Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the sophomores in the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have any rookies making an impact on the team, but they do have three sophomores getting big minutes.

With the NBA season in full swing, the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to get wins and prove to the league that they are a playoff contender this season. With three talented sophomores on the team, where do they rank among other second-year players?

10. John Collins: 14 PPG, 6 RPG, 3 APG, 17 PER, 0.4 WS

Collins has only played in 7 games this year for the Atlanta Hawks due to an ankle injury. When Collins has been on the court he’s played well. When Collins returns from injury I expect him to climb up these rankings.

9. Dennis Smith Jr.: 14 PPG, 3 RPG, 4 APG, 12.3 PER, 0.3 WS

The Dallas Mavericks are a surprising 10-9 this season. Has Dennis Smith Jr. helped the Mavericks get off to their strong start? I don’t think so. His advanced stats are awful. Win Shares is a stat that distributes all of a team’s wins among all of the players on the team. The Mavericks have 10 wins, but Dennis only accounts for 0.3 of those wins even though he’s 3rd on the Mavericks in USG% at 25.

Dennis Smith Jr. might become a good basketball player in the future, but as of right now, he seems to be hindering the Mavericks instead of helping them.

8. Bogdan Bogdanovic: 14 PPG, 3 RPG, 3 APG, 14.7 PER, 0.4 WS

Bogdan has only played 9 games this season, so I can’t put any higher than #8 on this list. When he’s been on the court he’s played well. Bogdan hits over 37% of his field goal attempts and he can get into the lane. He also plays respectable defense.

7. Zach Collins: 8 PPG, 5 RPG, 1 APG, 14.5 PER, 1 WS

Collins is giving the Trail Blazer excellent minutes at the backup center position. He’s playing 20 minutes a game and while’s he’s been on the court he’s been a beast defensively. He plays hard and he protects the rim.

Collins offense hasn’t been bad either. He’s making 37% of his 3-point attempts on 2 shots a game. Not bad for a guy known for his hustle and defense.

6. Josh Hart: 9 PPG, 4 RPG, 1 APG, 12.4 PER, 1 WS

Hart fits the profile of the perfect 3 and D guard. He’s hitting just under 40% of his 3’s and he plays strong defense. The funny thing is; 3-point shooting and defense aren’t even Hart’s best attributes as a player. Josh Hart is greatest at taking the ball to the rack. Is there a young shooting guard in the league better at driving down the lane? The only one I can think of is Donovan Mitchell. Hart is fearless going for lay-ups even though he never gets foul calls. I wish Luke Walton would start Josh Hart over Brandon Ingram at the 2.

5. Kyle Kuzma: 17 PPG, 5 RPG, 2 APG, 14.3 PER, 0.9 WS

Kyle Kuzma is putting up 17 points per game while shooting less than 30% from beyond the arc during his second season. Let’s compare Kuzma’s 2nd season stats to two current power forwards who fit a similar player profile to Kuz, which is great on offense and bad on defense.

Dirk Nowitzki’s 2nd season in the NBA: 18 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 17.5 PER

Kevin Love’s 2nd season in the NBA: 14 PPG, 11 RPG, 2 APG, 20.7 PER

Nowitzki and Love have both made multiple All-Star game appearances while having similar 2nd year seasons to Kuzma’s. Kuzma’s been horrible from 3-point range, but if he figures out how to connect from distance there’s no reason he can’t average 23-25 points a season and make multiple All-Star games.

4. Lonzo Ball: 8 PPG, 6 RPG, 5 APG, 11.8 PER, 0.7 WS

Lonzo’s stats don’t jump off the page, but intangibles matter. How important are all the little things that Lonzo does on and off the court? Let me show you two superstar’s stats from their best year to prove that numbers aren’t everything.

2003-2004 Kevin Garnett: 24. PPG, 14 RPG, 5 APG, 29.4 PER

2018-2019 Joel Embiid: 28 PPG, 13 RPG, 4 APG, 25.78 PER

Both have similar stats and both are great defensive players (Embiid made 2nd Team All-Defense last year), but if I asked 100 Lakers fans which player they’d rather have on the Lakers this year, 100 out of 100 would say they’d want an in his prime Kevin Garnett. Why? Because of all the things that don’t show up on a stat sheet that Garnett did when he was playing. He was the most intense guy in the league and he hated to lose. Garnett would do anything he could to win games.

I’m not saying Lonzo is Kevin Garnett and stats do matter, that’s why Ball isn’t #1 on this list, but don’t underestimate his intangibles. Lonzo’s teammates love him, he can single-handedly change the pace of a game, and he has amazing court vision.

I believe 3 seasons from now, Lonzo Ball will be a top 20 player in the NBA and the best player from the 2017-2018 rookie class.

3. Donovan Mitchell: 21 PPG, 3 RPG, 4 APG, 15.6 PER, 0.5 WS

Mitchell’s FG% is at 42% and his FG3% is at 29%, both are ugly. The reason I think he’s the 3rd best sophomore player is because he’s taking the brunt of every opposing teams defensive game plan. The Jazz don’t have another player that score one-on-one or who can consistently get to the basket. If the Jazz could add one more scorer, a guy who could take the burden off of Donovan, his FG%’s would rise.

2. Jayson Tatum: 16 PPG, 7RPG, 2 APG, 16 PER, 1.8 WS

Tatum is a really good 2nd year player. The Celtics are currently ranked second in the NBA in Defensive Rating and Tatum is a major reason why. There are no holes in his defense. He can guard the perimeter, he can guard the post, and he rebounds well for his size.

Tatum’s offense is also good. He’s shooting 41% from beyond the arc and he couples his great shooting stroke from outside with a solid mid-range game.

Tatum’s definitely a future All-Star.

1. De’Aaron Fox: 18 PPG, 4 RPG, 8 APG, 17.2 PER, 1.2 WS

If you had told me at the beginning of the season that after 21 games played the Kings would only be one game under .500 I would have laughed at you. If you had told me the Kings would be one game under .500 behind the strong play of De’Aaron Fox, I probably would have thrown up on you. As crazy as it sounds both are true.

I’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Fox’s been crushing it this year behind a much improved 3-point stroke, great passing, and pesky defense. The 1st quarter of Fox’s 2nd season resembles Chris Paul’s 2nd season in the league.

Chris Paul’s 2nd Year: 17 PPG, 9 APG, 4 RPG, 22 PER

That’s not bad company. De’Aaron Fox’s future looks bright.