Who the hell is…?
Three NBA players and their rise from anonymity
We’re almost halfway through the NBA season and in prime basketball territory, with players finally shaking off the rust, rotations being set, and breakthrough players like De’Aaron Fox putting the league on notice. Perennial all-stars like Giannis and Kawhi have begun their ascendancy to the cream of the crop of elite players and have established themselves as early MVP candidates.
But while highly-touted youngsters like Fox are expected to make the transition into budding NBA stardom, and established all-stars continue to float in and out of the MVP conversation during a strong season, there is another class of players that capture the league’s narratives through their surprising play or significant minutes. These are the second round picks, undrafted free agents, or G-league call-ups that have managed to play their way into NBA rotations (many on quality teams).
Everybody loves an underdog story, and media attention has focused on guys like Alfonso McKinnie, the European and G-League journeyman allegedly discovered by Steph Curry’s security guard. The 26-year old has provided length and shooting off the bench for the Warriors, filling in for roles vacated by Nick Young and Patrick McCaw. While Klay Thompson stole the headlines by pouring 52 points and breaking the single-game three-point record, McKinnie was the one who piled on 19 points and 10 rebounds during a blowout against the Bulls.
But it isn’t simply an underdog story that captures your attention when watching players like McKinnie. After all, not all of these lowly-touted players are necessarily capable of pulling off a Linsanity, or becoming franchise icons like the undrafted John Starks or Ben Wallace. Many of these players fade in and out of obscurity, such as Jake Layman — who started on opening day for the Trail Blazers, was unceremoniously benched throughout November and December, and has managed to jump back into the rotation in the past few weeks. Part of it is following the off-season closely for months, eagerly tracking the free-agent movement of star and important role players, and then realizing that you still have no idea who this guy is on the floor that’s torching your team. Who the hell is Jake Layman?!, the Suns fan must’ve wondered, as Jake “Sunshine” Layman knocked down his third three pointer on his way to a career-high 24 points. It’s the relative anonymity that distinguishes these players from a guy like Zach Collins — who you know, is supposed to be talented.
With that being said, here are three individuals who fit this loose criteria, names you see on the box score for the first time and realize you have no idea what they look like, but they’re playing significant minutes and maybe even under consideration for your fantasy team. We aren’t 100% sure if they’ll pan out by the season’s end, or five years down the line; sometimes we aren’t even sure if they’re good NBA players or just filling in for injuries. But if they do end up sustaining their play, these are the guys who are the pleasant, wholesome surprises of the season, the up-and-coming role players in-waiting.
Who the hell is…? Rodney McGruder, Guard, Miami Heat
Technically Rodney McGruder already had his breakout two years ago, on a 41–41 Heat team that narrowly missed the playoffs. Averaging right around 25 minutes per game, the undrafted rookie started at shooting guard during a thirteen-game winning streak. McGruder didn’t have too many prolific games as part of the Waiters-island supporting cast, but he did his job, knocking down spot-up threes on his way to becoming the feel-good story of the Heat that year.
However, a left leg fracture limited McGruder to playing 18 games in the 2017–2018 season. For the then 26-year old that had played in Hungary after going undrafted in 2013, then bounced around numerous summer league teams and the G-League, it looked as if McGruder was going to be a forgotten member of the Heat’s diamonds in the rough like Tyler Johnson (undrafted) and Josh Richardson (selected 40th in 2015). Instead, McGruder both recovered fully and improved his game; and after a productive preseason, scored a career-high 20 points against the Wizards in the second game of the season.
McGruder came out firing in the first month of the season, following-up the Wizards game with back-to-back 19 point games, averaging 14.3 points and shooting 50% in October. Not only did his three-point percentage improve from 33% to a steady 39% this season, but McGruder has also been putting the ball on the floor, showing that he’s much more that a spot-up shooter. He has craft to attack the rim, utilizes a reasonably efficient floater, and can dish the ball too.
Here, he floats over Ron Baker for the finish:
And then, drives and throws it up to Whiteside for the alley-oop:
Unfortunately for McGruder, the early hot streak hasn’t sustained for the rest of the season, and both his minutes and efficiency has gone down in the past few months, especially as he sees less of the ball with Justise Winslow back from injury. While a decent scorer, McGruder isn’t a primary ball-handler. He isn’t an elite finisher driving to the basket or a strong defender, and still makes his living predominantly off catch-and-shoot threes. Still, he plays hard on both ends of the court, so we’ll see if he can bounce back into early season form if given the opportunity.
Off the court, Rodney has a strong Who the hell is…? surprise factor because…his name is freakin’ Rodney McGruder. Rodney McGruder is a top ten NBA name. Admittedly, the name Rodney McGruder is 80% of the reason why he was included in this piece. Another fun fact about McGruder, his top YouTube video is “Rodney McGruder Bursts Into Flames,” in which you can watch him torch the shit out of Marcus Smart and Oklahoma St. to the instrumental of “Dark Fantasy”.
