A clash between the top two seeds in the East! Damian Lillard and #2 Bucks head to Boston to square off against Jayson Tatum and #1 Celtics, who seek their 7th straight win at 7:30pm/et on ESPN!
With less than a month left of the 2024 season before the playoffs start, which is shaping up to be a very entertaining playoffs. Let's take an early look at the 10 best upcoming free agents not in the 2024 class but the 2025 class that is shaping up to be loaded with talented players. Some of the highlighted players that could be available are: Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, Donavan Mitchell, Paul George, LeBron James, and Jamal Murray.
1. SF. Jayson Tatum- Boston Celtics, Player Option
He is set up to be in the mix for future faces of the league when LeBron is gone. He is an elite scorer and can score from all three levels. Can rebound and is a very solid passer and defender as well. Possess future MVP potential as well. He is the type of player you want to build your franchise around.
2. PG. Jalen Brunson- New York Knicks, Player Option
A player who was once shadowed by Luka Doncic in Dallas and eventually left them to sign a four year, 104 million contract with the Knicks in 2022. When he signed that everyone thought the Knicks were overpaying for Brunson. However, since coming to the Knicks he has elevated his game to superstardom and is one of the main reasons why the Knicks have been relevant again recently.
3. SG. Donavan Mitchell- Cleveland Cavaliers, Player Option
One of the best shooting guards in the NBA. A very explosive leaper and scorer who is at his best getting to the rim and finishing. He is also a very capable three point shooter shooting around 37% for most of his career.
4. SF. Paul George- Los Angeles Clippers
Despite being older and with his recent injury history is still one of the best two-way wings we have in the NBA. He can still score from all three levels of the floor and a guy you can still trust to cover the opposing teams best player when you need to. He will only be a free agent if he opts in this summer.
5. SF. LeBron James- Los Angeles Lakers
A player that is arguably considered the Goat is still playing remarkably at the age of 39. Can still score at an elite level, and is a great leader and passer with his basketball knowledge and IQ. He is not the defender he once was but can still defend at a high level in spurts. He most likely will be a free agent this summer but we will still list him here just in case.
6. PG. Jamal Murray- Denver Nuggets
A player who will get overshadowed at times by being teammates with Nikola Jokic. However he is still one of the best scorers in the game and he is a very good tough-shot-maker. A willing passer and is okay with being the second option on a title contending team.
7. PF. Lauri Markkanen- Utah Jazz
Markkanen early on in his career could never really get it going with stints for the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. He got traded to the Jazz in part of the Donavan Mitchell trade. Since being traded to the Jazz he has become a star player in this league becoming an all-star player last year. He has taken his game to the next level scoring an average of about 24 points per game.
8. PF. Scottie Barnes- Toronto Raptors, Restricted
A player coming into the league was viewed as a guy who can cover positions one through five at a very high level with the hopes of him developing an offensive game. After just a couple of years he has developed a very solid offensive game to go along with his elite defense averaging 19.9 points per game shooting 47% from the field and 34% from three, and with that he became an all-star this year for the first time.
9. SF. Brandon Ingram- New Orleans Pelicans
Coming into the draft he was being compared to Kevin Durant for is length at his size. He never quite lived up to that expectation, however he is still a high-level scorer on the wing. With his length he has the ability to get his shots up over anyone in the NBA.
10. C. Alperen Sengun- Houston Rockets, Restricted
He has the similar play style to Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and has even been called "Baby Jokic" or "Jokic-lite." He is a very good passer for being a center, a great rebounder, and has a great post game. Can shoot the three but is not as consistent with it shooting just under 30%, an area that should keep improving in his game as he gets older.
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