Enjoy Basketball: Next seasons potential breakout players (part two)

Welcome back, fellow Enjoyers of Basketball!

Back by popular demand, we're going over five more players who are due for a breakout season in 2022-23. Just so as many teams as possible get some love, we'll only be looking at players who aren't on teams featured in our first breakout players list (Sorry Alperen Sengun and Wendell Carter Jr.).

But before we get into it, let's all take a moment to appreciate the players who are talented both on the court and in the studio. Let us know whom your favorite NBA player turned rapper/singer is in the poll below!

PG: Dalano Banton

Dalano Banton's NBA career admittedly didn't get off to the best start.

The former Western Kentucky and Nebraska guard had a rough go of it during his rookie year in Toronto. He showed off decent passing chops and was an immediate positive defender, but Banton struggled to score at all levels, including at the line, eventually forcing him to bounce between the Raptor's main roster and their g-league affiliate later in the season.

It was for this affiliate, Raptors 905, that Banton first started to turn some heads. In seven regular season games, Banton played the best basketball of his young professional career, averaging over 24 points per game on 51% shooting, including an impressive 39% clip from beyond the arc.

Despite the strong performance in the G-League this year's Summer League was still going to be a make-or-break moment for Banton. As the team's starting point guard, he was going to have to impress to justify the team's continued faith in him.

And that's exactly what he did. Banton was the focal point for a Raptors summer league squad that went an impressive 4-1 despite having no high draft picks. In fact, focal point might be a bit of an understatement. Banton led the team in points (16.3), rebounds (5.3), assists (4.3), and steals (2.0) while overcoming his greatest weakness by shooting an otherworldly 46.2% from deep.

Banton has shown plenty of success from an individual standpoint this summer, and it only helps that he's part of an organization perfectly suited for his style of play. Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse is a pioneer of the positionless basketball movement, and perhaps no guard this side of Ben Simmons has a better frame for the system than Banton. At 6'9" with a 6'10" wingspan, Banton is a rare breed of player who can serve as a primary playmaker on offense and switch onto multiple positions defensively.

Banton has done a lot to overcome his struggles as a rookie His strong summer league performance combined with his ideal fit in the Raptors system should give Banton the inside lane to snag the backup point guard spot behind Fred VanVleet. He might not be on the fast track to stardom, but don't be surprised if Banton breaks out as one of the more reliable backup guards in the league and a mainstay in the Raptors rotation.

SG: Josh Green

With a Brunson-sized hole in the Mavericks backcourt, Dallas is in desperate need of other guards on the roster to step up. And no guard on the team has a better chance of making a leap than Josh Green.

Green's impact on the court has always started with his defense. Physically, Green has the ideal frame of a modern switchable NBA shooting guard. He has great size at 6'6" 210 with a 6'10" wingspan, while still having the quickness and athleticism to hang with shiftier guards. His physical traits, combined with his high basketball IQ, make him a great defender at the NBA level. Green had the second-highest defensive box plus-minus on the Mavericks last season, only behind Luka Doncic. If he continues to improve on D, Green has a real chance of being one of the NBA's elite perimeter defenders sooner rather than later.

But for Green, any sort of breakout season will hinge on his ability to space the floor. The Mavericks love to run with four shooters around Doncic, and Green will need to hit open threes a bit more consistently if he wants to earn more minutes. The Arizona grad grew noticeably more comfortable with his shot as the season went along, making more threes in his 23 appearances after the all-star break than in the 44 games before. Green did show signs of regression during the playoffs in that regard though, which eventually cost him his spot in the rotation after the first-round series against the Jazz.

With Brunson departing for New York in free agency, and Dallas in need of switchable defenders who can space the floor to pair with Luka, Green is sure to see a significant minutes increase to begin next season. But it's going to be up to him to capitalize on the opportunity. Green's consistency as a shooter will determine whether it'll be a breakout campaign or more of the same from the third-year guard. But, if everything goes right, Green may end up playing 20+ minutes of high-impact two-way basketball a night for one of the best teams in the west.

