It was quite difficult to finish part three of the Most Noteworthy Performances of the 2013 +NBA season because it was hard to even scrape up thirty names let alone write a few sentences to showcase what made them worthy to be in such a list. Unlike the two previous parts, the depth of small forward talent in the NBA is quite shallow as save for a select few, none of them had really done anything real remarkable and noteworthy to write about. It was for that reason why it took so long to finish this piece because of all the effort that it took to finish this and I still have to write the final two parts of this five part series. Hopefully I will be able to finish this before the pre season starts in October because than I will have to get started on by 2014 Worst to First Previews. Again, sorry for the delay and be sure to stay tuned for the finals two part of SDH's trip through memory lane.
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It's only fitting that Aminu is on this countdown as not only did he have his best season averaging 7 points, 7 boards and 1.2 steals per game as a starter, but he has the hardest name to pronounce. Despite his limited presence on the offensive end, he was still rather efficient shooting as he made .475 of his shot attempts, but his true forte was at the defensive end where he excelled as a perimeter defender and even got the odd blocked shot or two. At 22 years old and having just finished his third season as a pro, Aminu is still a work in progress and given the time and the patience, he might even develop into a pretty good player. He already has very good defensive instincts, which for most young players have the hardest time to master, and in time his offensive prowess will catch up in a year or two. So keep an eye on this one because his name may not easily roll of your tongue, but he will certainly be one to remember.
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29
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For the second overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did not not provide the immediate impact that many had anticipated considering that he had just come from winning the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament with the +Kentucky Wildcats. Although MKG played in 78 games for the Bobcats starting in 77 of them, he was not much a factor on either the offensive or defensive ends just averaging 9 points and a shade under six boards per game. He certainly proved that he still has plenty of work to do on his overall game as he mainly counted on his athleticism and lacked the fundamentals to be anything more than a flashy run and dunk player. Hopefully, he will come back with a more diversified and developed game than he had last season and maybe life up to the expectations that both +Michael Jordan and Richard Cho had when they had originally drafted for him.
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28
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It seems as if Father Time has crept up to this one time shining star of the NBA who had a reputation of being not only a prolific scorer in his career, but also a lock down perimeter defender. Over the past couple seasons, Caron Butler's has seen both his minutes and his role on the team diminish as he is no longer consistent as he once was on the offensive end and his defense has greatly deteriorated as well. He was often upstaged by his backup, Matt Barnes over the course of the season and at age 33, he has reached his athletic peak and there is no where else to go but down in his career. Fortunately for the Clippers, his contract would expire after next season so they were able to trade him once the off season transactions had begun. With both his career along his abilities and athleticism going downhill, it is obvious that Caron will no longer be a starting caliber small forward; however, he can be the perfect fit for a team looking for a veteran leader to come off the bench.
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27
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After a story book first year where he helped his team win its last NBA championship trophy, the artist former known as Ron Artest has become more a burden and a dead weight three years later. It came blatantly apparent over the course of his tenure in Los Angeles that he was no longer the same player that he once was as his abilities and athleticism had slowly started to diminish with each passing year. His numbers had improved from the previous season as he raised his average from 7.7 points per game to 12.4, but he still was not that consistent nonetheless as he shot .403 from the field. At the same time his trademark lock down defense had also fallen at the waist side as he was no longer able to keep up with his opponents thus forcing the Lakers to part ways with him using the league's amnesty provision to jettison his onerous contract of their payroll. Now he will look forward to playing in his hometown next season a member of the New York Knicks and hopefully he will have a little something left as it has become blatantly apparent that at this point in his career, he is running on empty.
