NBA Rookies 2014: 1st-Year Players with Most to Prove in 2014
The 2014 NBA season draws ever nearer, and that means another chance for some of the league's top young talent to gain valuable experience at the professional level.
But for some players entering their rookie seasons, it's all about proving that they were worth the draft slot that was used on them.
Every year we see players with raw talent flame out and never cut it at basketball's top level.
Even players billed as "can't-miss prospects" have their weaknesses and have to find a way to live up to that moniker.
Heading into the 2014 season, here are some rookies who have a lot to prove.
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
Being the No. 1 overall pick in any year carries its fair share of expectations, but Andrew Wiggins may be one of the most scrutinized first overall selections in years.
In fact, before Wiggins even started college, numerous scouts told ESPN Insider Chad Ford (subscription required) that Wiggins would have been the consensus No. 1 pick of the 2013 draft—and every other draft right back to 2007.
With hops like this, who would question that assessment?
Well, for one, another ESPN Insider, Kevin Pelton, (subscription required) believes that too much of Wiggins' hype was from his high school days and that his year at Kansas was just average.
And as if the pressure to perform wasn't already gargantuan on the 19-year-old, he was the centerpiece in a trade for one the NBA's elite power forwards and one of the best players overall.
Throw in the fact that his 6'8", 200-pound frame is still undersized and he'll not only have to prove himself on the court but also off it as well in the weight room.
Dante Exum, Utah Jazz
Another player oozing with talent, but with a lot to prove in 2014, is Utah Jazz first-rounder Dante Exum.
Drafted fifth overall from Australia, Exum has the kind of speed and playmaking ability that organizations salivate over.
The thought of a backcourt combo of Exum and Alec Burks in a few years time is a scary one for the rest of the league, but first Exum must make it through the 2014 season without giving credence to too many of his detractors.
As a player coming from overseas and not through the college system, he faces more question marks than those who come through the easier-to-gauge college system.
After all, no team wants to draft the next Andrea Bargnani or Rafael Araujo with such a high pick.
ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg also questioned certain portions of the teenager's game on the Dan Patrick Show in June:
As a top-five pick, Exum will be expected to carry much of the load in Utah's rebuilding process. Managing that, as well as proving that he's not another international-player bust and that he can develop a better jumper and release time is a lot to manage.
Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers
Over a year after being drafted sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans, Nerlens Noel has yet to play a game in the NBA.
That makes him just one of three first-round selections from 2013 to have not played a game in the Association.
He missed his entire rookie campaign after tearing an ACL in his lone season at the University of Kentucky, with the 76ers not wanting to rush him back after acquiring him from New Orleans.
Now Noel will shoulder the burden of leading the rebuild of a struggling Philadelphia franchise. As Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia's John Finger points out, though, Noel knows the pressure he will face:
If Noel was feeling the pressure to perform in the summer league, it's only going to be magnified as the season progresses.
The fact that his injury was something as serious as a torn ACL is also disconcerting and a reason for doubt. Losing recent draftee and fellow big man Joel Embiid to injury also indirectly shines more light on Noel this year.
The Kentucky product has a lot of work to do to live up to his billing as a defensive animal.
Jon Reid is a correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @JonReidCSM.
