The NBA has been blessed with generational talent throughout the 2010s decade. We had the pleasure of watching All Time Great Players; such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and others. They delivered great moments, broke records, and won championships. However these players are starting to get older. Every player I mentioned is in their 30s (Kawhi is 29). And as history has shown us, basketball players begin to slow down and decline in their 30’s. Now this begs the question; Who will take the torch from the players of the 2010’s and lead the way for the 2020s? Allow me to answer that Question.
The Supremely Skilled and Gifted, Jayson Tatum. The Explosive, Jump out of the Gym, Scorer and Playmaker, Ja Morant. The Dominant, Unstoppable Inside Force, Zion Williamson. Perhaps the Genius Stat sheet stuffer Luka Doncic, Who has been compared to Larry Bird? Way too many players to choose from. When it comes to fresh talent in the league, we don’t have to look far. Let’s break down each young player in the NBA, their talents, their potential and how they can lead us into the next generation.
First up, let’s take a look at the excellence of Jayson Tatum. A 6’10, lengthy wing, with elite shot creating skills, a handle, and ability to score at all three levels, not to mention exceptional athleticism and finishing ability. 
He’s improved in almost every way, in every season of his career. His scoring output, rebounding, and assists numbers have increased from each season so far. He’s an elite scorer who can put up 30 points on any given night by any means. Pull up jumpers, fade-aways, three point jump shots or getting to the line and converting (where he makes an incredible 86.8% of his attempts this past season). Speaking of this past season, Let’s take a look at his stats:
- 26.4 PPG (career high)
- 7.4 RPG (career high)
- 4.3 APG (career high)
- 46/38.6/86.8 Shooting Splits
Tatum has already been an all star and is improving significantly every season. He’s already shown himself to be a great playoff performer, having averaged 30 PPG this post season against the Brooklyn Nets (before being eliminated) and as a Rookie, he scored 315 points in the 2018 playoffs, which is the second most of any rookie ever in the playoffs. The future is insanely bright for this young man at age 23. A potential MVP Candidate in the future for sure. 
Next up, let’s talk about Ja Morant. The 2nd overall pick in 2019 by the Memphis Grizzlies. This Point Guard stands at 6’3, but don’t let that height fool you. His leaping ability is second to none, even having his head above the rim on some of the Dunk attempts in his career. To put this into perspective, in order for Ja’s head to reach the rim, he would have to jump 45 inches, but as I mentioned earlier, his head is above the rim at times for these dunk attempts, meaning his vertical is anywhere from 46-48 inches. Don’t get it twisted, Ja is more than just some athletic freak. He’s much more. Ja’s ability to attack and finish at the basket are among the best. In fact, last season he finished an amazing 64% of his shots at the rim, which is ridiculous considering his height. But when he can’t get all the way to the basket, he has a floater that is not only unblockable, but also accurate. In fact, according to The NBA’s official site, Ja hit 45% of his floaters. Now let’s talk about his Playmaking. Ja in just his second season has already established himself as a top 15-20 playmaker in all of basketball. Ja makes great decisions with the basketball in the half court as well as in transition. He’s exceptional at driving to the basket and dishing to shooters. His turnovers are high for his usage rate but this is to be expected from a young player of his age.
Speaking of age, Ja Morant is only 21, but you couldn’t tell by the way he performed in his first ever playoff series. Facing the Utah Jazz, who are ranked 4th in Defensive Rating, and have Rudy Gobert (best defender in the NBA), Ja put on a show. His stats in his first playoff series;
Next up, we have Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. What isn’t there to love about this man. The ultimate dual-threat point guard. Elite scorer. Elite playmaker. Exceptional shooter with deep range. Trae Young in just his third season, has lead the Hawks to the 5th seed with a record of 41-31 (shortened season). In his first ever playoff series against the 4th seeded Knicks, Trae Young showed out and proved himself to be a true playoff performer, against one of the best defensive teams in basketball. He led his team past the Knicks in 5 games. In this series, had 3 games of at least 30 points, including 36 points in the elimination game. His stats for this series were stellar:
As far as a ceiling is concerned, the sky is the limit for Trae Young. He will never be much of a defender, and this is mostly due to his lack of size, being only 6’1. But offensively? He will only get better. He’s a much better shooter than his percentages suggest because Trae loves to shoot the deep three ball and pull up from the logo. He’s already an amazing lob passer, especially to a Clint Capela, elite shifty handles, and a lighting fast step back jumper. He’s got a great in between floater, hits free throws at a great rate.... what more is there to say? A future MVP Candidate is eminent with Trae. However, He can improve his IQ, his shot selection, and cutting back on the turnovers. Those would be his flaws at this point in time. But his career is extremely promising to say the least.
