9. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Counting Stats: 20.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds
PER: 20.87
WS: 24.5
VORP: 11.9
2016 was a season in which Kemba Walker made mammoth strides as a scorer; shooting the ball significantly better from everywhere on the court. Walker’s field goal (42.7), three-point (37.1), and free-throw percentage (84.7) were all career-highs last season.
Despite sporting a low 97 ORtg (offensive rating) and an on-court BPM (box plus/minus) of +4 per 100 possessions – that both ranked outside the Top 15 out of qualified point guards. Walker’s impact as an on-ball defender by generating 1.6 steals per game payed dividends to the Hornets’ playoff push last year.
Throughout his career, Walker has always exhibited a moderately high assist rate (25.7 percent last year) to a very low turnover rate (10 percent). By utilizing ball-screens better than most point guards last season, helped Walker in getting to the free throw line more frequently – as Walker generated a 32.9 Free Throw Rate.
Heading into 2017, Charlotte may be without key contributors Al Jefferson and Courtney Lee. But with another year out of stretch-fours Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, plus a healthy year from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The Hornets’ core should be ready to expand upon their sixth place finish a season ago.
Next: No. 8