5 Young NBA Players You Should NOT Give Up On

The transition to the NBA as a young prospect varies from player-to-player as some players are built for the NBA instantly while others needing a few years to get situated and find their place in the NBA. It certainly could be frustrating for the highly touted and hyped prospects to not hit the ground running for your favorite franchise but patience is one of the most important things to have with young players. This is something that not a lot of people seem to have which brings me to the topic of my article. For this article, I will provide you all, 5 players who came into the NBA with a good amount of hype and expectations but haven’t exactly played up to those expectations quite yet. And I’m here to explain why you should not give up on these players yet.

Markelle Fultz, Combo Guard, Orlando Magic:

It’s likely that his name will go down in infuriately barring a major change of events. Even if that is the case, it doesn’t exactly mean that he is a bust. The player that the Philadelphia 76ers thought that they drafted at number one and the player that they got were two completely different versions of himself. A big part of that, is due to a rare shoulder injury that is still hampering his play till this day. Fortunately, he’s gotten a ‘fresh start’ and change of scenery in Orlando which was desperately needed for his career. While he isn’t putting up ‘eye-popping’ numbers, he has shown promise, before the season was put on hold, he was averaging 12.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.3 RPG, and over a steal per game, while shooting 47.3% from the field. While he more than likely won’t ever be the shooter like he was in college or be a comfortable shooter but the fact that he’s a strong finisher around the basket, pretty elusive and crafty with the ball. He still has an opportunity to be a good all-around player. He made strides this season and is only 21 years old so give him a couple more years to overcome his shoulder injury, and to continue to learn the NBA and polish up his skills before you give up on him.

Michael Porter Jr., Forward, Denver Nuggets:

Michael Porter has been in the spotlight since high school and at the time he was seen as a bonafide, can’t-miss, future star. Unfortunately, there’s been many situations like this where injuries have been a killer and that’s exactly what has happened in this situation. A couple minutes into his college career, he suffered a serious back injury and he came back prematurely during that same season (during March Madness) in order to boost his draft stock. However; all it showed was how much the injury had affected him. After, being a sure top-3 pick, he fell all the way to 14th, to Denver. He also had back surgery that kept him out for his entire rookie season. While many people are still skeptical of his back and for good but in his return this season, he has looked really good in spurts. Denver still haven’t given him big minutes nor forced him to do a lot. As it seems their coach (Mike Malone) doesn’t fully trust him yet. However; in only 14 minutes per game, he’s averaging 7.5 PPG and 4.1 RPG while shooting 49.5% from the field and 42.2% from three. If his health returns to full capacity and he gets the big minutes (as I think he should) for this Denver team. Then he most definitely will be a player to watch out for in the future.

Lonzo Ball, Point Guard, New Orleans Pelicans:

From the moment Lonzo Ball was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, he was lofted with heavy expectations. Magic Johnson even told him that he expected him to have his name in the rafters. Along with how his father put a huge target on his back. It doesn’t get much bigger for a player who just came into the league. I think we all can say that he hasn’t exactly lived up to those expectations. He wasn’t a star in Los Angeles and he will probably be more known for being part of the (Anthony Davis) trade. However, I believe that this was the best thing that could have happened to him. The reason I believe that, is because he can play his game, develop at his own pace, without having all of that pressure, expectations, and doesn’t have to worry about being in the LA spotlight. At the end of the day we all have to be patient with Lonzo Ball because of the things that he brings to the table. He is a great facilitator that can make things happen and moves really well without the ball which is an underrated skill. He is a really good defender, a great rebounder for a point guard and has tremendous size for a point guard. Before the season was put on hold, although, he wasn’t putting up ‘eye-popping’ scoring numbers, he showcased his all-around game, as he averaged 12.4 PPG, 7 APG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.4 steals per game. Also, he showed improvement in his jump shot, as he shot 38.3% from three on 6.5 attempts per game. Even though, he’s not a big-time scorer, it’s hard to overlook the other areas where he impacts the game. Lonzo Ball may have had a rocky start to his career, but each player adjusts to the NBA at their own pace. He’s no different and thanks to a change of scenery in New Orleans, he’s starting to come around so have patience with him before you decide to give up on him.

Mo Bamba, Center, Orlando Magic:

Mo Bamba is a young prospect who has a lot of potential. But so far, his play in the NBA hasn’t come close to expectations. During the draft, a lot of people (including myself) believed that he had Rudy Gobert rim protection defensive capabilities but he was and still is very raw offensively. However; based off what we all have seen in his career so far, he’s a working progress on both ends of the floor. He still has to get a lot stronger and offensively he not developed enough skill wise yet. The Magic have taken strides as a team since he was drafted. While a lot of project-type players play for rebuilding teams, he’s been forced onto a playoff contender team and expectations for players on teams like this are much higher. While he only averaged 6 PPG and 5 RPG through his two seasons in Orlando, he has averaged 1.4 BPG in only 15 minutes per game and 3.3 BPG per 36 minutes. While he hasn’t been the dominant force that a lot of people thought he would be defensively when he got drafted. His career is just beginning and he has a long career ahead of him so there’s no way that you should already be giving up on him.

DeJounte Murray, Point Guard, San Antonio Spurs:

The least heralded player on this list. However; this was supposed to be Dejounte Murray’s breakout year. After taking over the point guard duties from Tony Parker in 2017-18, he had a setback in his development after suffering a torn right ACL during the pre-season. Due to suffering a major injury, he spent all of last season recovering from his injury. Unfortunately, things haven’t exactly worked out that way. He has had his moments. He has shown flashes of being a very good player in the NBA and the point guard of the future that the Spurs expects him to be when he took over for Tony Parker. His career so far has been a roller coaster. As he has had his moments and he has also had rocky moments which led to a brief benching earlier in the season (November & December) in order to regroup himself. He would shortly bounce back to regain his starting spot, and had a series of good performances. Consistency, remains an issue. One thing that Dejounte Murray has made for certain, is that he’s one of the best perimeter guard defenders in the NBA. While his numbers don’t exactly scream ‘breakout numbers’, before the season was put on hold, he was averaging 10.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.7 steals per game. Also, Murray has quietly improved his jump shot, which to this point has been a weakness of his. He shot 47.5% from the field and he hit 50.4% of his pull-up shots from mid-range this season. Although, he didn’t attempt a large volume of threes, he was hitting 37.8% of them this season, which showed that he made strides in that area. While I know the torn ACL is a concern, he is still only 23 years old. So, give him time to work his way back from his injury and wait until the Spurs fully unleash him before you give up on him.