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26
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Prince spent the last five years of his career as a hold over of the glory days of the +Detroit Pistons when they had won the NBA Championship in 2004 and remained as one of the Eastern Conference's top teams. That was until his boss, Joe Dumars, screwed everything up thus making him spend the prime of his career on a sad excuse of a team with no chance of ever returning to the playoffs anytime soon. Fortunately for Prince, he earned a reprieve from basketball purgatory as he was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade which brought Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors and for the first time in years, he finally got a taste of what it feel to be on a winning team once again. Despite no longer being the force that he once was when he played in Detroit, Tayshaun still played well enough to help the Grizzlies to not only their franchise record 56 win season, but also their first appearance in the Western Conference Finals. As for the future, it has become quite clear that Prince's best years are all but over, but at least he will spend his final years on a team that will not be heading to the lottery anytime soon.
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25
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Los Angeles Lakers
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In a team that turned out to be a complete train wreck, it was nice to see that there was at least one bright spot to salvage from the wreckage as it came in the form of a 6'10" swingman that was often ignored throughout all the turmoil. Earl Clark was a simple add in from the massive mega deal that sent +Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and was not even expected to make the roster let alone play a game. Yet he managed to persevere and when he got the chance, took the opportunity to show his team and its fans that they have a potential diamond in the rough. In the 59 games he had played, he started in 36 of them giving Laker fans something to smile about as they watch their highly anticipated championship team fall well short of expectations. It will be interesting to see what more we can expect from this up and coming young player in next upcoming seasons as he looks to have quite a solid career ahead of him.
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24
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Since being drafted eight years straight out of high school, Martell Webster's basketball career can be classified as one of broken wishes and shattered dreams. He had spent much of his career in the Portland Trailblazers as marginal player at best then was shipped of to the Minnesota Timberwolves where he would spend much of his time in street clothes. When he got picked up off waivers by Washington, it was either seen as his last chance to pick up the pieces of what has been a less than impressive career or the final destination where he will simply fade away to never to seen or heard from again. Fortunately for him, Washington would not be the site of his career's demise but of its resurrection where he would post the best numbers of career averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting an astounding .422 from beyond the arc. Granted the Wizards returned to the lottery, but that performance earned him a four year guaranteed contract extension worth 20$ million and a chance to build up from his solid performance last season.
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23
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For much of his career Corey Brewer has been a fringe player that was simply nothing more than a solid sub coming off the bench, but last season, he showed that he may have the potential of being something more. The wiry 6'9" swing man had his best season as a pro as he played all 82 games coming off the bench to average a career high 12.1 points per game. His shooting remained quite spotty as it has been through much of his career finishing with a decent yet unspectacular .425 field goal percentage with a far less than stellar performance from beyond the arc shooting just .296 from long range. Nonetheless, his performance should be considered more than impressive since he was behind a logjam of small forwards which consisted of talented players such Andre Igoudala, Danilo Galinari, and Wilson Chandler. Now back on the team that originally pick him in the draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brewer will have an opportunity to show what he has got as no one will be ahead of him on the depth chart.
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22
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At 35 years old, Shawn Marion can be seen as a player heading towards the twilight of his career, but watching him play, it certainly did not seem like it as he looked much younger than his age would suggest. Over the course of the season, Marion continued to play the same tough and gritty way he has throughout this 14 years in the league posting a solid 12.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive .514 from the field. Despite old age slowing him down, he still managed to still keep his opponents thinking twice before trying to drive past him as he grabbed at least one steal per game and was still able to swat one or two shots on an oft occasion. What makes his play remarkable is that he did so knowing full well that his team were most likely not be good enough to reach the post season, but he chose not to quit and fought nonetheless helping the Mavs finish the regular season even at .500. It will be interesting to see next season if he has anything left after such a noble and heroic performance as he has three years remaining on his contract which will expire when he is at the ripe old age of 38.
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21
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At 29 years old, Copeland can be considered as one of the best rags to riches stories in the 2013 NBA season. After spending most of his career bumming around in the minor leagues and abroad, Copeland finally got his shot at the big leagues when he managed to make the Knicks' final roster as a preseason walk on. Upon arriving, Copeland made an immediate impact on the Knicks as an energy player off the bench averaging nearly nine points and two boards per game in just 15 minutes of playing time. Add the fact the he also shot .421 from beyond the arc made Copeland one of the key players that helped New York to its first 50 plus win season since 2000. Unfortunately at his advanced age, Copeland has all but reached his athletic peak and cannot be expected to build from such an impressive performance.
