Ranking The Top 10 Youthful NBA Core Groups
A recent influx of promising young talent has allowed NBA franchises to amass entire cores under the age of 25.
10: New York Knicks
Young Players: Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Frank Ntilikina
This offseason has been nothing short of a disaster for the Knicks. From the Phil Jackson fiasco to the Tim Hardaway Jr. contract and everything in between, there really has not been a lot to celebrate in New York.
However, the team’s lone bright spot happens to be 22 year old Kristaps Porzingis, and he alone is enough to put the Knicks on a list like this. Porzingis has been classified as a “unicorn” by those around the league because of his incredible skillset, especially for someone who stands 7'3". He was one of only three players to average 18+ points per game, 7+ rebounds per game and 2+ blocks per game on the season. Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis were the other two in this select group.
Porzingis has the offensive skillset of a guard with the body of center. He dribbles the ball under control and effectively and can score the ball in a plethora of ways. His consistency needs to improve if he wants to make the leap to NBA star status, but he has shown flashes of what he can do on multiple occasions. He only shoots 33.3 percent from 5–9 feet out, and only shoots 38 percent from 15–19 feet out. He does have a money jump shot from 10–14 feet, as he makes 50 percent of shots from that range, but overall his efficiency needs to improve.
Willy Hernangomez finished strong averaging 11 points and 9.3 rebounds with an efficient 52.3 percent field goal percentage in the second half of the year. He is still not quite there defensively, but as a big man off the bench he gives the Knicks some decent depth at the position.
Ntilikina is still a question mark in the eyes of many. He has all the tools to be a great defender in the NBA, but his offensive game could limit his potential. He’s a streaky shooter and a sub-par playmaker, which are both red flags coming into the league, particularly as it is currently constructed. He still has time to improve in those areas, but if he doesn’t he could be headed down the same route Dante Exum has gone in his career thus far.
9: Dallas Mavericks
Young Players: Dennis Smith Jr., Nerlens Noel, Yogi Ferrell
Mark Cuban’s crew lucked out in this year’s NBA draft. Picking at number nine they landed a player in Dennis Smith Jr. that will come in and compete for the Rookie of the Year award from the jump. Smith Jr. dazzled in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field.
His athleticism has been compared to that of Russell Westbrook and Steve Francis, and for good reason. The young point guard can jump out of the gym, posted a 48-inch vertical in one of his pre-draft workouts. Basically, if opponents aren’t always on their toes they might find themselves on the other end of a Dennis Smith Jr. poster.
He may not be a great shooter yet, but he is by no means a slouch from deep. In college he shot 35.9 percent from three, which is about on par with the NBA average. He can also improve his playmaking skills as a point guard, but it is definitely nitpicking to critique him in that regard.
When the Mavericks traded for Nerlens Noel at the trade deadline last season, he came in and immediately made an impact on the team. The team’s offensive rating was 3.9 points better with Noel on the floor, and he posted a 102 defensive rating with the Mavericks. As a rim protector Noel has been a force throughout his entire career, and last season players shot 8.7 percent worse at the rim when Noel contested their shots. He may not be that big of an offensive threat, but he is a very effective pick-and-roll big man who finishes at the rim at a terrific 70 percent rate.
Yogi Ferrell showed that he could be a very good backup point guard in this league this past year. He shot 40.3 percent from three in Dallas last season, and after seemingly coming out of nowhere he made the All-Rookie Second Team.
8: Sacramento Kings
Young Players: De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Harry Giles, Justin Jackson
After being considered one of the most dysfunctional teams in the NBA for years on end, the Kings are finally making moves that display some sort of competence. With DeMarcus Cousins the team was going no where, so they flipped him for Buddy Hield and a pick that turned into Harry Giles and Justin Jackson. They also drafted De’Aaron Fox with the fifth pick in the draft, and by adding these rookies to a group that also featured Skal Labissiere and Willie Cauley-Stein, the Kings’ future (for the first time in years)is looking bright.
After struggling in New Orleans for most of the season, Buddy Hield looked like an entirely new player when he arrived in Sacramento. His scoring average increased by 6.5, his field goal percentage increased by 8.7 percent, and his three point percentage increased by 5.9 percent. He became every bit of the shooter that people thought he could be coming out of Oklahoma.
De’Aaron Fox is going to be able to learn how to manage the NBA game by backing up veteran George Hill this upcoming season, which should help in the long term. Fox was the quickest prospect in the entire draft, and one of the fastest prospects to come out of college since John Wall. He still needs to improve his jump shot, but he is destined for a long, successful career in the NBA.
