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Ten players to watch in the upcoming NBA season

As the NBA season rapidly approaches, I’ve begun the annual ritual of assigning my viewing priorities. With three moderate-sized screens, two blurred eyes, and one very addled mind, I must perform nightly triage if I hope to filter even a scintilla of the visual information that I’ll be assaulting myself with for the next seven months. While superstars and rookies are mostly a given, my favorite thing to watch throughout the season is players who are a year or two into their development cycle—those who have started to round out their games and are adding or subtracting elements to their skill sets in hopes of reaching their fullest form. Sometimes these players are on the cusp of greatness, but often, it’s someone who has exposed a tantalizing sliver of potential in their game that they’re now trying to pry open.

To that end, I thought I’d share who and what I’ll be watching most intently this season. This isn’t meant to be a list of who is expected to take the next step—though several of these players will likely make big leaps this year (sorry, JJ, I’m a narrative guy)—but rather an exploration of some skills that I find fun as hell to watch develop.

Here are my 10 players to watch—and why—for the upcoming season.

Shaedon Sharpe, G, POR — Shot Profile
Sharpe came out of the gate looking explosive and aggressive to start last season before a core injury cut his sophomore campaign short at just 32 games. Sadly, after suffering a shoulder injury that means he will likely miss 4-6 weeks, Sharpe will start this season in what is becoming an uncomfortably familiar position—in street clothes on the bench. Still, when Sharpe does return, he’ll be one of the few reasons to watch what should be a pretty bad Blazers bunch. (Don’t worry Deni, you may not have made the list, but much like Sting, know that I’ll be watching you.)

The raw potential with Sharpe is elite, as few players in the league are more effortless leapers or display better body control in the air. Those athletic gifts, along with a 6'6" frame, allow Sharpe to somehow get a good shot off from just about anywhere on the floor.

Sharpe has shot 44.5% from the field and 35% from three in his first two seasons, with those percentages often reflecting the high level of difficulty on his attempts. Sharpe’s ability to make challenging shots is the type of skill that can set a player apart when harnessed properly. But the really exciting part about Sharpe is just how easy things look for him. The former seventh overall pick in the '22 draft plays with good pace and balance, and a calm that belies his age. Sharpe also shoots the ball from range easily and fluidly, both off the catch and off his own dribble.

With Portland set for another season that will be measured more in moral victories than actual ones, the Blazers have a great opportunity to let a player like Sharpe make mistakes in low-leverage situations, allowing both coach and player to avoid scenarios that could damage his confidence. I expect Sharpe to have some nights where he gets cooking and puts up big numbers. I also expect some 3-12 nights where Sharpe is forcing the matter, and it looks rough. Either way, it’s going to be entertaining.

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Trayce Jackson-Davis, C, GSW — Playmaking
One of the more pleasant surprises of last season was how quickly Trayce Jackson-Davis was ready to contribute. Jackson-Davis stepped up big when Draymond Green was suspended, averaging 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds while Green was out in December. While that stretch helped earn the confidence of the coaching staff, it was the final 20 games—13 of which were starts for the rookie—that piqued my interest.

Jackson-Davis—who apparently grew an inch this summer—came into the league with a reputation not too dissimilar from his father, former Pacers big man Dale Davis: He was expected to be a banger and rebounder, though unlike his dad, Jackson-Davis was a ready-made vertical threat as well. But there was much more skill and intuition in Jackson-Davis’s game than he was credited with coming out of Indiana, particularly as a passer. Over those last 20 games, TJD averaged a very encouraging 1.9 assists. And it’s not just the number that got me excited, but how he was accomplishing it. In a Warriors offense that is founded on ball movement and quick reads, Jackson-Davis showed a great ability to make fast decisions, particularly as a pick-and-roll partner, where he is already very adept at drawing defenders and then dishing off to open teammates.

It’s also clear Jackson-Davis has been spending some time watching Draymond Green operate, as he has shown a very savvy ability to use the screen handoff that has been so foundational to the Warriors' offense over the last decade-plus.