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20
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Los Angeles Clippers |
It is so frustrating seeing a player as talented and as hard working as Matt Barnes get paid peanuts while overrated and undeserving players that do not nearly play with much desire and heart as he does get about 10 to 15$ million per year. Matt Barnes represents everything that is good about the NBA--the effort, heart, desire and love for the game--unlike most of his peer who are spoiled and have feeling of entitlement. In his ten year tenure in the NBA, nothing was given to him and he had to earn every minute of playing time, every opportunity and every touch, but he still remains at the bottom of the NBA pay scale. Barnes certainly out-performed the player he played behind, Caron Butler, as he posted almost identical numbers while at the same time producing far more efficiently that Butler last season. It is only sad that he will probably will never receive fair market value for his services as he is at a point in his career where he has already reached his peak as a player.
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19
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Jimmy Butler was certainly one of the feel good stories of the 2013 season as went from barely playing in his rookie year to having a breakout sophomore year. He played all 82 games and averaged 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 steal per game in just 26 minutes of playing time while at the same time he shot an efficient .467 from the field and .381 from the arc. Butler took his game up another notch in the post season when he helped the Bulls surprised the +Brooklyn Nets in the first of the playoffs averaging 11.7 points leading Chicago past the first round against the heavily favored Nets. He did not stop there as he took it a step further facing the Miami Heat in the second round putting up 15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game in a losing effort. Regardless of the outcome, Butler showed that he certainly belonged in the NBA and might prove to be a threat to the Bulls incumbent starter at the small forward position, Loul Deng.
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18
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For much of his career Kyle Korver can be considered for the most part, a "one trick pony," as he has been known to be just a three points shooter and nothing else. This season he had spent much of it living up to his reputation as a long range gunner and was quite proficient at it shooting .457 from beyond the arc which was second in the league. That stat becomes even more impressive when one points out that six of eight of Korver's shot attempts per game last season came from beyond the three point arc. Along with lighting it up from beyond the arc, Korver also contributed on the boards averaging about four per games and helped facilitate his teammates on occasion with his two assist per game as well. His performance proved well enough for the Hawks that the team rewarded him with a one year contract extension worth 5$ million; however, at 32 years old, this may be the last big payday for Korver as he has been getting up there in years.
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17
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Statistically he did not greatly outshine his fellow rookie classmates averaging moderate numbers of 9.2 points, 4.2 boards and 1.2 assists per game; however, unlike his fellow rookies, he helped his team reach within two games from the NBA Western Conference finals. Also, unlike a majority of his fellow rookies, Harrison Barnes also started in every games that he played and at just the tender age of 21, he still has plenty of room to grow and develop as a player. With the Warriors coming off one their best seasons EVER, Barnes is in a solid and stable winning environment and should be considered as one of the key Warriors who brought them to this points. Hopefully, like his team, Barnes' rookie performance will be more than just a one season affair.
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16
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Denver Nuggets
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It is so infuriating to watch Andre Igoudala play because he has made a career at being so good at being so average. Despite having the skills, abilities, athleticism and the basketball knowledge and instincts to become a force in the league, he chooses to blend into the background and hide in the shadows. His play certainly does not deserve the praise and acclaim that has been lain upon him as the media portray him as this unselfish team player who focuses on defense and getting his teammates involved. The fact of the matter is that he is really lazy and a coward because he has the ability to do so much more but chooses not to making him less of an All Star and more of a fraud. It's little wonder why the Sixers were so adamant on getting rid of him, even if it meant not getting anything in return, because they probably got tired of Andre's shriveling up when the team most needed him.