Overall, about half of the Kings’ roster qualifies for this list, so the team has plenty of room to grow. The growth of Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox through the years will determine how good this core can become, but at the moment they are good enough to place eighth on the list.
7: Boston Celtics
Young Players: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart
Notably, this ranking is based purely on who the Celtics currently have on their roster. Obviously, by owning the Nets pick next year and possibly the Lakers pick as well, the Celtics are set up to have one of the finest young cores in the entire league. For now, however, they have a group ranking seventh.
Although the 19-year-old’s minutes were limited in his rookie year Jaylen Brown was very impressive in the time he did spend on the court. He scored the ball efficiently, he has an NBA ready body which he uses to defend at a high level, and has already gained the trust of head coach Brad Stevens in key situations, as witnessed in the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum could very well be the best scorer in the 2017 draft class, but he will struggle to find minutes his rookie year. He is stuck behind Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward on the depth chart, but if he plays at all like he did in the summer league he might force his way onto the court. He is already a very good isolation scorer, and his offensive repertoire matches that of an NBA veteran.
At 23, Marcus Smart has already become one of the very best defensive players in the entire league. He matches up with the opposing teams’ best players and forces his matchup to shoot 1.9 percent worse than their average. His downfall is his scoring ability, which is, to put it lightly, not great. He shot 35.9 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from three last year. And as hard as it is to believe, both of those numbers are improvements from the season prior. His jump shot is quite frankly — broken, and unless he makes some adjustments soon his upside as a player will be very limited by these shortcomings.
6: Phoenix Suns
Young Players: Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss, Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis, Alex Len
In this league you need a little bit of luck on your side to build a good team, and luck was on the Suns’ side in 2015 when Devin Booker fell to them at the 13th pick. Booker is already a terrific scorer, as he averaged 22.1 points per game last season and put his name in the record books by dropping 70 points in a game against Boston. But, as the case always is with 20 year olds, his efficiency and consistency need some improvement. His True Shooting Percentage was 53.1 percent, which is mediocre for someone shooting the ball as much as Booker does. Additionally, his defense needs improvement. Yet, given he is still only 20 years old there is ample time for growth. Booker the potential to be one of the best guards in the league, but he still has a long way to go to reach that upper echelon status.
Marquese Chriss is another rookie from last season who had a very strong finish to the year. In the second half of the season, Chriss had five blocks in two seperate games within a ten day stretch, showcasing his defensive potential. He scored a majority of his points in the pick and roll or in transition, so he needs to work towards developing his offensive ability in half-court sets.
Josh Jackson was the fourth pick in the draft this year, and has been compared to Andrew Wiggins because of his explosive athleticism. Jackson converted 69 percent of his shots at the rim at Kansas, showing that he is very skilled around the basket. He was also one of the best defensive prospects in the draft, so his ability to produce on both sides of the ball have fans in Phoenix salivating over his potential. His jump shot is awkward and will need to be worked on at the next level, but he still made 37.8 percent of his threes in college so while it isn’t necessarily a weakness it definitely is not the strongest part of his game.
5: Los Angeles Lakers
Young Players: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Larry Nance Jr., Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac
Putting aside all of the off-court antics by the Ball family, Lonzo is going to be terrific for the Lakers. For the past few years, the Lakers have been a team full of guys who night in and night out were seemingly only looking out for themselves, which hasn’t led to many wins at all. Ball has the court vision and passing ability to elevate the play of those around him and make his teammates want to play harder. Knowing your point guard will find you on cuts to the basket or when moving around screens makes guys want to work harder to get open. It would not be surprising at all if Ball led the entire rookie class in double doubles. Specifically because Luke Walton’s high player-ball movement offense will afford Ball with nightly opportunities to register double digit assists.
The player that will benefit the most from playing alongside Ball is Brandon Ingram. After a shaky rookie season that saw him shoot the ball with poor efficiency, he should expect to get a lot more open looks alongside Ball. He looked more polished in his one summer league game, and moving forward should become the go-to scorer that the Lakers were expecting when they drafted him second overall in 2016.
Adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the squad was a great move for the Lakers, as he is a good 3&D shooting guard in the league already. He will alleviate the pressure of guarding the best wing players for teammates Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram while also being able to knock down threes at an efficient rate. Before he got injured last season he was shooting 40.4 percent from three through 41 games. Assuming he gets back to where he was pre-injury, he will also benefit from the open looks Lonzo will create for him.
Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle are both solid role players in the NBA and give the Lakers good depth at the power forward position. Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart will see limited time as rookies, but they were both impressive in summer league. Zubac will back up Brook Lopez, and has shown a well rounded offensive game in his short career. Overall, the Lakers have a lot of players that have something to prove next season. In spite of all the question marks they are still good enough to land in the top 5 of this list.
4: Denver Nuggets
Young Players: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Juan Hernangomez, Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Lyles
Nikola Jokic himself was more than enough to propel the Nuggets to the number four spot on this list. First of all, he is one of the most offensively gifted big men the league has seen in years. When he was inserted into the starting lineup for good last December he elevated the Nuggets to become the best offense in the entire league.
In the final 46 games that he played last year he averaged 19.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists with a true shooting percentage of 64 percent. His offensive rating was a sky-high 126. Moreover, he creates offense both for himself and others at an elite level. His passing and court vision are as good or better than any center the league has ever seen, which makes him extremely difficult to defend.
Jamal Murray is a player who struggled throughout most of his rookie campaign. By April he found his bearing, stringing together per game averages of 15.1 points and 5 assists on 44.9 percent shooting. These are very realistic numbers to expect from Murray over the course of his sophomore season. For these reasons, assumptions are the Canadian will start at point guard this year. In this scenario Murray and Jokic should provide a lethal combination to lead the Nuggets back to the postseason for the first time since 2013.
Gary Harris has shown steady improvement in each of his three seasons in the league. and is now considered one of the best offensive role players in the league. Harris was one of only two players in the league last year to shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from three while shooting four or more threes per game (Otto Porter was the other). His defense still needs some work, as players shoot 6.1 percent better when guarded by Harris.
Emmanuel Mudiay, on the other hand, has been nothing short of a bust. He has been given so many opportunities to take the starting point guard job and he has squandered all of them. He has turnover issues, he’s inefficient, and he’s not as good of a defender as many thought he was coming into the league. Whether its due to a lack of confidence or just a lack of talent, Mudiay has not shown many signs that he can become a good NBA player.
Hernangomez and Lyles are both capable stretch four role players. Hernangomez shot 40.7 percent from three last year in the limited minutes he received. In contrast, Lyles shot a meager 31.9 percent from deep last year. Yet, in his rookie season he shot 38.3 percent, so he’s demonstrated the ability to be consistent from range.
3: Minnesota Timberwolves
Young Players: Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Justin Patton, Tyus Jones
In back to back drafts, the Timberwolves were blessed with players with elite offensive upside. Karl-Anthony Towns is actually the only player in NBA history to average 25+ points and 12+ rebounds in a season while scoring the ball as efficiently as he did from the field (54.2 percent) and from three (36.7 percent). At age 21 Towns is already producing at a level the league has never seen. With an arsenal of crafty moves which keep defenses on their toes Towns is well on his way to becoming one of the premiere offensive players in the NBA.
Andrew Wiggins is the other young prodigy the Wolves are hoping to groom into a championship cornerstone. Since arriving in the league he has increased his scoring and developed a serviceable three point shot. Wiggins averaged 23.6 points per game last year, which ranked 16th in the league, so scoring is clearly not the issue. The issue, and oh boy is it a big one, is he is one of the worst defenders in the entire NBA.
Last season players shot 3.3 percent better when they were guarded by Wiggins. His defensive box plus/minus was a -2.9, which is very poor by league standards. The worst part is not only does he struggle, but he doesn't put much effort into his defense either. The video above features a few examples of his laziness on the defensive end, which happens regularly. If he focuses more on becoming an average NBA defender he could become a star in this league, but after three seasons in the league he is still a long ways away.
The other two players mentioned are still question marks moving forward, but they both have the potential to develop into contributing role players moving forward. After two seasons Tyus Jones has yet to establish much of a role on the team, and will likely never be anything more than a third point guard. Justin Patton was selected 13th overall in the draft this year and has potential to be a solid rim protector off the bench. His offensive game is not quite polished yet, and he needs to bulk up a bit more, but he still has the ability to develop into a quality player with time.
Overall, Towns and Wiggins are talented enough to place the Timberwolves into the top three on this list, but their shortcomings on defense hold them back from the top two.
2: Milwaukee Bucks
Young Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker
The Bucks are slowly but surely becoming legitimate threats in the East, and they can thank their 22 year old unicorn for that. Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing things on the basketball court that very few players his age have ever done. He is one of only seven players all time to average 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 52 percent from the field. The other six? Oh, just LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Charles Barkley. Giannis is also the youngest player on the list to accomplish this feat, as he did it age 22 while the next youngest, Michael Jordan, didn’t do it until he was 25.
