Established stars have been front and center so far during the 2024-25 NBA season, with last season’s top two MVP vote-getters — Denver’s Nikola Jokić and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — checking in as the front-runners again, and former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Cup title last week.
There has still been plenty of room for one of our favorite annual NBA storylines, however: Young players on the rise. According to my estimated RAPTOR wins above replacement (WAR) metric, eight of the league’s top 10 most valuable players are under 30 years old, and the league’s overall average age of 26.4 ranks as the 15th youngest out of the 49 seasons since the ABA merger in 1976.
In other words, youth is being served this season — and the following group of players is proof positive of it. Specifically, nine players under the age of 25 have dramatically improved their production from their previous seasons. From former lottery picks to undrafted players, we have assembled a list of breakout players who:
• Are under the age of 25
• Are on pace for at least 2 WAR per 82 games
• Had under 10 career WAR before 2024-25
• Never previously had a season of 2.5 WAR
• Improved their WAR pace (per 82 games) by at least 2.5 wins this season
For each player, I’ll include what has made him so much better this season, and list his most comparable players at the same age according to my similarity index system.
Jump to a section:
Top-10 picks | First-round picks
Second-round pick | Undrafted pick
Top-10 picks
Dyson Daniels
Age: 21 | SG, Atlanta Hawks
Also known as the “Great Barrier Thief,” Daniels’ improvement this season has been nothing short of startling.