Five Breakout Players in the NBA This Season

Throughout this year’s NBA season, we’ve seen plenty of players blossom after moving into new roles, finding a new team or harnessing their skill set. Here are five players who have begun to take their game to a new level during the 2024-25 season.

Grady Dick, SG, Toronto

Grady Dick had a solid rookie campaign last year, but it seemed at times like he had far more left in the tank than what we were seeing. This year, he’s left no doubts as to what he can do when he gets sufficient playing time.

The 21-year-old has averaged over 15 points per game in his sophomore season while receiving about eight more minutes per game than last year. He’ll never be the best passer or rebounder in the world, but even his marks in those categories have ticked upward.

He’s done this in spite of less efficient shooting than last year across the board. What’s helped him flourish is his field goal attempts per game, jumping up from 7.4 to 12.5.

Shaedon Sharpe, SG, Portland

Former first-round draft pick Shaedon Sharpe has consistently improved every season in which he’s played in the NBA, and this year is no exception.

Sharpe has climbed to 17.2 ppg after tallying just under 16 last year. He’s gone somewhat cold from behind the arc while attempting more threes than ever before but has made up for that with his increased interior efficiency since last season.

He’s already started more games than he did last season and is a rare bright spot on the lowly Trailblazers.

Trey Murphy III, SF, New Orleans

Now starting full-time for the first time in his NBA career, Trey Murphy III has had a boom in scoring. He’s averaging the most points per game of anyone on this list with his mark of 22.6, a career-high for him.

Murphy III is one of the most prolific three-point chuckers in the league and doesn’t think twice before pulling it from long range. He’s thrown up 8.5 threes per game and has landed 39% of them. He’s also evolved as a passer this year with his mark of 3.4 assists per game being his career high.

After two consecutive years in which he posted strikingly similar numbers, he’s finally received more playing time and has stepped up his game in the 2024-2025 campaign.

Jaden Ivey, SG, Detroit

As our third shooting guard on the list, Jaden Ivey might not be having the most clear-cut breakout of the three. But, he’s scoring more than ever, and unlike some of our other players, he’s done so with an uptick in scoring efficiency.

The Purdue product slogged through last season with the bottom-feeding Pistons, but the team has played significantly better this year much in part to Ivey’s success. Ivey is averaging a career-high in rebounds per game and his three-point percentage has skyrocketed from .336 to .409.

The third-year player has a bright future and has only now begun to come into his own.

Guerschon Yabusele, C, Philadelphia

The last entry on my list is the hard-to-pronounce, easy-to-root-for Guerschon Yabusele. The 29-year-old big man from France has come out of nowhere this season to be a key contributor for an underwhelming 76ers team.

After being a first-round draft pick in 2016, Yabusele was never able to find his footing with the Celtics and didn’t play in the NBA from 2020-2023. Now, he’s averaged over 11 points per game while pulling down 5.6 rebounds per game. He has shot surprisingly well from long distance and has both started and come off the bench for the team.

He’s played so well that many of the 76ers’ trade deadline moves were done with freeing up cap space for an offseason extension of Yabusele in mind.

As we approach the All-Star break and have eclipsed the halfway mark in the season with the trade deadline now firmly in the rearview mirror, hopefully, these five players can continue their momentum throughout the rest of the season.

Dominick Pizzelanti is a second-year dual majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email dqp5565@psu.edu.