5 sophomores to watch out for in the 2021-22 NBA Season

The 2020-21 NBA season was a good one for several sophomores who were looking to establish themselves after promising rookie campaigns in the NBA.

Entering the 2020-21 NBA season, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was the then reigning Rookie of the Year. Alongside Morant, the New Orleans Pelicans' unbelievably dominant scorer Zion Williamson was expected to have a great year as well with health on his side ahead of his sophomore campaign.

Both Morant and Williamson enjoyed great seasons as sophomores. Morant in particular proved his worth and put Memphis in the NBA Playoffs with solid performances in the Play-In tournament.

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Williamson seemed to switch up to another gear as the year advanced, and along with his first All-Star appearance, he put up outstanding numbers.

Now, heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, there are some really promising talents coming from the 2020 NBA Draft class. A special focus will be dedicated to those who were in the Top 3 in the Rookie of the Year voting.

In this article, we will rank the Top 5 sophomores entering the 2021-22 NBA campaign after some impressive rookie performances in the past NBA campaign.

#5 James Wiseman | Golden State Warriors

James Wiseman #33 high-fives Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors.

Tipped by many to be arguably the player with the most potential out of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors' James Wiseman still has a good future ahead of him.

Injuries hindered his rookie year, but the small sample size he was able to provide looked quite good. Though he seemed a little tentative on the court from time to time, Wiseman is a solid center who has good physical abilities and moves well without the ball.

He is also a nice rim-protector and his touch on offense could help him develop into a big scoring threat. Wiseman put up 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the 2020-21 NBA season. He played 39 games (27 starts) and averaged around 21 minutes in each of those matches.

#4 Saddiq Bey | Detroit Pistons

Saddiq Bey #41 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket.

Saddiq Bey put up a good rookie campaign, although it came with the struggling Detroit Pistons, who were the worst team in the Eastern Conference last year.

Still, the forward out of Villanova had a good season, appearing in 70 games for Detroit (53 starts) and averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He also shot well from the three-point line, making 38% of his 460 attempts from beyond the arc.

Bey also made 84% of his free throws, but his overall efficiency from the field must improve as he converted just 40% of his field goals last season.

#3 Tyrese Haliburton | Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Sacramento Kings.

Tyrese Haliburton finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year award voting for the 2020-21 NBA season. Rightfully, he was often considered for the award in recognition of his work with the Sacramento Kings.

He played in 58 games for the Kings and mostly came off the bench (he started only 20 times). However, Haliburton gave the team a solid contribution off the bench, controlling the ball well and shooting with great efficiency for a rookie.

He finished up averaging 13 points (third-best among rookies), three rebounds and 5.3 assists per game (second-best among rookies) in his first NBA campaign. Moreover, Haliburton made 47.2% of his field goals, 40.9% of his threes (296 attempts) and a solid 85.7% from the free-throw line.

Among rookies, he was in the Top 5 in the total points, assists, three-pointers and steals categories.

#2 Anthony Edwards | Minnesota Timberwolves

Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The first pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards had to take some games to get used to the NBA. But he eventually became a starter for the team and turned into an extremely athletic scorer.

Edwards should've won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in the eyes of many, but it was probably right for him to be considered second-best for the award. Regardless, that does not take anything away from his rookie campaign.

Edwards led all the NBA rookies in points per game with 19.3. He was in the Top 10 in points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game. Edwards also led rookies in total points and was in the Top 10 in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The 20-year-old was also second in three-pointers made, although he shot only 32.9% from three-point range.

Overall, he made 41.7% of his shots and 77.6% of his free throws. He had 72 appearances and 55 starts in the NBA season.

In his 55 starts, his numbers evolved positively across the board. He averaged 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game with 43/33/77 shooting splits in 34 minutes per night.

#1 LaMelo Ball | Charlotte Hornets

LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets.

LaMelo Ball rightfully earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors as his presence was definitely positively impactful for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020-21 NBA campaign.

If he did not suffer a wrist injury midway through the season, Charlotte probably wouldn't have needed the Play-In tournament to enter the postseason (which they ultimately failed to do).

Still, Ball's campaign was great for an NBA rookie. He averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and a rookie-high 6.1 assists per game during the 2020-21 campaign. Ball was fun to watch whenever he was on the court and he also found the efficiency that many thought he did not have prior to his NBA debut.

He made a respectable 43.6% of his field goals as a rookie, 35% of his threes and 75.8% of his free throws. With a year of experience and tremendous energy on the court, Ball could evolve fantastically as an NBA athlete and find a new gear in his development as a player during the 2021-22 season.

Also Read: 5 NBA players with the highest points per game (PPG) in their rookie season since 2000