Ranking the 10 Biggest Breakout Stars from the NBA Season's 1st Half
The midway point of the NBA season has come and gone, and while teams prep for the stretch run to the playoffs or the lottery, it is a perfect time to look back on the first half of the season.
So far this year this has been something of a changing of the guard in the league, with a number of younger players taking huge leaps in their development and making waves across the landscape of the NBA.
These are the 10 players who took the biggest step forward, whether that be from star to superstar or from reserve to key contributor, in the opening half of the year.
10. Anthony Davis
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We start off with the player who is probably the best on this list. The reason Davis finds his way onto the list is the fact that, while he was great last season, he has become one of the league’s two or three best players this year.
While always expected to be a defensive force, Davis is also ninth in the league in rebounds and third in scoring, with improved numbers in almost every statistic. The Pelicans might still be struggling to get a foothold in the loaded Western Conference, but the former Kentucky center has been doing everything in his power to push them over the top.
The only thing that keeps Davis from being any higher is the fact that he came into the year expected to take this step, while those ahead of him are outdoing any expectations set for them.
9. Kyle Korver
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I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Kyle Korver can shoot the ball. Kyle Korver can shoot the ball really well.
Somehow, despite being in his 11th year in the league, Korver has found himself having a bit of rebound year with the Atlanta Hawks. He is only fourth on the team in scoring this season, but it has been his league leading, by a huge margin, 53.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc, that gives Korver his value.
Sure, a lot of what Korver does derives from the play of others, and the Hawks' success is largely because of another player who shows up later on this list, but what the 33-year-old is doing this year cannot be impressive.
Always a great three-point shooter, Korver’s career-best numbers are coming with more shots than he has taken in 10 years. If he continues to shoot the lights out, watch out for the Hawks come summer.
8. DeMarcus Cousins
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Here’s the list of players selected before DeMarcus Cousins in the 2010 NBA draft, John Wall, who we’ll get to later, Evan Turner, Derrick Favors and Wesley Johnson.
Looking back on that draft, perhaps only one of those teams doesn’t regret taking the player who was drafted instead of Cousins. Even though he started off as a player with off-the-court troubles, Cousins has become a star over the last two years.
This year in particular, the Kentucky product has made another jump, putting up career numbers in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. He also ranks in the top five in the league in points and rebounds.
Cousins would probably find himself a little higher on this list if he were on a team in the Eastern Conference, but because the Kings are stuck in the West, they have next to no chance of making the playoffs. If Cousins were to find himself on a team with a higher ceiling, he could be in the discussion for MVP in the future.
7. John Wall
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The only player who was taken ahead of Cousins who has been better since the draft, has been his former Kentucky teammate John Wall.
Putting up less points per game, Wall’s true improvement has come as a distributor. Partially thanks to key additions to the team over the last few seasons, Wall leads the league with 10 assists per game and is on pace to significantly outdo his WAR compared to last season, per ESPN.com.
Wall has also been the difference in a Wizards team that looks primed for a postseason run this year. If he can continue his stellar play as a point guard and not just a scorer as he was earlier in his career, Wall can be the key to Washington taking the next step in the playoffs.
6. Stephen Curry
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Stephen Curry is similar to John Wall and Anthony Davis before him, in the fact that he was a great player already, who has taken that one extra step needed this season. Unlike in the case of Davis, and to a lesser extent Wall, Curry’s change hasn’t been purely statistical, it has been mental.
With perhaps only James Harden standing in his way, Curry is the odds-on favorite to claim the MVP Award this year, and it is well-deserved. A shooter within the gym range since joining the Warriors in 2009, Curry’s numbers are actually down from where they were last season, almost all across the board.
But what has been the difference for Curry this season compared to ones in the past is that he is doing it with the pressure of leading the best team in the NBA. The Western Conference is absolutely brutal this year, and Curry is keeping up his play while holding the team together.
