From the rise of the Golden State Warriors to the fall of the Oklahoma City Thunder, there have been plenty of interesting storylines to emerge from an NBA season full of drama and excitement. One of the more intriguing stories is the number of players that surprised the world to one extent or another with breakout seasons. Here is a quick look at the five breakout stars of the 2014-15 NBA season.
PG: Jeff Teague, Atlanta
Teague was always recognized as an underrated point guard that had played at a high level for a long time but after helping the Hawks to the best record in the Eastern Conference and earning an All-Star nod in the process, the days of him being overlooked as one of the association’s top point guards are in the past. Teague has averaged 16.0 points and a team-leading 7.1 assists per game this season and his ability to play at such a high level at both ends of the floor might still be an underrated aspect of a talented Atlanta team that has emerged as one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.
If you drafted the previously undervalued point guard in your fantasy leagues, he’s paid off handsomely.
SG: Jimmy Butler, Chicago
While the Bulls need to have Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol healthy and performing at a high level in order to be a championship contender, it’s also important not to overlook the emergence of Butler and he’s done both on the court and in fantasy. He’s truly emerged as a max player.
The youngster stole the spotlight this season as Chicago’s leading scorer, averaging a team-high 20.0 points per game along with 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. The casual basketball fan might still overlook just how good Butler has been but his numbers don’t lie and the fact that he owns the league’s sixth-most win shares ahead of more popular players like Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Tim Duncan is pretty impressive.
SF: Draymond Green, Golden State
Green still gets overshadowed by MVP candidate Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson but he is contending for NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors. His contributions shouldn’t be overlooked. The Warriors players tend to be underrated based on the argument that they wouldn’t be as good without one another and while that may be true, together they have formed one of the historically elite teams in NBA history. Green has averaged 11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists as well as nearly 3.0 combined blocks and steals per game. While it’s easy to write him off as the third option on this Golden State team, the bottom line is that he has taken his game to a new level this season as one of the breakout players of the year.
PF: Hassan Whiteside, Miami
Pat Riley deserves a ton of credit for the way he is constantly able to reload his roster. While the allure of playing in South Beach and having a substantial amount of money to spend has worked in his favor, Whiteside is another example of how good the Heat organization is at scouting and developing talent to fit what they want to do. Whiteside kicked around the D-League before he finally stuck with Miami and there is no chance you will see him anywhere other than the NBA moving forward. He averaged 11.8 points per game, 10.0 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 0.6 steals and shot 62.8% from the field for the Heat this season.
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SF: Kyle Korver, Atlanta
Part of the reason why Teague’s role with the Hawks might still be somewhat underrated might be the emergence of fellow All-Star player like Paul Millsap and Korver. Millsap might be Atlanta’s leading scorer and a bigger name, but Korver emerged during a breakout campaign averaging 12.2 points per game including an average of three three-point shots per contest. Korver led the NBA in three-point percentage for the second consecutive year and considering he is shooting three-point shots at a higher rate than two-point shots, it is amazing that he has been so consistent as a pure shooter that can really create a ton of matchup issues for opponents.
