The 2018 NBA All-Sophomore Teams

Enough talk about rookies — what about the surprisingly deep and delightful sophomore class that’s come on strong?

Enough with all the rookie talk! Ben Simmons has been awesome. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum are great, too. It was a rookie class to remember, even without much contribution from the two guys at the top of the draft, Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball. But as much as we talk about rookies, it’s often the sophomores that really take off.

Rookies post numbers, but it’s rare they take on such a big role on winning teams like this year’s class has done in the playoffs. Much more common is production from guys like Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Kuzma, and Dennis Smith Jr., empty numbers on bad teams worthy of a Second Team All Rookie berth, but not guys that get to play in May. But by the end of a sophomore season, these players are ready to make a difference.

Last year we lamented a pitiful rookie class and one of the worst Rookie of the Year winners ever, but one year’s disappointing rookies have become this summer’s surprisingly deep and delightful sophomore class.

Maybe last year’s class wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, maybe it was pretty good. Let’s go around the league and pick First and Second All-NBA Sophomore teams…

First Team All Sophomore

C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia

Look, let’s not do the silly but-is-he-really-a-sophomore thing. Joel Embiid has played exactly 100 NBA games, counting the playoffs. He’s practically still a rookie. And whatever Embiid is, he’s awesome.

Embiid should’ve won Rookie of the Year, but that debate is dead and gone. Instead he’s our runaway Sophomore of the Year with a silly 23/11/3 line plus two blocks and a likely top-two finish for Defensive Player of the Year as the best player on the current Eastern Conference favorite. He still needs to get the turnovers and fouls down, and it’d be sweet if his three-point shot caught up at some point (31% this year) with our perception of it. Truthfully, all of Embiid’s shooting away from the rim needs to improve, but we’re nitpicking.

And by the way, Embiid has been even better in the playoffs, while playing more minutes, and with a mask over his broken face. That’s the craziest thing about Joel Embiid: he just keeps on getting better.

F Dario Saric, Philadelphia

Embiid didn’t lead all sophomores in win shares. He didn’t even lead Philly sophomores in win shares. That honor went to Croatian sensation Dario Saric. Embiid is the heart and soul of the Process and Ben Simmons is the pulse, but Saric is the straw that stir’s Philly’s drink. He’s the 76ers Draymond Green, that perfect complimentary guy that does the dirty work and fills all the right roles next to Philadelphia’s two superstars.

Saric’s 15/7/3 line looks mostly fine, but it’s the way he does it that grabs your eye. Saric is a big man that flourishes away from the rim, and just as importantly, he plays away from it, opening up space for Embiid and Simmons to operate underneath. Saric sports a 39% stroke, and the threat of that jumper along with his passing and playmaking ability open up the entire Sixers attack.

If you look at Saric’s per-36 numbers, they’re almost identical from last year, but few players improved as much in making those numbers count. Last year Saric made a faux run at Rookie of the Year in a watered-down field posting empty numbers for a tanking team. This year he’s taking better, smarter shots, playing tough defense, and making the Sixers go. Embiid and Simmons are great, but when Saric gets going too, they’re darn near unbeatable.

G Jamal Murray, Denver

Many fans caught a lot of Denver basketball down the stretch as the Nuggets pushed for the playoffs, and they saw a budding star in the Rockies. Murray slashed 17/4/3, and he made a sparkling 43% of his threes during a stretch from December to March. His assist number isn’t great for a point guard, but it doesn’t need to be on a team with Nikola Jokic and others sharing the ball, and his assist rate rose 50% post All-Star break.

The numbers alone don’t do Murray justice. When you watch a Denver game, you see a star. This is a guy that wants the ball in the moment, ready to take the huge shot. When the game’s on the line it’s not Jokic or Gary Harris getting the ball — it’s Murray. He’s ready, and he’s going to keep getting better, especially if he can start to harness his length defensively too.

G Jaylen Brown, Boston

Speaking of length and defense, how about Jaylen Brown? Brown scored five points a game in 17 playoff appearances last year, and it looked like he’d be relegated to a token starting role with all of Boston’s additions. Instead, he’s become one of the league’s premier young 3-and-D wings.

Brown has increased his scoring to 15 points a game, and it’s up even further to 18ppg, leading the team in the playoffs. As Boston stars around him get injured, Brown’s role keeps getting bigger, and he keeps stepping up his game. Brown shot an awesome 40% on seven threes a game this year, and he increased his mid-range jumper from a pitiful 31% to 38%. And of course there’s that defense, the best wing defender on the league’s best defense. And remember — Brown is the Celtics’ worst starter next year.

G Fred VanVleet, Toronto

I’ve written plenty about Fred VanVleet already, and there isn’t a lot more to say about a guy that’s gone from undrafted rookie to closing option that took (and missed, but still) the game-winning shots in regulation and overtime of the 1-seed Toronto Raptors’ biggest game in franchise history.

VanVleet averages 16/4/6/2 per 36 and hits 41% from deep, and Toronto needs him healthy to have a real chance to make the Finals. Let’s hope that shoulder is alright. And by the way, for those that think the next guy on this list deserved a First Team spot over FVV, the numbers speak for themselves. VanVleet played 77% as many minutes in much higher leverage situations and posted basically the same line but with better shooting metrics. I rest my case.

