The NBA’s talent pool has gotten more and more impressive throughout the past few seasons. We’re seeing 19-20 year olds making impact out of the gates for their respective teams.
Whether it was Luka Doncic with the Mavericks or Ja Morant with the Grizzlies, the young talent in the league has been putting on a show. The list of young superstars is only expected to grow with the new additions from this year’s draft of Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson.
Let’s get into some of the best young trios in the NBA currently…
CRITERIA: Players are 25 AND Younger.
Honorable mentions: San Antonio Spurs (Wembanyama, Vassell, Johnson), Orlando Magic (Banchero, Wagner, Carter Jr.), Detroit Pistons (Cunningham, Ivey, Thompson)
5. Houston Rockets (Green, Sengun, Smith Jr.)
The pure potential of this trio is off the charts. Jalen Green (21) has shown flashes of becoming one of the best scorers in the league already at 21. His athleticism is one of the best in the league and if he can figure out being a better playmaker and increasing his efficiency from the perimeter, good luck to the rest of the league.
Sengun (21) is essentially baby Jokic, not necessarily the most athletic center, but extremely skilled. He’s fundamentally elite with underrated passing abilities that he showcased throughout last season.
With the 3rd young player, you could go with Kevin Porter Jr. or Amen Thompson even as well, but I decided to go with Jabari Smith Jr. (20) with the way he performed in the summer league. He looked like he was becoming more confident and the player that was regarded as the #1 overall pick for most of the draft process last year.
His defensive ability and versatility offensively is very intriguing. It’s going to be interesting to see the growth in Jabari’s game this upcoming season.
4. Indiana Pacers (Haliburton, Mathurin, Walker)
At the age of 23, Tyrese Haliburton has already proved to be one of the best passers in the league. His ability to make players around him better and consistently find others in transition has made him one of the more intriguing young players in the league. After many boring seasons of Pacers basketball, Haliburton has brought back excitement to the Pacers franchise.
Next up, they got Bennedict Mathurin (21) who’s a hardnosed player thats got confidence like no other. His ability to get foul calls and be a force going towards the rim at a young age is a sign of future stardom. If he can continue to grow on the defensive end and grow into be an all-around offensive weapon, sheesh.
Last of all, you can give this to either Jarace Walker (19) or Obi Toppin, but Walker is the young defensive prospect they chose out of this year’s draft. Walker might not start out of the gates, but he’ll for sure bring an impact to the Pacers lackluster defense last season. Not only can Walker be an elite switchable defender, he’s also shown flashes of offensive playmaking in the likes of a Draymond Green.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Garland, Mobley, Allen)
Maybe not the flashiest group of young players, but a set of one of the best young winners in the league. They play sound efficient basketball on both ends of the court. Darius Garland (23) has shown flashes of being one of the best young PGs in the league after taking over from Collin Sexton.
Then you have Evan Mobley (22) who was one of the top DPOY candidates this past season and Jarrett Allen (25) one of the more consistent big men in the league. Maybe not the flashiest set of big men, but big men that just play the correct way and both ends of the court.
These three with the addition of Donovan Mitchell have proven to be one of the best teams in the league already. With them being so young already and successful, the sky is the limit for the Cavs with their young weapons.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Holmgren)
One of the more fun young trios of the league is also one of the best. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25) is a smooth young player who’s already shown to be one of the best players in the league. Being extremely efficient on the scoring end and growing as a playmaker has allowed SGA to play a more combo guard role in the Thunder offense.
Josh Giddey (20) has grown a lot scoring-wise that was beautiful to see. We already knew he was a smart player and an elite passer. Seeing him scoring in plethora of ways, whether it’s cutting to the rim or driving through defenders and scoring on a floater, we’ve seen growth in Giddey’s game.
Although we haven’t seen Chet Holmgren in a regular season game yet, the potential of Holmgren paired with Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander is salivating. He’s going to immediately be an impactful player on the interior defense and be a plus rebounder for a team that struggled on the inside. If he can stay healthy, he should be the favorite to win ROTY.
1. Memphis Grizzlies (Morant, Jackson Jr., Bane)
I mean, is there any surprise here? Ja Morant is arguably the best young PG in the league under 25, Jaren Jackson Jr. just won DPOY, and Desmond Bane is one of the best shooters in the league. Ja’s ability to dunk on anyone and be one of the more efficient players at his size from near the rim is what makes him so special.
Jaren Jackson Jr. has improved in all facets of his game and has showcased he has the ability to be an anchor defensively for the next decade plus for the Grizzlies.
Desmond Bane, while being one of the best shooters in the league, has proven he can also be a secondary playmaker.
They are one of the more promising teams in the league and if they can mature, they’re going to continue to be a lot for teams to deal with.
