleled by at least one measure.
Philadelphia 76ers: Paul Reed
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Long a favorite of both the analytics community and the traditional scouting set that loves to use terms like "high motor" and "nose for the ball," Paul Reed still goes mostly unnoticed by casual observers.
Let's change that by highlighting how he's the only player in the league to log over 150 games across the last four years while averaging at least 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per 36 minutes. That level of per-minute production is about the best you can ask for from a big man stuck playing behind a perennial MVP candidate.
Reed isn't perfect. He's active, energetic and disruptive, but he doesn't stretch the floor or contribute any playmaking. That's fine. As long as he generates extra possessions with his hustle and work on the glass, he'll be useful as a rotation piece.
In his 19 starts this season in relief of Joel Embiid, he's also averaging 10.5 points and 7.4 boards without much letup in his scoring efficiency or hustle stats. Don't discount the chance that Reed could be more than a low-minute reserve if given the opportunity.
Phoenix Suns: Josh Okogie
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If only Josh Okogie could put the ball in the basket...
The 25-year-old is so good at so much else that even a half-decent ability to score the rock would make him an immensely valuable starter on a good team. As is, he's still an important rotation contributor due to his hellacious defense, board-crashing and general relentlessness.
Okogie has been a 90th percentile or better defender by DEPM in each of the last four years, while his block and steal rates are in the top 10 percent among wings this season. Defenders assigned to Okogie and his career 29.2 percent three-point hit rate tend to ignore him off the ball, but that loose coverage basically makes him impossible to box out.
Hence Okogie's elite 7.9 percent offensive rebound rate.
His hunger for offensive boards even has a positive knock-on effect. Okogie is drawing shooting fouls on an amazing 20.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and hasn't ranked below the 88th percentile in that stat at any point in his career.
He deserves credit for finding ways to compromise the defense without being a great shooter or finisher.
Portland Trail Blazers: Duop Reath
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Duop Reath owns one of most remarkable stories in the league, but the 27-year-old rookie is nowhere near most fans' radar.
A two-way player to start the year, the 27-year-old rookie deserves to be celebrated for what he's done on the court, but it's difficult to discuss him without fixating on what he's overcome off of it.
Reath fled South Sudan as a child, lived in a refugee camp in Kenya, eventually wound up in Australia and played at a junior college in Texas before transferring to LSU. After that, he played professionally in Australia, China and Lebanon before bouncing around and sticking with the Blazers. The documentary of his life, created by teammate Matisse Thybulle, is well worth your time.
Reath signed a standard three-year deal with the Blazers earlier this month, and his teammates' elation showed how valued he is within the locker room. A 38.5 percent shooter from deep, the 6'11" center offers real stretch at a premium position and is averaging 8.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game.
Sacramento Kings: Trey Lyles
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Keon Ellis is too deep of a cut, and Davion Mitchell still has that lottery pedigree and well-known on-ball stopping power. That means we need to look beyond the Sacramento Kings' backcourt reserves for our hidden gem.
Trey Lyles, one of the most underrated backup bigs in the league, will do nicely.
We have to start with the 39.9 percent clip from three. That's a career high, but it's worth remembering that Lyles' ability to space the floor from the frontcourt was a huge reason why he was traded on draft night for Donovan Mitchell. The Denver Nuggets may want that one back, but Lyles' viability as a spacer has been understood for years.
That skill is particularly useful on a Kings team that doesn't get stretch from Domantas Sabonis at the 5. Lineups including Lyles, which almost exclusively slot him at power forward, are posting a plus-4.9 net rating overall. The Kings' most-used unit that includes Lyles and Sabonis is an incredible plus-24.3 on the year.
We haven't focused on team-specific fit to this point, but it's hard to overstate Lyles' contributions to this particular Kings team.
San Antonio Spurs: Dominick Barlow
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It's probably not safe to assume Dominick Barlow is a legitimate 40.0 percent three-point shooter considering he's on pace to top out at fewer than 25 attempts on the season. But perimeter accuracy isn't really Barlow's selling point anyway.
The San Antonio Spurs big man has spent considerable time in the G League this season, and the results suggest he's overqualified for that level. Barlow is only averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds for San Antonio, but his Austin numbers—17.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 57.7 percent from the field—are highly intriguing.
Capable of high-speed grab-and-go transition attacks and better than most NBA bigs at converting tough shots from the short mid-range area, Barlow can be a weapon against slower and bulkier opponents who can't match his pace.
The Spurs are still mixing and matching to see which kinds of teammates make the most sense next to Victor Wembanyama. Maybe they'll give Barlow more run down the stretch to see if his energy and open-floor pace are a good match.
Toronto Raptors: Chris Boucher
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Already 31, Chris Boucher has probably peaked as a player. Steadily declining minutes per game over the last four years indicate the Toronto Raptors aren't seeing quite the same guy who shot 38.3 percent from three and blocked 1.9 shots per game in 2020-21.
With that said, Boucher is still the rarest type of NBA rotation player: a rim-protecting big man who can also stretch the floor.
Serge Ibaka and Myles Turner are basically the modern prototypes of that skill set, and they're the only other players in league history to join Boucher in logging at least 350 career games with a block rate above 5.5 percent and a clip of 33.3 percent or better from deep.
Boucher is only connecting on 32.2 percent of his triples this season, and he's all the way down to a 2.9 percent block rate, which shows he's not as valuable as he used to be. Then again, only a dozen players in the league this season match his averages of 2.2 made threes and 1.6 blocks per 100 possessions across as many games as he's played.
He's not what he was, but Boucher is still an outlier in the best way.
Utah Jazz: Kris Dunn
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Continuing the trend of defense-first players landing on our list of unappreciated contributors, we arrive at Kris Dunn of the Utah Jazz.
Dunn ranks behind fellow Jazz guards Talen Horton-Tucker, Collin Sexton and Keyonte George with just 18.1 minutes of playing time per night. But if you asked the guys whom Dunn defends, they wouldn't refer to Dunn's stints as playing time.
They'd call them torture.
The No. 5 pick in the 2016 draft never developed the offensive game to justify a selection that high, but Dunn has carved out a niche by becoming perhaps the most smothering backcourt defender in the NBA. His steal and block rates have been off the charts for years, but you don't really get a sense of how uncomfortable Dunn makes opponents until you watch him.
Get this man on an All-Defensive team!
Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija
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Deni Avdija isn't the best player we've featured here (that's Jalen Williams), but he's higher on the familiarity list than most. Well, he would be if he didn't toil in obscurity for the rebuilding Washington Wizards.
Quietly, the No. 9 pick in the 2020 draft is developing into something between a quality starter and a star. The swing skill for Avdija is three-point shooting, and though his 2.8 attempts per game are still far too few, he's now draining them at a 40.4 percent clip.
Toss in improved foul-drawing craft, career highs with 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, plus the first positive DEPM of his career, and the combo forward is starting to look like a weakness-free building block who'll fit with any young cornerstones whom the Wizards eventually bring aboard.
Avdija plays extremely hard, is a willing passer and is only now learning how to use his considerable strength on both ends. The developmental environment in Washington hasn't been ideal, but Avdija has the tools and approach to be one of the faces of the franchise's next era.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate entering games played Friday, Feb. 23. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
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