Ever since the National Basketball Association resumed its season in Orlando, Florida following the COVID-19-induced halt, a number of storylines have surfaced involving the wave of NBA superstars.
For me, there have been five players, all under the age of 25, who I look forward to watching closely for the next decade+.
Jamal Murray, 23
Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
If there was a postseason MVP award, the 23 year old Murray would be the undisputed winner.
The native of Kitchener, Ontario has led the Denver Nuggets to their first appearance in the Western Conference Finals since 2009 while averaging 26.9 points per game during that time. With him leading the way, Denver has overcome two 3-1 series deficits over the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers respectively, becoming the first team to accomplish that feat in a single postseason. His best stretch was a three-game run in which he scored 50, 42, and 50 in those games.
Jayson Tatum, 22
Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Tatum is arguably the best young player in the NBA at the moment, and he has certainly exploded as of late. His greatness was on display in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
After a scoreless first half, in which he missed all 6 of his shots, Tatum hit 10 of 16 shots after the intermission, finishing with 28 points in the loss. The former Duke star followed that performance with a 31-point gem in a Game 5 victory. Tatum has registered ten 25-point games in this postseason and thirteen such games since the season restarted.
Luka Doncic, 21
Ashley Landis/Associated Press
As a native of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, I have become rather inundated with the hype surrounding the 21 year old Doncic.
The Slovenian superstar capped the Mavericks' best regular season since 2011 by averaging 30 points in the seven seeding games, and securing Dallas's first playoff appearance in ten seasons. Doncic then exploded for two 40-point games in a first round series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. In Game 4, Luka, hampered by a sprained ankle and missing his wing-man Kristaps Porzingis, netted 43 points and a game-winning three-pointer as time expired in overtime to give Dallas a 135-133 win. Doncic averaged 31 in the six-game series.
Donovan Mitchell, 24
While Jamal Murray was torching the Utah Jazz in the teams' first round meeting, Mitchell was returning the favor, averaging 36 points per game in the seven-game series, including a 51-point night in a Game 4 win. But that was after he had registered 57 in Game 1 of that series.
In both those signature games for the Louisville product, Mitchell made more than half of his shots for an incredible efficiency rating. Mitchell has also been a very vocal figure in the fight for racial justice, penning a letter to the late Breonna Taylor that expressed his disgust with the ruling that failed levy charges against the Louisville, Kentucky officers responsible for her death.
Tyler Herro, 20
Boston Celtics v Miami Heat - Game FourGetty Images
Herro, the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft (Mitchell was picked 13th in 2017), is the first player born in the 21st century to play in an NBA playoff game, and he has become quite a star after his 37-point performance in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Tatum and the Celtics.
If you had never noticed Herro before, that's understandable as he only averaged 12.6 points per game prior to the restart. However, Herro saw his minutes extended towards the end of the seeding games and he has rewarded coach Erik Spoelstra with six 20-point nights and has provided an additional ball-handler to compliment Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler. He and fellow Kentucky Wildcat Bam Adebayo have the Miami Heat one game away from their first trip to the NBA Finals since the days of LeBron James.
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