Unlike the Minnesota core, Giannis is an outstanding defender as well. Last season he was one of only four players to average over 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game. Players also shoot 5.1 percent worse from the field when guarded by Giannis. He’s a beast on both ends of the court and is already a bonafide star in the league, but his biggest weakness is even more poignant in today’s NBA. In the last two years, Giannis has shot 25.7 then 27.2 percent from three, which would have ranked dead last among qualified players last season. If he can develop anything close to a reliable jump shot then his upside is frightening, but even if he doesn’t he will still be one of the best players in the league.
Jabari Parker was developing into an All-Star level player last year before tearing his ACL for the second time in three years. Before the injury he was averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while scoring at an efficient rate. He still wasn’t a very good defender or playmaker for others, but being able to get buckets at a high level is a skill that will never go out of style in the NBA. If he can manage to get back to his pre-injury form within the next few seasons the duo of him and Giannis will be a major threat in the East.
To add to this already highly talented group, the Milwaukee Bucks have the reigning Rookie of the Year in Malcolm Brogdon. While his rookie campaign may not have been as dazzling as winners from previous years, he still had a solid year and contributed for a playoff team. His 10.2 points and 4.2 assists may not be flashy, but his three point shooting was elite from the jump. It is rare that rookies eclipse the 40 percent mark from downtown, but Brogdon did so on 2.6 attempts per game. He knows his role on the team and does everything that he is asked to do, and there’s not much more one can ask of a second round pick.
Its clear that this group is set to become a force in the league in the near future due to the skill of their up and coming young players, but it is still not enough to earn them the number one spot on this list.
1: Philadelphia 76ers
Young Players: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Richaun Holmes, Jahlil Okafor, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Furkan Korkmaz, Justin Anderson
The 76ers are absolutely loaded with young talent, and were an easy choice for the top spot on this list. They have the most “young players” of any other team on the list, which already gives them an advantage over the rest. The talent of the group is also incredibly promising, with three players with All-Star caliber upside.
Joel Embiid may have only played 31 games last year, but in those 31 games he quickly established himself as one of the best big men in the entire league on both ends of the court. On offense, he averaged 20.2 points on 46.6 percent shooting and 36.7 percent from three all while only playing about 25 minutes per game. He finishes around the rim at a high level, has a money mid-range game, and can stretch the floor to the three point line all while standing at 7'2" tall.
Defensively Embiid was one of the best rim protectors in the entire league. He was second in the NBA in blocks per game at 2.5, and he posted an incredible 99.1 defensive rating on the season. Players also shot 6.5 percent worse from the field when defended by Embiid and a whopping 17.8 percent worse at the rim when defended by Embiid. His impact on the defensive end is felt by everyone around him, and if he can stay healthy he has the potential to be an MVP candidate in the future.
Ben Simmons has flown under the radar after being held out for the entire season due to a foot injury. The number one pick in the 2016 draft is still destined to become a triple double waiting to happen.
At 6'10", he’s a point-forward with playmaking ability that has been compared to LeBron James and Magic Johnson. His court vision and basketball IQ are as high as any prospect coming into the league in recent history. Furthermore, his ability to find the open man will make it very easy for his teammates to play with him. His jump shot is his biggest weakness at the moment, similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the rest of his game screams future all-star.
As the first pick in the 2017 draft Markelle Fultz, is another young player who is projected to have a very high ceiling. Already drawing comparisons to James Harden and Brandon Roy, if he produce at a level anywhere near those two players he will enjoy a long, successful career. His offensive arsenal is loaded with NBA-ready moves that will help his game translate to the next level. He finishes around the rim at a high level, can knock down heavily contested pull-up jumpers, and is a very good shooter from three. He is destined to average over 20 points per game in his career and his game molds well alongside playmaker Simmons and post threat Embiid.
Even after discussing the three most talented youngsters on the roster, there are copious other Sixers teammates who’ll develop into solid NBA players. Dario Saric was the runner up for 2016–17 Rookie of the Year and will be an excellent first man off the bench for the Sixers. Richaun Holmes has developed into the perfect backup center in today’s NBA, being able to run the floor, protect the rim, and make outside shots. Jahlil Okafor may have become a target of ridicule among fans around the league due to his lack of motor on the defensive end, but his offensive skillset is still dangerous in the post. And, Furkan Korkmaz was voted Best Young Player of the Basketball Champions League in Europe.
Overall, the fact the Sixers have three potential franchise cornerstones and a whole second unit of talented role players all under the age of 25 make the team the clear choice for the top spot on this list. Over half of the team’s roster is made up of young players, and the future is looking very bright in Philadelphia.