SF: Ziaire Williams

Ziaire Williams was seen as a risky selection when Memphis took him 10th overall in last year's NBA draft. But the former top-five high school player has shown plenty of promise early in his pro career and may be in for a big season in 2022-23 if Memphis can find the minutes for him.

In the Grizzlies' offense, Williams mainly operates out of the corner both as a spot-up shooter and high-impact cutter. As a shooter, Williams had some growing pains throughout his lone season at Stanford and the beginning of his rookie year. But he seemed to finally have turned a corner after the all-star break, making over 36% of his three's on a healthy 4.2 attempts per game.

This newfound shooting stroke not only adds a new dynamic to William's offensive game but also gives him the extra spacing needed to show off his best attributes, his top-tier cutting ability and vertically around the rim. Williams is incredibly intelligent as a cutter which, combined with his world-class leaping abilities, makes him a force to be reckoned with when attacking the basket.

Just how good was Williams as a cutter and a rim finisher? Well, you really only need one number to understand. His 88.5 FG% within three feet of the basket was the best in the NBA. Not among rookies, not just at his position, but across the entire league.

Williams still has plenty of work to do to round out his game. He's not a spectacular rebounder for his height, offers little in the playmaking department, and is missing the defensive IQ to match his physical traits. But if he can hit the three more consistently and improve defensively, particularly off the ball, Williams will be primed to be a key piece of a Grizzlies team fighting to stay near the top of the western conference.

From a pure upside perspective, Williams is more than deserving of a spot on this team. The only thing that might hold him back is the level of talent around him. Outside of the Clippers, the Grizzlies have a great argument as the deepest team in basketball, so it remains to be seen whether Williams will get the minutes necessary to have a true breakout season. But if he does, Williams is only a few small improvements away from being an incredibly impactful wing and a great complementary piece next to Ja Morant.

PF: Jaden McDaniels

It says a lot about Jaden McDaniel's potential that the Timberwolves were willing to give up an extra unprotected first-round pick in the Rudy Gobert trade to keep the second-year wing in Minnesota. McDaniels might just be 21 years old, but he has the ideal size, quickness, and ball skills to succeed as a wing player in today's NBA.

He might not show it off consistently, but McDaniels is a fluid dribbler with some great moves for a player this size. Just look at this move he pulled off against Chet Holmgren in a recent pro-am game.

Strong handles and a quick first step are great indicators that McDaniels could become a force to be reckoned with as a scorer. He may have some work to do as a shooter, but he has quality mechanics and could certainly become an above-average shooter with time.

McDaniels offensive game has plenty of potential to blossom, but it's on the defensive end where he is already enjoying the fruits of his labor. Standing 6'9" with a seven-foot wingspan, McDaniels was practically built in a lab to be a versatile NBA defender who can guard multiple positions, and that's exactly what he's done so far in his young career.

According to NBA.com defensive matchup data, McDaniels split his time nearly evenly defending guards and forwards last season, holding them to a combined 39.8 FG%. He did struggle guarding on the perimeter, opponents shot 37% from deep against him on more than 300 attempts, but McDaniels made that up and more with his defense around the rim.

Among NBA wings, it would be a tall order to find a more impactful rim protector than McDaniels. He might not put up monster block numbers, but McDaniels is in elite company when it comes to altering opponent's shots around the basket. Opponents shot just 51.1% within 6 feet of the basket when guarded by him, the best mark in the league among forwards who defended at least two such shots per game.

With Gobert and Towns locked in as the Timberwolves starting frontcourt, McDaniels will most likely be putting in most of his minutes in 2022-23 as a small forward. By all accounts, this should be a big boost for McDaniels performance on both sides of the ball. Weighing just 185 pounds, the former Washington Husky was often pushed around by larger power forwards, a problem that shouldn't be as noticeably apparent going against smaller wings. Do we have him listed as a power forward here anyway? Yes, but you do what you gotta do to keep a player with as much potential as McDaniels on this list.