FIRST TEAM ALL SOPHOMORES C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia F Dario Saric, Philadelphia G Jamal Murray, Denver G Jaylen Brown, Boston G Fred VanVleet, Toronto

Second Team All Sophomore

F Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers

The guys on the Second Team were all really good too… but in more limited stretches or in a more limited role. Both were true for Ingram.

You’ll see a lot talk about how good Ingram’s shooting is now that he hit 39% of his threes, but the truth is Ingram barely shoots from deep. He made just 0.7 threes a game, same as last season, and he shot only 105 threes all year. Turn one hot five-threes night into a cold one where he misses those five, and Ingram’s shot drops to 34%. Fewer than 1-in-7 of Ingram’s shots were from deep this season. For that three pointer to be valuable, he’s going to have to shoot it more. In the meantime, we should still be concerned about a shot that’s under 50% on twos and just 68% on free throws.

Ingram’s biggest improvement was not his shot, but rather his shot selection and learning to play to his strengths. Ingram took 10% more of his shots at the rim (the Lonzo effect) and finished much better. He also became a better distributor, peaking with an awesome February in which he averaged 19 points and 6 assists with a 120 offensive rating. Ingram is still just scratching the surface, but he’s actually scratching it now, and he doesn’t turn 21 until September.

F Taurean Waller-Prince, Atlanta

Fantasy basketball players know Prince well because he carried a lot of teams down the stretch. TWP finished third among all sophomores in points, and he learned how to shoot in a hurry, hitting 39% of his threes including 48% from the corner. Prince’s 14/5/3 line is impressive yet not particularly meaningful, but perhaps you’ll be more impressed with his closing flourish. In March and April, Prince averaged 19 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists with 45/42/89 shooting. That’s impressive work no matter how much you’re tanking.

G Tomas Satoransky, Washington

Satoransky saved Washington’s season. When John Wall went down, most of us left the Wizards for dead, as bad as Washington’s backup guards had been in recent years. But that was before the Czech stepped up. Satoransky averaged 10/4/6 in 30 games as a starter with a sparkling 123 offensive rating as Washington rebuilt its offense into a high-paced ball-sharing machine. The Wizards started that post-Wall stretch 14–8 under Sato’s leadership. Satoransky shot 47% from downtown, high enough to lead the league if he’d attempted a few more. Now Washington just needs to learn how to incorporate him better into their attack, even with Wall healthy.

F Pascal Siakam, Toronto

A lot of casual fans are just beginning to learn who Siakam is, and they’ll get to know his name plenty over the next couple weeks while he’s guarding LeBron. Siakam is no longer starting like he did for much of his rookie season, but he’s a vital part of the Raptors bench mob: a long rangy defender with a little bit of playmaking big man game and a 13/8/3/1/1 line per 36 minutes. Three Raptors finished among the top eight NBA sophomores in win shares — Siakam, VanVleet, and Jakob Poeltl. That’s one heck of a 2017 draft.

C Domantas Sabonis, Indiana

That other guy from the Paul George trade (or is it already the Victor Oladipo trade??), Sabonis had quite the improved season of his own. Rookie Sabonis was one of the worst starters in the NBA. This year he averaged 13 and 10 as a starter, scoring and making plays out of the high post. Sabonis slowed down in the second half but carried Indiana at times against Cleveland in last week’s first round. He might be the second most important Pacer.

SECOND TEAM ALL SOPHOMORES F Brandon Ingram, L.A. Lakers F Taurean Waller-Prince, Atlanta G Tomas Satoransky, Washington F Pascal Siakam, Toronto F Domantas Sabonis, Indiana

Honorable mentions

C Jakob Poeltl, Toronto

Poeltl was actually third among all sophomores in win shares behind only Embiid and Saric, so maybe it’s unfair to leave him off. Poeltl is an advanced metrics darling with a 122–104 ortg-drtg differential and 66% true shooting, but Toronto always seems to have a backup big man with ridiculous metrics, and we all know what happened to Bismack Biyombo and Bebe Noguiera.

G Dejounte Murray, San Antonio

Murray can’t shoot (he made nine threes this year) and his offense is a work in progress. But he’s already one of the top defensive guards in the league, valuable enough that a top-three Spurs defense in desperate need of offense felt the need to start him over Tony Parker and Patty Mills down the stretch.

G Buddy Hield, Sacramento

Hield is fine. He’s an impressive shooter and a nice scorer, and he thrived in a scoring role off the bench for the Kings. The 43% three is great, but Sacramento should probably hope for a little bit more than a sixth man scorer from the centerpiece of the Boogie Cousins trade.

G Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee

Remember this guy? The defending Rookie of the Year was fine, really. He basically duplicated his rookie numbers, just played a little less thanks to injury. Brogdon is a nice, useful role player. He would help almost any team. He’s likable Kirk Hinrich. He just never should’ve been Rookie of the Year.

F Caris LeVert, Brooklyn

Two days in a row saying something nice about the Nets, Sandy Mui! LeVert’s shooting can be politely described as “meh,” but he does a bit of everything else. He’s a switchy wing defender that can create for both himself and teammates, and he shows high basketball IQ and plays to his strengths. LeVert may not be Baby Durant anymore, but he’s a piece for Brooklyn.

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