One of the best parts of every new season is witnessing players take their game to a higher level. Whether it is within the established trajectory of a second or third-year player, the resurgence out of a plateau, or a high-achieving rookie, the thrill of seeing a player take their game to new levels not only gives fans great excitement but it also gives fantasy managers the opportunity to boost their lineups by being among the first to catch the trend.
After missing the first four games of the season, Cam Reddish has played in five of the last six and looks to have earned himself a significant role. He is averaging 27.7 minutes per game over the last three outings, including picking up the start in the last two. This is his sixth year in the NBA, and despite playing no more than 58 games in a season, a high set in his rookie campaign, he has shown the potential to be a versatile contributor with the ability to score, pass and defend. If he can stay healthy, he could certainly make the most of the opportunity and put together a prominent season.
Ochai Agbaji showed flashes of impressive play over his first couple of seasons but entered his third season slated to be in a bench role, likely fighting for minutes with other guys looking to make their mark. However, as a result of injury trouble among the Raptors' roster, Agbaji was able to pick up more playing time than expected, including starting in 10 of the team's 12 games. Over that span, he has proven himself as a strong contributor on both ends of the floor, averaging 13.5 points on 57.3 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 31.5 minutes per game. Agbaji is on track to remain a key part of the squad's rotation and could eventually emerge as a solidified starter in the league.
Stephon Castle began his rookie campaign in a bench role for the Spurs, averaging six points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists over the first seven games of the season. As a result of injury trouble and as a reward for playing well within the system, Castle has started in the last four games and is averaging 13 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals over that span. His continued impressive play even allowed him to maintain the starting job despite Devin Vassell being back in the rotation over the last two games. Castle is on track to continue his development in a positive direction with a young Spurs core as the team looks to build the ideal supporting cast around Victor Wembanyama.
Rookie Carlton "Bub" Carrington has started in eight of the Wizards' nine games this season and is averaging 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.4 steals and just 1.6 turnovers in 30.1 minutes per game. He has a great opportunity to continue building his reputation with the floundering squad and is already standing out as one of their best distributors, leading the team in assists per game.
Bilal Coulibaly showed enough promise in his rookie year for many to anticipate that he would emerge as a solid contributor in his sophomore season. So far, he has lived up to the expectation, reaching the 20-point mark four times in nine appearances and averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is also shooting 57.3 percent from the field and looks to be a reliable force for the Wizards moving forward.
Brandon Boston did not see much consistent action through his first three seasons with the Clippers, but he is averaging 26.9 minutes per game over eight outings with the Pelicans this season. Part of the reason for the boost in playing time is the fact that the team is dealing with a load of injury trouble. Nonetheless, Boston is proving himself a capable scorer by averaging 12 points on 46.2 percent shooting, including 37 percent from deep. He is also doing a solid job contributing across the stat sheet. At 22 years old, with a 6-foot-6 frame, he looks to have a long way to go before scraping his ceiling.
Julian Champagnie saw a fair amount of opportunity through his first two seasons but looks to have taken a clear step forward in his third year while holding firm control of the starting small forward job for the Spurs. He is averaging career highs across the board, with 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.7 steals in 27.7 minutes per game, including a season-high 21-point performance on 7-for-12 shooting. He is on track to continue to grow in the role. With a 6-foot-7 build, he should develop more of an ability to utilize his size advantage.
Aside from a stand-out 20-point performance on November 1, Ben Sheppard is off to a modest start to the season. Nonetheless, he continues to show an ability to thrive from beyond the arc, shooting 41.7 percent from deep this season. He has yet to get to the foul line this year but delivered a highly respectable 88.5 percent from the stripe last season. Most importantly, he is in line for a significant increase in responsibility over the next couple of weeks, while Aaron Nesmith (ankle) and Andrew Nembhard (knee) remain sidelined.
The play of Gradey Dick has been a hot topic early this season, and rightly. He went from averaging 8.5 points per game in his rookie season to averaging 20.1 points while shooting 37.3 percent from long range through 12 games to start his sophomore campaign. Dick looks to be playing with a great degree of confidence and has quickly proven himself to be a multi-level scorer, capable of even carrying his team, as he has three games with at least 30 points this season. He is on track to remain a key figure in the Raptors' offense for the near future.
Tari Eason was limited to just 22 games in 2023-24 due to injury but is out to a strong start in his third NBA season, including delivering a season-high of 27 points while averaging 11.6 points on 54.6 percent shooting over 11 games. However, his most impressive contributions have been on the defensive end, where he is averaging career highs of 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks in just 22.6 minutes per game. Eason remains in competition with a fair amount of depth at the forward positions on the Rockets' roster, but he is definitely capable of making himself a stand-out candidate to break into the starting lineup before too long.
Toumani Camara continues to build on consistent play that he showed throughout his rookie season and remains in full control of a starting role with the Trail Blazers despite a significant amount of depth at the wing positions. He is not putting up huge numbers, but he is playing with efficiency, shooting 45.3 percent from the field, including a blistering 45 percent from deep. He is also doing a great job on the defensive end, with 1.7 steals per game.
Jake LaRavia is playing well to start his third NBA campaign, with his most notable improvement coming in the form of his efficiency, as he is shooting 49.3 percent from the field, up from 38.9 percent last season. He remains in a bench role but has two games with more than 15 points and one double-double through 11 appearances. He also does a good job contributing across the board and looks to be moving along a promising trajectory.
