12 Biggest Breakout Stars of 2014-15 NBA Season So Far
Stardom in the NBA is a fleeting concept for some players.
While the LeBron Jameses and Kobe Bryants of the Association manage to maintain their heavenly status for years and years, others only become stars for a short time. It's a constantly changing hierarchy within professional basketball, and the old are cyclically replaced by the new. Of course, that allows for each new season to produce fresh stars right along with it.
The 2014-15 campaign is no exception.
Though the year is still in its infancy, a dozen breakout stars have already emerged. Some have never been a part of that class before, while others are coming out and building on previous star-worthy campaigns. All have become crucial contributors to their respective teams, exceeding the general sets of expectations levied upon them during the offseason and lifting their stock into a new level of the NBA totem pole.
Here's hoping your favorite team can claim one of them, whichever class—new star or old one surging to new levels—he falls into.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, are current as of Nov. 11 and come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Chris Bosh
1 of 12
Team: Miami Heat
Position: PF/C
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks, 26.8 PER
It might be strange to think of Chris Bosh as a "breakout star."
After all, the Miami Heat big man once carried his Toronto Raptors squads to the postseason and helped form a Big Three alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He's piled up All-Star appearances, won multiple titles and asserted himself as one of the 100-best players to suit up in an NBA uniform throughout the league's entire history.
However, Bosh was largely viewed as the third wheel for the Finals-bound Miami teams, and doubt existed heading into the 2014-15 campaign—doubt that he would be able to step back into that alpha-dog role.
"I haven't had to be that guy," the big man told ESPN insider Tom Haberstroh before the season. "I played with the best player in the world, I didn't have to be the alpha. But now I get to see if I have it in me, and not many people are going to believe I have what's necessary. But that's what makes it exciting."
They should believe now.
While leading the Heat to a 5-2 start, Bosh has rebounded like he's back in his athletic prime, carried the scoring burden and allowed the offense to run through him. His game has often verged on flawless, and his 26.8 player efficiency rating is testimony to that.
Jimmy Butler
2 of 12
Team: Chicago Bulls
Position: SG
Age: 25
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.7 blocks, 21.1 PER
We were one year early with Jimmy Butler.
Last offseason, many—myself included—foretold great things for the Chicago Bulls shooting guard, but his 2013-14 campaign was largely disappointing. The breakout was coming, but it wouldn't happen until he'd played out another season and worked his way into Chicago's 2014-15 plans.
Now, the 25-year-old 2-guard has looked like a two-way stud, locking down on defense while playing heavy minutes and still having enough energy to make some solid offensive contributions. That 19.5-points-per-game average is impressive enough, but it gets even better when coupled with Butler's 50 percent shooting from the field, 38.9 percent clip from the outside and 80 percent conversion rate at the charity stripe.
"Butler provides the Bulls with a luxury not many teams have. Not only can he guard at least three positions very well, but he can slide to small forward on offense when the Bulls go with a two-point guard attack," Joe Cowley wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times, claiming that Butler had made the right call by opting against signing a contract extension this offseason and instead using the go-round to prove himself worth even more money.
If he keeps this up—and stays healthy, which has always seemed to be a concern for Butler during his NBA days—the gamble he made on himself will be a successful one.
Darren Collison
3 of 12
Team: Sacramento Kings
Position: PG
Age: 27
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.4 blocks, 18.9 PER
Perhaps all Darren Collison needed was an opportunity.
The speedy point guard has had chances to start games before, but the Sacramento Kings have treated him like a truly key player for the first time in his career. Though his offense hasn't been quite as spectacular as the diminutive floor general he's replacing in the starting five, thanks largely to lackluster shooting percentages and an inability to space the court with perimeter jumpers, it's his defense that has allowed him to stand out.
"Our defense starts on the ball. Any good defense does. Give Darren Collison a lot of credit," Sacramento head coach Mike Malone said after a road victory against the Denver Nuggets, via CBS Sports' Matt Moore. "He's done a good job as have our other guards of limiting guards getting into the paint."
And those sentiments are shared by other members of the team.
DeMarcus Cousins, for example, had nothing but praise after the same outing: "Biggest thing, DC is our floor general. He's communicating with us, he's leading us every night. He's the head of the snake right now, and he's doing a tremendous job defending the basketball. Everybody's stepping up, everybody's buying in, everybody's locked in."
And Collison himself is on board with the defensive inclinations.