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15
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Gordon Hayward has proven once again that he is destined for stardom as he posted another impressive season improving his numbers from last season. Coming off the bench, Hayward averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in as little as 29.2 minutes of playing time per game while at the same time shooting .427 from beyond the three point arc. Like his fellow up and coming teammates Derrick Favors and +Enes Kanter, Hayward also had to wait his turn playing behind a more established albeit lesser caliber player in Marvin Williams; however with last season's veteran core gone, Gordon will finally have a chance to shine this upcoming season. Once given the chance to start, Hayward will finally show why this site touts him as the next +Larry Bird as he has the ability, instincts and basketball know-how as the Celtics legend. Despite the rather poor projections for Utah this upcoming season, they will certainly be one of the top teams to watch because of its budding young talent and Gordon Hayward is going to be one of the staples of this new youth movement.
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14
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Chicago Bulls
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Like Igoudala before him, this guy has all the talent, skill, instincts and basketball IQ to be a superstar yet chooses to remain in the shadows while his teammates struggle to find the basket. Despite leading his team in scoring, Loul Deng proved once again what a waste of space he was when he put u[p rather pedestrian numbers of 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assist, and 1.1 steals per games. The untrained eye those numbers may seem phenomenal, but considering that he shot a less than efficient .427 to get his points and although he played a league high 38.7 minutes per game, his Player Efficiency Rating is rather low compared to the other leaders in minutes played. To put his complete lack of efficiency in context, despite having more touches and playing more minutes, Loul Deng has a lower PER (15.12) than Jimmy Butler, a player who comes of the bench and plays a third less of the minutes that Deng plays. Yet fans and the media are enamored with this guy in spite of these blatantly apparent holes in his game thus making him the most undeservingly overrated player in the league today.
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13
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He spent most of the season playing out of position as an undersized power forward, but Thaddeus Young should be considered as one of those unsung heroes who goes above and beyond to ensure his team becomes successful. Young was second behind former teammate +Jrue Holiday in scoring averaging 14.8 points per game while leading the team in rebounds per game as well averaging 7.5 per game. What makes Young stand out however, is his toughness and ability to finish connecting on .531 of his shot attempts despite being greatly outmatched by players much bigger and stronger than him in the paint. Young proved to be not only a warrior in the paint despite his diminutive size, but also that he was a quite adequate defender on the perimeter as he led his teams in steal averaging 1.8 per game. If he were on a better team, he would possibly be given All Star consideration for his hustle and determination despite his size, but right now, it seems as if he will continue to remain in obscurity as he has the curse of playing on a team that is headed nowhere fast.
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12
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Denver Nuggets
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A 6'10", Danilo Galinari has shown to be one of the most versatile and dangerous players in the league as he is not only able to slash past his opponents to the basket, but also shoot over them in the perimeter as well. He is a veritable match up nightmare as he towers over his smaller defenders and is capable of shooting over them from anywhere on the court. His 16.2 points per games ranked second on the team behind leading scorer +Ty Lawson and along with putting the ball in the basketball, he also helped facilitate his teammates on the offensive ens as well as he averages 2.5 assists per game. The only critiques that can be given on his game is his lack of rebounding which for a player with his size and skill should be doing better than just five per game and his field goal percentage is pretty low at ,418 as well primarily because of his penchant for taking the less accurate outside shots. Nonetheless, at 25 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow as a player and with the right guidance can be a force to be reckoned with in the NBA.
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11
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One year after leaving the NBA to play in +EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL, Andrei Kirilenko still showed that he still had what it took to be a top tier small forward in the league. On a Minnesota team that was completely decimated by injuries, Kirilenko maintained a strong and consistent veteran presence on both ends of the floor until he himself feel to injury as well. He finished the season with a well rounded game averaging 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assist, one block and 1.5 steals per game while shooting .507 from the field. Unfortunately, his efforts were not nearly enough as the shorthanded Timberwolves fell well short of playoffs yet again as they returned to the lottery back forcing Kirilenko to reevaluate his career options. In a move that shock many, Andrei chose to forgo his 10$ million choosing to take less money in order to have a better chance to win a title signing with the Brooklyn Nets.