Unless there is a huge drop-off by the Warriors in the second half, Curry should be taking home his first MVP trophy. It might not be his last either.
5. Mike Conley Jr.
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Since even before he started his NBA career in Memphis, it felt like Mike Conley Jr. was playing the shadow of his colleagues. While at Ohio State, Greg Oden received all of the attention, and since joining the NBA it has been a similar story.
Whether it be Chris Paul and Derrick Rose, or the younger group of Steph Curry and John Wall, Conley has always seen himself on the outside looking in when it comes to the discussion of the league’s best point guards.
But this year, despite a slight decrease in assists, Conley has finally joined that discussion with the advent of the Memphis Grizzlies. Conley still probably won’t be named to his first All-Star Game this year, but the Grizzlies will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, and it is largely thanks to the point guard.
Honorable mention goes to Marc Gasol for this spot, who had a great start to the year, but he went through a bit of a slide at the beginning of the month and has only recently recovered.
4. Jeff Teague
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The Atlanta Hawks currently lead the Eastern Conference by a wide margin and, even when their losing streak ends, look to be the favorite to claim the top seed. This improvement, from eighth last year to first this season, can be placed squarely on the shoulders of point guard Jeff Teague.
Teague has been a capable point guard since taking over the starting role four years ago, but now he has taken the team as his own and has become one of the best in a point guard-heavy league.
In his fifth year, Teague leads the Hawks in points, assists and steals and looks to be the best player on a team that could be playing until June. The East is relatively weak, but Teague’s path to stardom has pushed Atlanta to the top.
With numbers similar to Kyle Lowry, only a couple less points per game than the Toronto star, it is a travesty that Teague will likely not be making the All-Star Game.
3. Kyle Lowry
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This is the final point guard on this list, I swear.
Kyle Lowry has gone from good to great in his eighth season in the league, and the Toronto Raptors have been riding him into one of the top positions in the Eastern Conference.
Posting a career-high 19.8 points per game and 7.6 assists per game, Lowry is in the top 20 in the NBA in both categories and is also sixth in WAR this season, according to ESPN.com.
The Raptors started off the season scorching hot, and although they have fell off a little bit in the past couple of months, there is still a chance the team finds itself in the NBA Finals come June.
Lowry likely won’t challenge the top contenders in the race for MVP, but his play this season has been stellar, and Toronto’s future seems bright on his shoulders, and he will comfortably find himself playing as an All-Star this year.
2. Jimmy Butler
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Let's go ahead and get this out of the way now. The only thing keeping Jimmy Butler from the Most Improved Player award is an injury.
Butler, who has been an average player his whole career in Chicago, has played absolutely out of his mind this season, and there doesn’t look to be much turning back either.
Whether it be the return of Derrick Rose or the inside presence of Pau Gasol, something is going right for Butler this year. The fourth-year shooting guard is averaging 7.5 more points per game this season than he was last year, which was considered a breakout performance for the Marquette product.
It was supposed to be a successful year in Chicago, but nobody saw Butler’s explosion coming with what he had given to the Bulls in the past. Ranked 15th in scoring and 11th in WAR, per ESPN.com, Butler is not only the only player with a real chance at Most Improved, he is also firmly in the race for MVP. Rose is still the face of the franchise, but Butler’s future in Chicago is bright, and his ceiling is as of yet unknown.
1. Draymond Green
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Could there really be any other player at the top of this list? Curry has been the best player on the Warriors roster this season, but the most important player has arguably been Draymond Green.
Since the Michigan State product took over as the full-time starter this season, Green has gone from mediocre bench player, who provided a spark in energy, to key cog in a team pushing for a title.
On a short list of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year this year, Green is averaging nearly double his career numbers in points, assists, rebounds and blocks this year. Able to guard four positions on the floor, there isn’t much Green can’t do on the court for the Warriors.
If his growth continues, he could one day be one of the league’s best all-around players and could find himself in a huge role on a championship-winning side.