"I take pride in my defense," he told reporters after the Nuggets game on Nov. 3. "I started to get noticed last year with the Clippers. But now to start this year, I've had to take on Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris [Paul] and now Ty Lawson, those are all great players, and I'm just glad we were able to get some of these wins. But I definitely take pride in my defense."
Seeing as he's made the Kings 30.8 points per 100 possessions better on defense when he's playing, it sure seems like a valid sentiment thus far.
Anthony Davis
4 of 12
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: PF/C
Age: 21
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 24.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.5 steals, 4.2 blocks, 35.7 PER
Anthony Davis was already a star during his sophomore season, but he's broken out even further during the early portion of the 2014-15 season. He's entered the realm of players who can make grown observers giggle while watching his exploits. He's making history each time he steps foot onto the court, putting up collections of numbers that simply haven't been seen in decades.
Through six games, the 21-year-old big man and MVP candidate has paced the NBA in rebounds per game, blocks per game and PER while finishing in the top five for both points and steals per contest. That's an insane collection of accolades, and it's forced us to look more toward historical comparisons than current ones.
If Davis maintained his current per-game averages (which will admittedly be quite difficult), he'd become the first player in NBA history to average 24.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.5 steals and 4.2 blocks during the typical contest. And he's doing that while shooting 51.8 percent from the field, knocking down 81.4 percent of his foul shots and turning the ball over only 1.2 times per game.
Let's make the requirements a bit less stringent. How many players have averaged two steals and four blocks over the course of a season?
Just David Robinson in 1991-92 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1989-90. That's it. Davis is treading through uncharted territory here, and it still seems as though he's getting better every time he steps onto the floor.
No player in NBA history has ever topped the 31.82 PER that Wilt Chamberlain posted in 1962-63 with the San Francisco Warriors. But for the first time in a long while (LeBron James' 2012-13 season serving as the lone exception), it feels as though someone has a chance to set a new record.
Evan Fournier
5 of 12
Team: Orlando Magic
Position: SG
Age: 22
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.0 blocks, 16.0 PER
Calling Evan Fournier a "star" is stretching the definition, but he deserves credit for his breakout nonetheless. After all, he's been putting together one great performance after another, showing signs of actually elevating into that limited class in the near future.
When the Denver Nuggets traded this young shooting guard to the Orlando Magic as part of the Arron Afflalo deal, they surely didn't expect the 22-year-old to play so well. At least not to this extent, as he's caught fire from all areas of the court and emerged as a confident crunch-time scorer.
Fournier has shot a scorching 50.5 percent from the field and drilled 17 of his 33 three-point attempts, helping him produce a gaudy true shooting percentage of 61.7 percent.
To put that in perspective, the NBA currently features only 13 players who have a 60 or higher true shooting percentage while scoring at least 16 points per game: Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, Evan Fournier, Gordon Hayward, Dwight Howard, Kyle Korver, Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Isaiah Thomas and Klay Thompson.
It may seem as though Fournier is the one who doesn't fit, but it's time to re-evaluate how we think of this rising 2-guard. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel can help:
"The Magic couldn't ask for a better start from Fournier, the relatively unknown 6-foot-7 Frenchman who is equipped with an array of flashy skills often displayed by international players. The way he can mix up his game—from 3-point shooting to slashing to the hoop—makes him look like a student from the Manu Ginobili School of Shot-Making.
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Fournier will cool off eventually, and the return of Victor Oladipo, who has sat out thus far with a facial fracture, won't allow him to handle the ball quite as much. But he's already shown us what he can do, and his ceiling now seems a whole lot higher.
Perry Jones III
6 of 12
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: SF
Age: 23
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 11.8 PER
It's hard to tell what Perry Jones III's most impressive moment of the young 2014-15 season has been, even though injuries to his knees have limited him to only five games played thus far.
Was it his 32-point outburst against the Los Angeles Clippers? He kept his short-handed team in the game for a long time, shooting 10-of-17 from the field, displaying all sorts of shotmaking abilities and chipping in with seven rebounds and three assists as well.
What about his dagger against the Denver Nuggets, when he hit one of his three triples on a fallaway jumper from well outside the arc to beat the shot clock and sink the visiting team's chances of completing a spirited comeback?
Jones' season got off to a rough start when he shot 1-of-9 against the Portland Trail Blazers, but he's rebounded nicely since then.