Who the hell is…? Monté Morris, Guard, Denver Nuggets
As I’m writing this article, the Denver Nuggets sit second in the Western Conference, trailing the leading Golden State Warriors by 1.5 games, despite significant injuries to Gary Harris, Paul Millsap, and Will Barton. Along with the rest of Denver’s surprising-role-player-crew of Juancho Hernangomez, Torrey Craig (also a strong candidate for this article), and Malik Beasley, Monté Morris averages 10 points per game in only 24.3 minutes, and perhaps most notably, is second in the league in assists to turnover ratio. He was torrid throughout the month of December, most recently dropping 20 points on a competent Grizzlies team.
The Nuggets play a fun and unique brand of basketball, in which their primary playmaker is a 7-foot tall Serbian as opposed to a 6’3” guard. Starting “point guard” is Jamal Murray, who is pretty much a modern scoring two-guard; he’s streaky, puts up a lot of shots, has some big scoring games, pisses off Kyrie Irving, and has 4.8 assists per game to go with 2.5 turnovers.
Enter the calm and responsible Monté Morris, who knows how to control the tempo, take care of the ball, and when to make the right kind of pass. When Jokic needs a breather, it’s Morris who runs the team, usually alongside Murray. This allows Murray to do work off-ball, actions like running off-screens and cutting towards the basket. Watch how Morris drives across the paint and forces Clint Capela to change his angle ever so slightly — allowing Murray to run a line drive to the hoop:
In effect, Morris both leads the unit off the bench, and relieves the burden of ball-handling and playmaking of the Nuggets two leading scorers in Jokic and Murray. But Morris isn’t some old-school, “traditional” point guard either; he knocks down threes, and he knows how to score efficiently at the basket (54% within 10 feet) using a variety of short jumpers, fadeaways, leaners, and deft footwork. Check out this eurostep he uses to get around Kyle Anderson:
Like McGruder, Monté Morris has a great name (don’t forget the accent on the “e”). But he’s special because out of the three players profiled here, he’s probably already surpassed the Who the hell is…? stage and established himself as role player on one of the best teams in the league. The speed at which he has been able to carve out a role for himself in the NBA as a second-year player remains extraordinary. A reminder that Morris was barely drafted, the 51st pick in 2017, with questions surrounding his lack of quick first step, thin frame, and shooting ability. Just a year ago in his rookie year, Morris spent the majority of his time with the Rio Valley Grande Vipers, making only three appearances for the Nuggets. Now he’s a candidate for sixth man of the year, and despite being the lowest paid player on the team apart from rookie Jared Vanderbilt and recently waived Nick Young, Morris is going to be a huge factor in getting the Nuggets to their first playoff appearance in five years.
Who the hell is…? D.J. Wilson, Forward/Center, Milwaukee Bucks
The first time most non-Bucks fans heard of D.J. Wilson was probably through this short video clip, posted to /r/nba:
In the twenty-second clip, Wilson plays solid one-on-one defense on James Johnson driving from the corner, than quickly switches outside to take the open three away from Rodney McGruder, shuffles his feet to deny McGruder’s attack to the basket, and then rotates again to close down and contest Hassan Whiteside’s shot near the paint. It’s a delicious taste of those modern, long, and switchable defenders basketball nerds keep telling you about.
At 6’10” and with a massive 7’3” wingspan, Wilson is something of an athletic freak; he runs the floor like a gazelle, bounces and springs up-and-down for rebounds, and as is seen in the clip above, has energetic hustle and solid defensive footwork. Also, throughout his brief one and a half years in the league, he has rocked a variety of unique hairstyles:
The Bucks drafted Wilson as the 17th pick in the 2017 draft, adding his length to their ever-growing collection of longbois. Now you may argue that because Wilson was a first round pick, expectations for him might be a bit higher than Morris and McGruder. But despite his relative pedigree, Wilson only made 22 brief appearances for the Bucks in his rookie year; and only 11 starts for their G-League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. So when the former Michigan Wolverine made his Reddit debut, the Who the hell is…? factor was in full effect:
Wilson was originally a 6’8” wing in college, and before that, was only 6’3” guard at the beginning of his junior year of high school. Perhaps that explains his ball-handling finesse and three point shot, in which he’s shooting 47% (on a very, very small sample size). Wilson shot above 80% from the free throw line and 37% from three in college, which is a good indication that his shooting touch is no fluke, but time will tell us how legit he will be as a perimeter threat. But with their amount of talent, the Bucks don’t need Wilson to do much on the offensive end. It’s helped Wilson focus in on his role as an energetic rebounder and defender off the bench, while contributing the occasional three pointer.
At Michigan, Wilson was knocked for a lack of physicality, and because of the aforementioned growth spurt he’s sort of like a wing player learning how to be a big. It’s somewhat similar to another Bucks project in Thon Maker; Wilson isn’t able to effectively mix it up on the inside (he’s only shooting 47% within 0–3 feet of the basket), but his physical tools and wingspan help to compensate for his relatively thin frame. Wilson is going to have to get stronger if the Bucks have any thoughts about playing him extensively at the five, but for now he’s in a great position to contribute to an elite playoff team. We’ll see if he’ll still be playing significant minutes by April, where the fans will get to know Wilson on the stage that is the NBA playoffs.
