Young Guns of the NBA

Posted by Dan Dragicevich.

Players like Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio are always fun to watch because of what they bring to the game. They’re young, flashy, and very talented; but for loyal NBA followers who doesn’t know this? So here is a list of some notable players you may need to keep an eye on as their stock rises.

Starters: First things first, you can’t start to look at up and coming players if you don’t know about the young superstars of the league. ​

Kyrie Irving: A point guard out of Duke University, this kid has lived up to the hype of being the number overall pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving is the total package you look for in a point guard; his open court speed is tremendous, his decision making is that of a veterans, and he has the ability to step in right away and be that floor general everyone looks for. Oh and one more thing, he can score with the best of them. ​

Ricky Rubio: Similar to Irving, Rubio is that everyday point guard who can act as that “coach on the floor” because of his ability to control the team. Although his scoring and speed may not be as great as Irving’s, Rubio backs his game up with his incredibly flashy passes that always seem to be in the right place at the right time. His style of play seems very European to many people, and it should, considering he played in Spain for a year before coming to play in the U.S. for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that drafted him two years ago.

Up and Coming: These are the players that were overlooked by many teams and now are starting to perform well which has the other teams shaking their heads in dismay. ​

Jeremy Lin: It’s weird but it seems as if all of these “young guns” are guards and I guess that is accredited to teams wanting to establish their backcourts first so they can have some quality leadership. That is exactly what you get with Jeremy Lin; a point guard for the New York Knicks, Lin has come on strong as of late with a huge couple of games in a row. In his first three games he started he has had 25, 28, 23 points. He is not the most vocal player but he leads by example with his play. With some injury problems for the Knicks, look for Lin to continue to breakout. ​

Bismack Biyombo: After talking a lot about guards with the previous players, let’s go in the completely different direction with Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo is an interesting player because first of all he is only 19 years old which currently makes him the youngest player in the NBA and second of all he is not the offensive type. Biyombo is a power forward/center and he is an absolute monster when it comes to defense. He is a shot blocking and rebounding specialist that gives you solidarity inside the paint. Although he isn’t known as a confident scorer, his rebounding ability allows him to clean up the offensive glass and get some easy buckets under the basket. Look for Biyombo to have a defensive player of the year type year in the near future. ​

Dark Horse: My dark horse is a person who came out of college expected to play better than he has but with a slow start in his pro career he seems as if he has found a home in L.A. with the Clippers. ​ ​


Randy Foye: Switching back over to another guard for my dark horse pick, I chose Randy Foye, a guard for the L.A. Clippers. As I said Foye was thought to be a solid starter coming out of college from Villanova but with some issues he has crept into the shadows the past year or two. What makes him suddenly a viable pick is the fact that Chauncey Billups has a torn Achilles tendon and will be out for the year so they have to call on the young Foye to pick up his minutes. Foye has performed well coming off the bench and I see no reason why he can’t continue his play. He is an athletic guard who can move well on and off the ball and can hit the open shot. Look for Foye to start to breakout and become a playmaker.