Next up, let’s talk about Ja Morant. The 2nd overall pick in 2019 by the Memphis Grizzlies. This Point Guard stands at 6’3, but don’t let that height fool you. His leaping ability is second to none, even having his head above the rim on some of the Dunk attempts in his career. To put this into perspective, in order for Ja’s head to reach the rim, he would have to jump 45 inches, but as I mentioned earlier, his head is above the rim at times for these dunk attempts, meaning his vertical is anywhere from 46-48 inches. Don’t get it twisted, Ja is more than just some athletic freak. He’s much more. Ja’s ability to attack and finish at the basket are among the best. In fact, last season he finished an amazing 64% of his shots at the rim, which is ridiculous considering his height. But when he can’t get all the way to the basket, he has a floater that is not only unblockable, but also accurate. In fact, according to The NBA’s official site, Ja hit 45% of his floaters. Now let’s talk about his Playmaking. Ja in just his second season has already established himself as a top 15-20 playmaker in all of basketball. Ja makes great decisions with the basketball in the half court as well as in transition. He’s exceptional at driving to the basket and dishing to shooters. His turnovers are high for his usage rate but this is to be expected from a young player of his age.
Speaking of age, Ja Morant is only 21, but you couldn’t tell by the way he performed in his first ever playoff series. Facing the Utah Jazz, who are ranked 4th in Defensive Rating, and have Rudy Gobert (best defender in the NBA), Ja put on a show. His stats in his first playoff series;
- 30.2 PPG
- 8.2 APG
- 48.7/ 32.3/ 77.5 Shooting Splits
- 57.8 True Shooting
When it comes to his potential and growth, Ja can end up being a top ten player in basketball. He still has much to develop. His outside jumper is inconsistent. He can shoot the three but not effectively. As his career progresses this is something he must work on. Also adding a tiny bit more weight would be great. He weighs in at 175 pounds. If he can bump that up to around 185, that would aid in his ability to get to the rim and finish through traffic. 
There’s no way we can talk about the future of basketball without talking about Luka Doncic. What isn’t there to rave about with his game? He’s an elite scorer, elite playmaker, elite rebounder and solid shooter from three. He’s already drawn comparisons to Larry Bird, one of the greatest players ever. However a more accurate comparison would be James Harden. Not as much of a prolific scorer, not as quick, but both share a lethal step back Three Ball, elite playmaking and are both triple double threats on any given night.
As far as a ceiling is concerned, Luka can quiet literally be the very best player in the NBA very soon. Just this past season, his third season in the league, he already put up incredible MVP Caliber numbers:
There’s no way we can talk about the future of basketball without talking about Luka Doncic. What isn’t there to rave about with his game? He’s an elite scorer, elite playmaker, elite rebounder and solid shooter from three. He’s already drawn comparisons to Larry Bird, one of the greatest players ever. However a more accurate comparison would be James Harden. Not as much of a prolific scorer, not as quick, but both share a lethal step back Three Ball, elite playmaking and are both triple double threats on any given night.
As far as a ceiling is concerned, Luka can quiet literally be the very best player in the NBA very soon. Just this past season, his third season in the league, he already put up incredible MVP Caliber numbers:
- 27.7 PPG
- 8.6 APG
- 8.0 RPG
- 48/35/73 Shooting Splits
- 58.7 True Shooting
And as far as the playoffs are concerned, there isn’t anything to worry about. He’s already shown the ability to play at a high level in the playoffs when it matters most. We all remember his game winning three pointer last postseason over Reggie Jackson. But trust me there’s more to it then that. So far, Luka has played in 13 Playoff games for his career. Let’s take a look at how he’s performed in those games:
- 33.5 PPG
- 9.5 APG
- 7.9 RPG
- 49/39/60 Shooting Splits
- 58.2 True Shooting
Now let’s discuss where he can improve on. His weaknesses are actually pretty glaring. For one, when it comes to defense, he’d have trouble stopping a parked car. Defense simply isn’t a part of his game whatsoever. He’s 6’7, 230 and is pretty strong, yet struggles to keep up and stay in front of his man. This is something he must improve on. He doesn’t need to be Tony Allen on defense, but at least serviceable. His other weakness, however, is unexplainable. He’s a terrible free throw shooter. In the regular season, it doesn’t hurt much or even seem like a problem. He shoots 73% from the charity stripe, for his career, which isn’t bad at face value. But when you take a look at his FT shooting in the playoffs, it’s pretty embarrassing. For his playoff career, he shoots 60%... which is completely unexceptable. But if he can improve on these areas, he’s certainly on his way to being one of the best players ever, maybe even without doing so. 
