Five NBA players on the verge of breakout seasons

Breakout seasons for NBA players sometimes come out of nowhere, but more often, players show signs of stardom before they put together high-level play for an entire season.

Here are prime candidates for breakouts this season.

Shaedon Sharpe | Portland Trail Blazers

Sharpe averaged six more points per game in his second season than he did during his rookie season (15.9, up from 9.9). However, he did so in just 32 games because abdomen surgery sidelined him most of the year. He enters 2024-25 healthy and as one of Portland's only consistent scoring options. If you have cooled on Sharpe, be mindful. The Blazers are mostly irrelevant now, though you can still expect big numbers from Sharpe this season.

Brandon Miller | Charlotte Hornets

Miller quietly put together one of the more impressive rookie seasons we've seen in a while. Last season, he averaged 17.3 points and shot 37.3 percent from deep on 6.7 attempts per game, and there's no reason to think he'll slow down in his second season. He is the wing scorer Charlotte has been searching for, and a full season with LaMelo Ball running the show will do wonders for his production. Miller showed plenty in his rookie season for us to think he'll be (at least) on the outskirts of All-Star discussions soon.

Bilal Coulibaly | Washington Wizards

Coulibaly wasn't the best French rookie in the NBA — hello, Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs — but he flashed impressive traits in Washington. The 6-foot-8, 195-pounder's length and agility make him promising as an on-ball defender, and his coordination will make him intriguing as a secondary creator soon. It might still be a few years before Coulibaly becomes a household name, especially because he's playing on a Washington team that has bleak years ahead, but he should still make the jump to a consistent difference-maker in 2024-25.

Keegan Murray | Sacramento Kings

The definition of "breakout" is a little different for Murray, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season but did it with worse efficiency across the board than during his rookie year. For Murray, a "breakout" would be marginally increasing his averages from his second season and achieving that on the efficiency he posted in his rookie year. 

Peyton Watson | Denver Nuggets

Watson made a big jump from his rookie season to his second season, and he'll likely be an even bigger part of Denver's rotation in his third season. The team added veteran point guard Russell Westbrook to take charge of the second unit, and Watson's high motor could benefit from the addition of one of the highest-motor players in NBA history. Questions remain about Denver's depth, but another leap from Watson could quell some of those concerns.