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10
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Despite shooting a less than impressive field goal percentage of .423, Nicolas Batum can be considered as one of the most complete players in the NBA giving as much effort and energy on both sides of the court. On the offensive end he filled in the buckets at a rather decent rate averaging 14.3 points per game while showing an adept ability to get his teammates involves as he averaged close to five assists per game. He excelled mostly on the defensive end, however, where he tallied at least a steal and a block per game in all the 73 games that he played while grabbing about six boards per game. What hurt Batum was the sheer lack of support from the bench forcing him to make too many minutes thus hurting his overall effectiveness; otherwise, he would have certainly garnered enough attention for possible All Star consideration. Nonetheless, at 24 years old, this young French import has plenty of time to make his mark in the NBA and with the right supporting cast, he might just be in the running for an All Star nod.
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9
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New York Knicks
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Carmelo Anthony was essentially the beginning and end all with the Knicks as he not only led his team, but the league in scoring. Unfortunately, despite his accomplishments this past regular season, Carmelo is far from being considered as one of the league's top players. He is certainly not at the same level as his contemporaries--namely the Miami Heat's Lebron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant. Other than putting the ball in the basket, Carmelo Anthony offers little if anything else as he is often lazy on the defensive end of the court and a mediocre rebounder at best considering his size, skills and talents. It is these red flags that keep Anthony from getting any real respect in the league and it will probably continue as long as he continues to play the same way he has had.
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8
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Rudy Gay started the 2013 very poorly with the Memphis Grizzlies as he struggled mightily with his shot forcing team officials to jettison his contract to Toronto for pennies on the dollar. Upon arriving in Toronto, Gay became the teams leading in more ways than one becoming the franchise leader that Raptors fans have longed for as he brought it on both ends of the floor. He led the team in scoring averaging nearly 20 points per game while at the same time he proved to be quite a impressive defender averaging 1.5 steals and almost a blocked shot per game. With Gay on board, the Raptors finally have that clutch performer who is a proven winner and is unafraid to put his teammates on his back and do what is necessary to get the win. More importantly, Gay's arrival has led to all the teams in the league finally taking notice and respect of this team north of the US border as Toronto no longer looks as the pathetic case that it once was.
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7
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He did not enter the regular season with as much fanfare as his higher profile teammates--namely +James Harden and +Jeremy Lin--yet Chandler Parsons still made a significant impact for the Houston Rockets. Despite being virtually ignored by mainstream media, Chandler Parsons silently became one of the key factors in the Rockets' return to the post season since 2007. He was second on the team in scoring and in minutes played averaging 15.5 points per game while have the most accurate range from beyond the arc on the team. Parson's certainly showed his importance to his team in the playoffs where he help stave off a four game sweep stretching their first round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. For a person received little if any recognition, Chandler still manage to play like an All Star averaging 18 per game in the six games the Rockets played making him certainly a player to keep an eye on in the near future.
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6
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Despite his first all Star selection and him winning the Most Improved Player of the Year award, Paul George certainly should be lower on this countdown because most of the acclaim he has received is undeserved. First of all, the reason why his stats blew up the way he did was because of Danny Granger missing the entire season and he was no more efficient as Granger as he took the most shot attempts on the team yet only made .417 of them. Had Granger been able to play, it would be doubtful that George would have had as many touches thus able to score the 17.4 points per game which led the team. The Pacers were not that great either as the team won just 49 games and were barely able to win a very weak Central Division. The only reason why he is up among the best swing men is the fact that he led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals and one game within the NBA Finals; otherwise he was just another gassed up overrated player.