Two words come to mind when I think of this next player; Big and Dominant. That’s what Zion Williamson is. He isn’t the tallest guy on the court, standing at about 6’7, but his muscle mass and girth are ridiculous. He’s built more like a WWE Wrestler than an NBA player. And just like a WWE wrestler, he’s electrifying to watch. Spectacular dunks and finishes at the rim that just leave your jaw dropped. He’s a lob threat for literally every second he’s on the court, while his team has the ball. Regardless of where the ball is lobbed, he’ll catch and slam it down. But when he isn’t catching a lob, you can find him catching the ball at the top of the key, and powering by his defenders to finish at the basket. Keyword = Finish. In fact, just this past season, Zion finished an INSANE 70.1% of his shot attempts at the rim. To put this into perspective, Shaq (who was much taller than Zion) shot well into the 70 percent range around the rim for his career.
Zion has already shown, he’s a dominant inside scorer, and a Solid rebounder. Just this past season he was dropping 27 points per game along with 7.2 Rebounds. In terms of efficiency, it’s through the roof. He has a FG% of 61.1, and an EFG of 61.8. And he’s doing all of this at the age of just 20.
As far as a ceiling.... Zion can be a top ten player in the NBA some day, but in order for that to happen, he must expand his game. He isn’t much of a shooter or scorer outside of the paint, he’s not a great free throw shooter, and he is very pedestrian defensively. In order for him to take his game to the next level (and I believe he can and will) he needs to add more versatility to his game. His current playstyle, while super entertaining, isn’t something that can work well in a playoff setting, where teams can wall up or make adjustments. But only time will tell us what kind of player Zion becomes.
Two words come to mind when I think of this next player; Big and Dominant. That’s what Zion Williamson is. He isn’t the tallest guy on the court, standing at about 6’7, but his muscle mass and girth are ridiculous. He’s built more like a WWE Wrestler than an NBA player. And just like a WWE wrestler, he’s electrifying to watch. Spectacular dunks and finishes at the rim that just leave your jaw dropped. He’s a lob threat for literally every second he’s on the court, while his team has the ball. Regardless of where the ball is lobbed, he’ll catch and slam it down. But when he isn’t catching a lob, you can find him catching the ball at the top of the key, and powering by his defenders to finish at the basket. Keyword = Finish. In fact, just this past season, Zion finished an INSANE 70.1% of his shot attempts at the rim. To put this into perspective, Shaq (who was much taller than Zion) shot well into the 70 percent range around the rim for his career.
Zion has already shown, he’s a dominant inside scorer, and a Solid rebounder. Just this past season he was dropping 27 points per game along with 7.2 Rebounds. In terms of efficiency, it’s through the roof. He has a FG% of 61.1, and an EFG of 61.8. And he’s doing all of this at the age of just 20.
As far as a ceiling.... Zion can be a top ten player in the NBA some day, but in order for that to happen, he must expand his game. He isn’t much of a shooter or scorer outside of the paint, he’s not a great free throw shooter, and he is very pedestrian defensively. In order for him to take his game to the next level (and I believe he can and will) he needs to add more versatility to his game. His current playstyle, while super entertaining, isn’t something that can work well in a playoff setting, where teams can wall up or make adjustments. But only time will tell us what kind of player Zion becomes.
Next up, we have Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. What isn’t there to love about this man. The ultimate dual-threat point guard. Elite scorer. Elite playmaker. Exceptional shooter with deep range. Trae Young in just his third season, has lead the Hawks to the 5th seed with a record of 41-31 (shortened season). In his first ever playoff series against the 4th seeded Knicks, Trae Young showed out and proved himself to be a true playoff performer, against one of the best defensive teams in basketball. He led his team past the Knicks in 5 games. In this series, had 3 games of at least 30 points, including 36 points in the elimination game. His stats for this series were stellar:
- 29.2 PPG
- 9.8 APG
- 44/34/92 Shooting Splits
- 57.4 True Shooting
As far as a ceiling is concerned, the sky is the limit for Trae Young. He will never be much of a defender, and this is mostly due to his lack of size, being only 6’1. But offensively? He will only get better. He’s a much better shooter than his percentages suggest because Trae loves to shoot the deep three ball and pull up from the logo. He’s already an amazing lob passer, especially to a Clint Capela, elite shifty handles, and a lighting fast step back jumper. He’s got a great in between floater, hits free throws at a great rate.... what more is there to say? A future MVP Candidate is eminent with Trae. However, He can improve his IQ, his shot selection, and cutting back on the turnovers. Those would be his flaws at this point in time. But his career is extremely promising to say the least.
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