As another exciting NBA season starts, everyone already knows who the stars will be.
The biggest stories of the next season will be written by Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, and many other well-known players. But less well-known players will also make a difference.
The following list shows 10 hoopers who need to get the attention and praise they deserve. There are no hard and fast rules about what can be included here, so that some choices will be less clear than others. However, our players all pass the “people should be talking about them more” test.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you like the teams these guys play for, you already know what’s going on. It’s common knowledge among Golden State Warriors fans that Jonathan Kuminga can burst like he was shot out of a cannon. Similarly, only a few Charlotte Hornets fans are aware of Mark Williams‘ huge presence in the paint. But more people should know about these guys.
Let’s find some gems that are hidden.
The Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga
Since the Golden State Warriors picked the very athletic forward Jonathan Kuminga with the seventh pick in the 2021 draft, fans have thought a lot about him.
But the 21-year-old has scored at most 10 points in either of his first two seasons and has been out of the Dubs’ rotation for long periods, so NBA fans outside the Bay Area probably need to be thinking more about him.
That will be different this season, as Kuminga starts his third campaign with clear goals and the chance to play a much bigger part than he has ever had.
Kuminga lost playing time during the regular season, especially in the playoffs, because he didn’t rebound well, and he knows that his minutes will rest on how well he does that. When he doesn’t hit the boards, the Warriors have had to stop practice.
Because there are already established stars and the team is trying to win the title, Kuminga won’t get the chance to show off what could be a first-choice, on-ball offensive set. Please don’t count on him consistently scoring 20 or more points like he has been in training games.
However, the 2021 first-round pick looks like he will do well in all the smaller ways the Warriors want him to this season. These include finishing on cuts and in the pick-and-roll, being a threat in transition, being a flexible perimeter defender, and, yes, even being a pogo-stick rebounder.
The best players in the league can’t keep up with Kuminga because he is such a great athlete. One day, he might be able to make 10 free throws on average per game. Only a few people can quick-jump Anthony Davis off of two feet and float past him to the basket.
If Kuminga can get better at playing the part and get more playing time, he will become known to NBA fans all over the league.
The Chicago Bulls' Jevon Carter
As a 6’2″ combo guard already 28 years old, Jevon Carter doesn’t have any physical traits or highlight videos that make Kuminga a “secret gem.” That goes to show that there are many ways to do well while staying relatively unknown.
Carter is great at defense, the most underrated skill in the league, especially among guards.
Last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he had a plus-1.3 Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus, which put him in the 88th percentile. Patrick Beverley, a better-known defensive irritant, was in the 86th percentile. In almost the same amount of playing time, Carter picked up more loose balls and committed 29 fewer personal fouls than Beverley.
Carter shot 42.1 percent from long range, which raised his career three-point hit rate to 39.7 percent. On the other hand, Beverley finished 2022–23, shooting 33.5 percent from long range and is now at 37.3 percent for his career. In a sense, Carter is better than Beverley, but he doesn’t have nearly as bad of a reputation. Perhaps Carter’s Q rating would be higher if he was more vocal and liked the showiness of bringing a camera onto the court during a game to argue a call.
Carter got little attention before he joined the Chicago Bulls this offseason. He’ll play with Alex Caruso, arguably the best backcourt defender since Jrue Holiday. There’s only so much praise for defense-first guards like Carter, so he’ll have to work even harder to stand out, with Caruso getting so much attention.
The Oklahoma City Thunder' Jalen Williams
This is not necessary.
So what if Jalen Williams came in second place for Rookie of the Year behind Paolo Banchero? What if the Oklahoma City Thunder wing finished the season on a huge high note, scoring 18.6 points, grabbing 5.4 rebounds, dishing out 4.3 assists, and stealing 1.7 balls per game while shooting 54.6 percent (42.9 percent 88.0 percent) after the All-Star break?
Even though he got off to a slower start, he beat Banchero in field goal, three-point, and free throw percentages. He also beat the Orlando Magic star in Box Plus/Minus and EPM.
Banchero may have more potential as a top-scorer, but Williams has a wider range of skills, is better at switching between defenses, and is more efficient on offense.