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5
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Kevin Durant played as well as he could have possibly played as he led the Thunder to a Western Conference best 60 wins and a number seeding in the NBA playoffs; however, all of his efforts and his team's accomplishments went up in smoke as they were humiliated in the second round of the playoffs losing four games to one to the underdog Memphis Grizzlies. One again, he was statistically amazing finishing second in the league in scoring (28.1ppg) while posting a more than impressive stat line of eight boards, five assists, a steal and blocked shot per game; nonetheless, it was not enough for a Thunder team that had lost +Russell Westbrook midway through the playoffs. Had Westbrook not been injured, the Thunder could have possibly met the Miami Heat for an NBA Finals rematch; however, he was lost for the duration of the playoffs forcing Durant to over compensate in order to fill in the void left by Russell's absence. And try as he might, Durant simply could not fulfill that tall order leading both he and his team on the outside looking in as they witnessed another team take their rightful place as Western Conference Champions.
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4
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After watching him limp and trudge through the regular season and the playoffs, it will be shock to see that Paul Pierce would still be able to walk, let alone play another NBA season. The guy looked as if he was on the verge of falling apart right on the court as he looked slow, tired, and worn down as he virtually carried his Celtics to probably its last playoff appearance for a very long time. Through that entire season, he was a true warrior as he mustered every once of energy and effort in that aging 35 year old body to lead the Celtics in scoring, while still averaging a respectable season averaging 5 assists and 6 boards and a steal per game. His play on the court can almost be categorized as noble and heroic as you can see the pain and fatigue in his face, but he still pushed forward nonetheless. Now in the Brooklyn Nets, it will be interesting to see whether or not he has anything left to give because he had all but been wrung dry last season.
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3
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Lebron certainly was the team's most valuable player as he led in almost every statistical category on the team; however, despite his phenomenal numbers, there were numerous instances where he did not look as phenomenal as he should have. During the playoffs, he allowed himself to shrivel up and not put up the performances necessary for his team to win and actually hurt his his team in the process. With all his God given talents of size and strength along with his skills and athletic abilities, you would expect a player like Lebron to be almost invincible; however there is one lingering weakness that prevents him from being that--that of himself. For a player that is so dominant, he has allowed his opponents to get into his head which led him to play more tentatively which in turn would lead him to not play up to his abilities. If this season has proven anything, it has shown that the only person that can stop Lebron James and in turn has stopped him is Lebron James himself, and until that is remedied, watch him continue to hold himself along with his team back from being an truly unstoppable force.
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2
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Had the San Antonio Spurs won this year's NBA Finals, the Most Value Player certainly would not have been either Tony Parker or Tim Duncan. On the contrary, it would have been given to a player who was only in his second year in the league, but also in his first NBA Finals as well. In that seven game series against the Miami Heat, Kawhi Leonard went from just a mere role player to a potential NBA all star as he averaged 15 points, 11 boards and two steals per game. His best effort came in the Spurs' heartbreaking game six loss to the Heat when he posted 22 points and 11 boards while shooting .643 from the field. Had the Spurs pulled through in that game, they would have certainly had to credit that hard fought championship win to Kawhi Leonard's heroic performonce; nonetheless, despite losing that game and the series, Leonard will certainly be a player to keep an eye on next season for sure.
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1
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Boston Celtics
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By the end of the season, Jeff Green went from being an unassuming bench player to become a potential All Star and a future cornerstone of this Celtics franchise. At first, many raised quite a few eyebrows when he was offered a four year extension worth 36$ million by Celtics GM Danny Ainge; now Green's contract now looks like a smart and savvy investment as he has certainly exceeded even a hoops fans mildest expectations. Green made his presence felt in the second half of the season as he average close to 18 points per game from February to April. He took his game to another notch in the playoffs where he scored move than 20 per game while shooting an unconscious .455 from the arc. Certainly Green has in-graced himself to the Celtics faithful as they have now welcomed him with open arm instead of the rumbles of skepticism when he first donned on the green and white.
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