Taking that game out of the equation and looking at per-36-minute numbers to avoid the drag-down effect of only playing 17 minutes in one of his five appearances, the lanky small forward has averaged 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
I couldn't tell you exactly what PER that leads to, but it's certainly going to be one that's well above the league-average mark of 15.
For the first time in his career, Jones has looked like the top-five pick he was likely going to be before injury-related red flags dropped his draft stock coming out of Baylor.
Brandon Knight
7 of 12
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Position: PG
Age: 22
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.1 blocks, 20.2 PER
Bleacher Report's Jim Cavan nailed this one before the season began, calling the Milwaukee Bucks point guard the breakout star of the future at the point guard position:
"But three seasons and one bad-to-worse trade later, Knight—still just 22 years old—sits on the precarious cusp of either taking that next big step or fading forever into middling oblivion.
The good news: In newly minted head coach Jason Kidd, Knight has one of the game’s most celebrated point guards squarely at his back. Knight’s scoring abilities have never been a question. What Kidd provides, however, is a conduit through which Knight’s playmaking abilities can be better stewarded—the eyes and mind of a genuine hardwood maestro.
"
Brandon Knight now looks the part of a stud point guard. He's carrying himself differently on the court, playing like a leader and providing his team with well-rounded and confident production. As impressive as his numbers are—especially now that he's rebounding like a frontcourt player—it's his mental improvement that's been most noticeable.
Turnovers have been an issue for Knight, but that's largely because he's been more aggressive. And the negative impact of those cough-ups has been mitigated by his impressive shooting and ability to work his way to the free-throw line, as his 0.38 free-throw rate leaves his previous career high of 0.296 in the dust.
In fact, it's the latest in a constant string of improvement in that category, one that began when he first left Kentucky behind.
Looking for the reason the Bucks aren't just floundering in 2014-15? Look no further than this floor general.
Iman Shumpert
8 of 12
Team: New York Knicks
Position: SG/SF
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, 18.2 PER
Iman Shumpert has taken to his ball-handling role in the starting lineup with aplomb, thriving while the New York Knicks' point guards miss time and attempt to work their way into more comfortable positions.
It only takes one outing to drag down per-game averages when the sample is limited to just eight contests, so let's remove Shumpert's season opener from the equation. After all, he was held to just 20 minutes and wasn't allowed to handle the ball so often during that blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Since then, the flat-topped shooting guard has averaged 15.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from beyond the arc. It's the type of breakout performance from Shumpert New York fans have been awaiting for quite some time, though it's only under the tutelage of Derek Fisher that he's been allowed to play with such freedom.
"Though Fisher moved Shumpert back to shooting guard after starting him at the point against the Nets, he still was a distributor and shotmaker in the triangle offense," Marc Berman wrote for the New York Post, referring to Shumpert getting dominated by Deron Williams before rebounding nicely in his next outing.
The 2014-15 season will still be an up-and-down set of affairs for this 2-guard, especially as he adjusts to his new, more-inclusive role, but there's been far more good than bad thus far.
Jared Sullinger
9 of 12
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: PF
Age: 22
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 14.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.2 blocks, 20.8 PER
Much like Perry Jones III, who dropped in the draft because of injury-related red flags, Jared Sullinger plummeted all the way to the Boston Celtics at No. 21 when he was coming out of Ohio State in 2012 with a bad back. Taking a chance on him is now paying major dividends for the Beantown residents.
Not only is Sullinger averaging strong scoring and rebounding numbers while getting better as a distributor, but he's also not quite as efficient as he'll be later in the season. His shooting from mid-range zones looks more confident, as does his work around the basket, but he's struggled mightily from beyond the arc.
After shooting 20 percent from downtown on just 0.1 attempts per game (he was 1-of-5 on the season) as a rookie, Sullinger upped those numbers to 26.9 percent and 2.8 attempts during the average contest throughout his sophomore season.
But this year, rather than continue the trend, he's regressed and made just two of his first 15 attempts. Once his numbers stabilize, even if they remain steady with the ones he produced in 2013-14, he'll be even more valuable to the Boston cause.
"The Celtics have taken pains both this season and last to let Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk grow, giving them minutes that on a different team might have gone to veterans. They have done so with good reason, as they have quickly become one of best rebounding tandems in the league," writes Paul Swydan for The Boston Globe.