While I’m never especially comfortable assuming how much leash Steve Kerr will give to young players, I really hope that we continue to see Jackson-Davis get to explore the space operating as a playmaker.

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Trey Murphy III, G/F, NOP — Drive Game
As many of you now know, my love for Trey Murphy runs deep, and this season I fully expect a star turn for the Pelicans fourth-year guard/forward. Murphy’s shooting ability is his bread and butter, as there aren’t many players his size (6'8") making 38% of their threes at the clip of three makes per game, as Murphy did last season. But what I’m most interested in is how much he has worked on his driving game this summer. Murphy set a career-high by attempting 71.7% of his total shots from distance last year, but he also shot 58.2% on shots taken after 3-6 dribbles and 75% at the rim. This means that, with the ever-present threat of his three-point shooting, Murphy—who is a sneaky explosive athlete when given a runway—should exploit his driving opportunities off pump-and-goes as much as possible, especially since it appears the Pelicans won’t be using a traditional center that clogs the lane as often as they have in years past.

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Dyson Daniels, G, ATL — Shooting/ Defense
Daniels has the potential to be the type of defensive stopper the Hawks have been trying to pair with Trae Young for years. The third-year guard has great size (6'7", 199 lbs) and length (6'10" wingspan), and he uses both to close space on shooters and disrupt plays.

Daniels ranked third in the league in deflections per 36 minutes last season with 4.5 and tied for seventh in steals per game at 1.4. He has the potential to be the type of disruptive perimeter defender you can build a defensive ecosystem around.

Unlike the failed Dejounte Murray experiment, Daniels isn’t focused on his offensive numbers, so the pairing with Young shouldn’t be as strained by a lack of engagement the way it was when Young and Murray shared the floor. The biggest concern with Daniels is whether he can become a good enough shooter to keep defenses honest. He did improve his field goal shooting from 41.8% in his rookie season to 44.7% last year, but his three-point shooting slightly declined, from 31.4% to 31.1%. Daniels needs to increase that figure by at least five percent to be viewed as a threat from deep. The shot mechanics look good enough, so as long as it's an area of focus, Daniels should be able to develop into a reliable three-point shooter.

Playing alongside Trae Young, the Pelicans third-year guard will get plenty of clean looks from distance as a spot-up shooter, so he’ll need to prove himself capable of knocking those down. At his fullest potential, Daniels has an Alex Caruso-level ceiling, but he needs to take a step forward this year and really capitalize on the talents that made him the eighth overall pick just three summers ago.

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Bennedict Mathurin, G/F, IND — Defense
I’m interested to see how Mathurin’s role shapes up with Indiana this year. While the Pacers' offense had no trouble scoring after Mathurin went down last season, it felt like they needed a more consistent wing scoring option down the stretch. The return of Mathurin, who ranked sixth among all sophomores in scoring last season with 14.5 points per game, could help solve that problem. However, Mathurin will find minutes harder to come by than at the start of last season, as he’ll be competing with Ben Sheppard, Aaron Nesmith, and Andrew Nembhard. Mathurin’s scoring ability is better than anyone in that group, but he is also the weakest defender. For a Pacers team trying to balance elite offense with reasonable defense, it’ll be difficult to reduce the minutes of their best perimeter defenders, even if it means sacrificing the additional scoring punch Mathurin provides.

Mathurin has the lateral quickness and strength to be a better defensive player, but from a technical standpoint, his footwork is often a tangled mess, and his balance is much worse than you would expect from such a gifted athlete. He also tends to play too fast, trying to anticipate too much.

Given his athleticism, Mathurin can afford to be a bit more reactive, especially since his defensive instincts aren’t great.

With the Pacers in win-now mode and their former sixth overall pick due for an extension in the near future, there’s also a chance he could be auditioning for another team this season. That adds another layer of intrigue, as he might prefer to play in a style better suited to the role he wants, rather than the role the Pacers need him to fill.

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