Almost all of those skills were shown by the 22-year-old in his first training game, which went from end to end to end.
A poll on HoopsHype asked 25 NBA officials to name their top three breakout players for 2023–24. Williams wasn’t even mentioned.
It could be because he’s in a small market or because he works with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who broke out last season and is likely to be in the running for MVP for the next six years or so. Whatever the reason, Williams is one of the most underrated future stars in the league.
Williams has been in the league for one year, but he’s already polished, productive, and the right size for a big wing. Plus, his game doesn’t have any holes. This will be the last time he’s ignored.
The Denver Nuggets' Peyton Watson
Even though Bruce Brown Jr.’s departure doesn’t directly hurt the Denver Nuggets‘ chances of winning back-to-back NBA titles, it is clear that his loss will make it harder for the team to do so.
Last year, Christian Braun showed enough defense, smart cutting, and general hustle to earn a spot off Denver’s bench in 2023–24. Even if he plays all 28.5 minutes per game that Brown used to, the Nuggets will still need to fill Jeff Green’s minutes.
This is where Payton Watson comes in. He only played in 23 games as a rookie, but he showed the right range and speed to make people want to watch him play. This year, he will get his chance.
The 21-year-old needs to make enough three-pointers for the defense to pay attention (6 of 14 from 2022-23) so that the 6’8″ forward can use his defense, speed, and length to make a difference in the game. His 3.3% block rate in restricted time last season, which was in the top 1% of forwards’ block rates, gives you an idea of how important he could be.
Even though he is young and hasn’t played much, last year’s No. 30 pick could grow and add something new to Denver.
The Memphis Grizzlies' Santi Aldama
People looking for deeper Memphis Grizzlies cuts might like Ziaire Williams here more than Santi Aldama, but Santi Aldama is something people only sometimes talk about in the NBA.
Also, Aldama made a lot of progress last year, while Williams had a poor sophomore year.
The Spaniard was picked 30th overall in the 2021 draft. He is a 6’11” spacer with surprising skill off the bounce. His 35.3 percent hit rate from deep last year seems low when you consider how fluid his stroke is and how easily he lets the ball fly. Defenders are already worried about his shooting, as shown by the aggressive closeouts he saw last season.
As long as Aldama is balanced, he can use those closeouts to his advantage by attacking the basket with his length and strong downhill package.
Brandon Clarke tore his Achilles tendon at the end of last season and will probably miss the whole season. Because of this, Memphis should rely even more on Aldama as its first big off the bench and sometimes starting.
If the 22-year-old can improve his efficiency from long range to the high 30s and help out more on the glass, he might be ready to break out soon.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Nickeil Alexander-Walker used to be a “chucker,” a jokey type of player. He used to think that if he could see the basket, he should throw the Ball there, no matter the defense, angle, or game situation.
The player who was drafted at No. 17 in 2019 took more than 16 shots per 36 minutes during his first two seasons, which is similar to the career attempts of DeMar DeRozan and James Harden. However, he struggled to score efficiently during those early years, only making 40.0 percent of his field goal attempts.
Over the next two seasons, Alexander-Walker was traded from New Orleans to Utah to Minnesota in the middle of the season. During that time, he changed his game, which was good.
He was happy with his small part, made threes when he was open, moved the Ball more often when he was covered, and mostly fit in as a support player. The former chucker also used his long 6’6″ frame very well on defense, which is the most important thing.
Do you remember how he messed up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Play-In Round?
Walker is only 25 years old but has all the skills a team could want in a wing player. He can be a good starting player, and even more, if he can add the right amount of first-choice tendencies to the role-player recipe that works for him.
The Philadelphia 76ers' Jaden Springer
With Jaden Springer, we might be going too far with this exercise’s “hidden” part. The Philadelphia 76ers talent has played 95 minutes over two seasons, which is more like “invisible.”
On the other hand, his position as a “gem” is pretty clear, and it’s hard to stay out of the public eye when you’re up against MVP candidates for fierce dunk denials:
That’s Springer standing up to blow off Jayson Tatum during practice play. And you’re not the only one who thinks the 21-year-old is great on defense.