Boston's patience and efforts are now paying off. Sullinger may not enjoy the name recognition that Rajon Rondo boasts, but he's quickly challenging Avery Bradley and Jeff Green for beta-dog supremacy on the C's.
Klay Thompson
10 of 12
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: SG
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 24.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 22.2 PER
Klay Thompson has always been a superb shooter from the perimeter, but now he's starting to assert himself as more of a scorer than a shooter. He's creating looks for himself much more confidently and consistently than ever before, which has allowed him to become less reliant on the passes of Stephen Curry and his other teammates on the surging Golden State Warriors.
Take a gander at the percentage of makes that have required assists throughout his career:
| 2011-12 | 62.3 | 92.8 |
| 2012-13 | 75.1 | 94.8 |
| 2013-14 | 62.2 | 94.6 |
| 2014-15 | 43.3 | 83.3 |
That's improvement. And it's allowed Thompson to remain valuable even when his shot isn't falling.
Take Golden State's 11-point victory over the Houston Rockets on Nov. 8 as an example. Though Thompson scored only 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting from the field, he still played solid defense when he was on the floor and provided the Dubs with six assists. Last season, in games that saw him score a dozen points or fewer, he was unable to contribute at all, topping out with three dimes and doing so only twice in 15 tries.
Making a positive impact when struggling with your primary skill isn't something that gets much widespread attention, but it's important nonetheless.
Nikola Vucevic
11 of 12
Team: Orlando Magic
Position: C
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.4 blocks, 19.3 PER
Though he's listed at just 6'10", Nikola Vucevic plays—and looks—like a 7-footer.
A capable floor-spacer with his mid-range attempts, the USC product has developed into a solid scorer in the post as well. In fact, he's become such a consistently effective option for the Orlando Magic that he's started to fill the role of a go-to scorer, even though his upside is ultimately limited in that column of the box score.
But it's rebounding where he truly stands out.
Averaging 11.8 boards per game (including 23 in his season-opening contest against Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans), Vucevic trails only that same unibrowed big man in the per-contest category. And he also looks pretty strong when advanced stats are brought into the picture.
Thus far, Vucevic hasn't done much on the offensive glass, but he ranks No. 12 in defensive rebounding. That's not too shabby for a big man playing over 36 minutes per game, as it's tougher to maintain excellent rates when spending that much time on the floor.
Vucevic's defense has also improved, though he's by no means an asset on that end. If he models his game after Brook Lopez, things will turn out well for him, as he has the size and mobility necessary to become a similarly limited rim-protecting big down the road.
But there's still time for that. Vucevic is only 24 years old, after all.
Tony Wroten
12 of 12
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Position: PG/SG
Age: 21
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 21.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, 20.6 PER
The product of opportunity? Sure. Far too careless with the ball? Without question.
Tony Wroten might only be putting up celestial numbers because he's playing for the Philadelphia 76ers while Michael Carter-Williams sits out, allowing him to take charge in an uptempo offense that has to play at a breakneck pace to make up for the team's atrocious defensive efforts.
But he's still posting them.
Wroten has become a nightly triple-double threat while also gambling and racking up steals. He's aggressive within the confines of the half-court set and when he's running out plays in transition. It's remarkably tough to keep him away from the basket.
That mentality allows him to get to the free-throw line with ridiculous frequency, which in turn boosts his efficiency to the point that it compensates for his gaudy turnover figures.
However, the most impressive part of Wroten's development has been that of his jumper.
It was completely broken coming out of Washington and needed to be rebuilt from scratch, but the former Husky is now shooting 4.7 triples per game while knocking down 36.4 percent of them. If he can keep those numbers steady throughout the year, he'll be an ultra-valuable commodity for the Sixers far into the future. He might not just be the product of opportunity, as Ben Detrick explains for Grantland:
"Sure, we can dismiss Wroten’s breakout start as a frivolous byproduct of the winless Sixers’ lack of alternative scorers. (Michael Carter-Williams, the team’s regular starting point guard, is scheduled to return from shoulder surgery this week.) But he’s also evidence that unheralded young talent can thrive in a laissez-faire environment where growing pains are accepted—a benefit of Philadelphia’s rebuild often drowned out by the noisy clatter about the team’s alleged tanking.
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Even if he records more turnovers than anyone else in NBA history—which he's on pace to do—Wroten's overall growth has turned him into a valuable player. Whether that's limited to his current situation remains to be seen.
