NBA: Top 10 most exciting players in the 2023 NBA Rising Stars Challenge

3. Josh Giddey (Team Joakim/Thunder)

Many people were shocked when the OKC Thunder selected Josh Giddey No. 6 overall in the 2021 NBA draft out of Australia, but he has done nothing but make Sam Presti look like a genius. Giddey is one of the key reasons that the Thunder have defied expectations this season, and are in the playoff hunt.

He is currently averaging 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. This is coming off of a strong rookie season last year (even though it was cut short due to injury).

2. Scottie Barnes (Team Pau/Raptors)

Last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year has continued to emerge as one of the top young two-way players in the league. Barnes is averaging 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game for the Raptors. He also continues to show his ability to be a strong defensive presence and has developed more as a passer this season.

To give you an idea of Barnes’ skillset, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently compared Barnes to Draymond Green (in a good way, as a defender and playmaker).

1. Paolo Banchero (Team Pau/Magic)

The No. 1 overall pick from this past year’s draft has almost certainly lived up to the hype. Paolo Banchero is leading all rookies with 19.9 points per game and is also averaging 6.6 rebounds (4th among all rookies), and 3.6 assists per game (3rd most among rookies).

Banchero is currently the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award (as you can expect with him being top four among his rookie class in all 3 major statistical categories).

While he isn’t a perfect prospect yet (needs to improve on his 3-point shooting), there are not many players in the league with a higher ceiling than Banchero right now.