With the NBA All-Star break approaching, marking a mid-point of the season, many different players and teams emerged as stars and surprises. The Cleveland Cavaliers broke out to a 43-10 record in the Eastern Conference with the Oklahoma City Thunder setting the standard in the Western Conference with a 43-9 record. The storylines of these two teams, along with a topsy-turvy trade deadline, created an interesting first half of the season despite declining rankings. Along with teams making unpredictable storylines this year, many players shocked the NBA world through this first half of the season.
5. Aaron Wiggins (Oklahoma City Thunder)
In his fourth season out of Maryland, Wiggins’ offensive output played a huge part in the early success of this OKC team. Wiggins went from 6.9 points per game to 10.9 through the first half of this season. In the last eight games before the All-Star Break, Wiggins averaged a smooth 20 points per game with a 41 point performance on Feb. 1. His percentages slightly went down in the shooting department, but he’s nearly eclipsed his total minutes from 78 games last year in 54 games this season. His shooting percentages are still healthy, with a 38% three-point percentage and 49% from the field. Wiggins also provides above average defense with a 0.2 defensive box plus minus (DBPM) and an overall 1.4 box plus minus (BPM) posting him as a solid player with this metric. OKC looks to push for a championship this year, and Wiggins blossoming into a reliable role player plays an important part in their production.
4. Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans)
This year the New Orleans Pelicans majorly caught the injury bug with many starters and role players missing substantial time. Off-season trade acquisition, Dejounte Murray, went down in January with a torn right achilles, expecting to miss the rest of the season. Along with Herbert Jones missing the rest of the year, Yves Missi missed the All-Star Weekend activities with a right knee hyperextension. All of these injuries open up touches for other players, including Trey Murphy III. Not only have his minutes and touches gone up, his percentages have as well. The ballooning from 14.8 points per game to 22.5 points per game surprisingly saw the shooting percentages go up. His field goal percentage went from 44% to 47% and with the higher volume of shots this season the uptick in percentages shows Murphy III’s improvement. While this team may not be good, Murphy shines as a bright spot in this lineup.
3. Dyson Daniels (Atlanta Hawks)
Apart of the Dejounte Murray trade, Daniels got shipped to the Hawks from New Orleans in the offseason concluding his sophomore season. Drafted eight overall for his defensive prowess, Daniels continues to improve on that side of the ball while bettering his offensive game this season. Daniels averages a league leading three steals per game and a 2.6 DBPM as one of the best defensive guards in basketball. His 5.8 points per game last year increased to 13.9 in his third season in the league, along with all his shooting percentages receiving a bump. The Great Barrier Thief, as fans call him, continues to project as a potential defensive All-NBA first teamer and All-Star.
2. Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)
Coming out of Oklahoma State, Cunningham projected as the sure-fire number one pick in the 2021 NBA draft. So far, Cunningham played well in his first three years on miserable Detroit Piston teams, but he’s been nothing short of outstanding this season. The 6’6 point guard received his first All-Star nod this season averaging 25.4 points per game and 9.4 assists a game. His underlying numbers further portray his positive outputs for the Pistons this season with a 3.4 BPM and 4.0 win shares (WS) both being by far the most in any year of his career in only half a season. The Pistons currently sit sixth in the standings as a current playoff team, hopefully giving Cunningham the first playoff action of his career.
1. Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets)
Watch an Amen Thompson game. His stats won’t jump off the page at you, but watching his game live you get to see all the little things he does to win basketball games. He averages 13.7 points a game and 8.1 rebounds per game, but the underlying/advanced stats further speak to how good Thompson is. Starting with his win shares, where he has already contributed 5.6 WS to his team in the first half of this season. He’s also posted a 3.2 BPM through the first half. I keep going back to these stats because they work to show the real value of players beyond their counting stats (points, rebounds, assists) and all of these underlying stats show how good Amen Thompson is. He’s not a great shooter with a 25% clip from the three-point-line, but his athleticism and basketball IQ can’t be measured through stats. I implore you, basketball fan or not, to watch an Amen Thompson game and see what this 22-year-old can do.