C: Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu was one of the most hyped big man prospects in the 2020 NBA draft, but the former sixth overall pick has almost exclusively come off the bench over his first two seasons in the league. But that doesn't mean he hasn't played exceptionally when called upon. Okongwu is a great defender and finisher who has a real shot at earning the starting center job in Atlanta.

Okongwu's impact on offense centers around his ability to finish around the rim at an elite level. He was one of just seven players with a true shooting percentage over 70% last season (minimum 500 min played) and hit nearly 77% of his shots within three feet of the basket. His efficiency was only bolstered by a strong propensity to get to, and execute at, the free throw line. Okongwu ranked second in free throw percentage among those seven players with 70% TS and in the top twenty leaguewide in free throw rate.

He hasn't developed much of a jump shot at the NBA level, but Okongwu showed off a solid mid-range game in college and flashed some promise last season on jumpers close to the basket. Okongwu made a significant jump in midrange efficiency between his first (39.2%) and second (50%) seasons, albeit on limited volume. This coincided with a nearly 10% rise in free throw percentage. If Okongwu can continue to build on his foundation as a shooter, it will make him much more versatile as an offensive player.

Okongwu will have significant competition for minutes with Capela still in town. But, there's plenty of statistical evidence that he should supersede Capela as the Hawk's go-to center sooner rather than later.

By trading for Dejounte Murray, Atlanta appears to be making a concerted effort to improve on the defensive end, and giving Okongwu more minutes would help to further growth on that side of the ball. Only Delon Wright had a better defensive rating among Hawks rotation players than Okongwu's 109.1. Compare that to Capelas' 113.1 defensive rating, and the USC grad looks like the superior defensive option, which only becomes more apparent when looking solely at minutes played with star PG Trae Young. Okongwu's defensive rating with Young on the court (109.2) remained about equal to his season average, while Capelas increased by a point and a half per 100 possessions to 114.6.

The transition started last year, with Okongwu cracking the 20 minutes per game barrier and Capela playing less than 30 minutes a night for the first time since 2017-18. This season, we think it's more likely than not that Okongwu takes the starting role and puts the NBA world on notice.

Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison

On Wednesday, a Russian court found WNBA star Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling after bringing less than one gram of Cannabis oil through a Moscow airport six months ago.

"I never meant to hurt anybody, I never meant to put in jeopardy the Russian population, I never meant to break any laws here," said Griner in an emotional apology to the court. "I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here. I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that, that is far from this courtroom."

Sadly her plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Her 9-year sentence is an abnormality according to Griner's lawyer Alexander Boykov, and may have been a result of the overarching political climate. The average time in jail for this type of crime is only around five years, with almost a third of those convicted receiving parole.

We here at Enjoy Basketball support Griner in her continued struggle and hope she can return home as soon as possible.

Rob Murphy has indelible, painful Detroit ties. He is now a Pistons assistant GM - James L. Edwards III (The Athletic)

Blazing the Trail: Shane Battier, the data-ball defender - Mat Issa (Basketball News)

Wine, steak and Mark Few tales: As the table of NBA Zags grows bigger, a summer Vegas gathering keeps them all connected - Theo Lawson (The Spokesman Review)

Thank you for reading another edition of the Enjoy Basketball newsletters. We hope that you enjoyed reading about some more underappreciated players as much as we enjoyed writing about them.

As the long offseason continues, let us know what you want to see in the Newsletter moving forward! Team previews, NBA history, top ten lists, you name it, we can write it. Reply to this email with your ideas, and we'll do our best to give the people what they want.

Until next time.

-Spencer Poole

Trivia answer: The shortest player to ever win the NBA dunk contest was Spud Webb in 1986! The 5'7" guard beat out his teammate and fellow all-time great dunker Dominique Wilkins to get the win.

Trivia Question: Led by a dynamic hall-of-fame center at the height of his powers, this squad holds the NBA record as the youngest team ever to win an NBA championship. Who were they?