NBA head coach Nick Nurse told reporters, “It’s just one game, so don’t try to go too far.” “I thought Jaden Springer stood out greatly in the game. He guarded hard; he rebounded hard; he finished at the basket; he sunk a couple of shots.”
The 2021 first-round pick has a long way to go on offense, as shown by the fact that he only made 28.9 percent of his 149 three-point shots in the G League. Still, he can help as a cutter and an offensive blocker, and his defense could be strong enough to get him playing time on its own.
Even though Springer is still a work in progress, he is beginning to show more skills that will get him on the court more often. Things are likely to go well whenever he’s outside. Ask Tatum.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Max Christie
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are big stars, so it’s hard to stand out when you’ve only played in 41 games as a rookie (19 years old). That’s why Max Christie’s play in the summer league was so important; it showed that he had the skills to do well if given the chance.
The player from Michigan State scored 19.0 points, grabbed 6.3 rebounds, and gave out 3.7 assists in three games in Las Vegas. He cut down the nets from all angles.
Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers guard made 41.9 percent of his three-point shots. In Vegas, he made 45.7 percent. He also made 50 percent of his field goals and all his free throws.
Even though those numbers are good on offense, Christie might have been even better on defense. The head coach of the summer league, JD Dubois, liked how versatile he was on defense. The extra weight he gained over the past year should make him even stronger on defense this season.
The Lakers have a lot of players, so Christie probably won’t start unless an injury forces him into the first team. But he’ll play more than 41 games and 12.5 minutes per game during his 20th season. You should at least get a rotating job.
And if Christie’s improvements from July turn out to be real, he might deserve to be considered for Most Improved Player.
The Houston Rockets' Tari Eason
The stars are facing up for some of the secret gems we’ve discussed. That might not be true for Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, but he is still an overlooked and undervalued contributor who needs to be known by more people.
You have to dig deeper into the stats to find out how much the 22-year-old does on the court.
His 9.3 points per game on 44.8/34.3/75.2 shooting doesn’t stand out. But he picked up more lost balls than anyone else in the league last year, and his “Cleaning the Glass” pages show how hard he works and how disruptive his defense is.
In his first season, Eason had a block rate that was 93rd percentile, a steal rate that was 98th percentile, a defensive rebound rate that was 90th percentile, and an offensive rebound rate that was 100th percentile.
His hard work never stops, and it showed on the 2022–23 Rockets team that didn’t have much defense responsibility. When he was on the court making a mess, Houston’s defense lost 4.7 points per 100 plays and turned the Ball over a lot more often.
Eason has a lower ceiling than some of his friends, who are very good prospects. He doesn’t get as many highlights and buckets as Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün, and Cam Whitmore.
Eason is the only player who can affect Houston’s defense. His drive and intensity could help the Rockets become a competitive team again.
The Charlotte Hornets' Mark Williams
The Charlotte Hornets didn’t get much attention after LaMelo Ball hurt his ankle on February 27 and could not play again. You’re not the only one. But if you didn’t pay attention, you missed rookie center Mark Williams quietly becoming a good starter.
From February 28 to the end of the 2022–23 season, the 21-year-old scored 11.5 points, grabbed 9.5 boards, and made 61.6 percent of his field goal attempts. He was very effective even without Ball, the team’s best facilitator. This means that he will have even better numbers in 2023–24.
The Duke product is listed at 7’0″ and 241 pounds, but he looks even bigger on the court. He is a strong finisher, and last season, he was one of only two players to record at least 70 dunks in less than 900 minutes of play.
Both numbers will go up because Williams should be able to start all games this year after only 17 last year.
If the No. 15 pick in 2022 keeps getting better as a space defender, it will be harder for offenses to use him against them. Even though he was new, he limited opponents to 62.6 percent shooting inside six feet, which isn’t great for a center but about the same as Joel Embiid and Jakob Poeltl did last season.
Even more importantly, his opponents tried to shoot from mid-range more often than at the basket when he was on the court.
For some reason, scorers paid attention to Williams in the lane. This should be the year fans and everyone else also pay attention to him.
