We are now roughly four weeks into the 2023-24 NBA season. There have been plenty of surprises to start the season, including some impressive play from these three budding bench players who have shown they already deserve to be NBA starters.
Whether you start the game or come off the bench, your ability to positively impact the game keeps you on the floor. Additionally, your ability to not negatively impact the game is also something that can keep you on the floor.
The Cavaliers' lack of depth off the bench has played a role in their 4-6 start to the season despite having the No. 4-ranked starting lineup in terms of net rating based on this graphic after winning 51 games in 2022-23.
Anytime one of these three players comes in off the bench, they find ways to impact the game immediately and have made a case that they should be NBA starters if it weren't for the players in front of them on their respective depth charts.
3. Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Since the Pacers selected Andrew Nembhard with the first pick of the second in the 2022 NBA Draft, head coach Rick Carlisle hasn't hesitated to gush over the second-year point guard from Gonzaga. "Guy should have been a top-10 pick in the draft," Carlisle said about Nembhard last season.
"Every night, he keeps proving me right about that," Carlisle added. That has continued to be the case to start the 2023-24 season with Nembhard operating as a reliable backup point guard option for the Pacers behind All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. Nembhard has also fit in as a complimentary backcourt piece alongside Haliburton if the Pacers want to stagger the latter's minutes with Bennedict Mathurin's.
Nembhard is a sound decision-maker with the ball in his hands and has shown an ability to run an offense as well as create shots for himself when needed in addition to being a solid defensive presence given his 6-foot-5 frame. His versatility allows him to fit with virtually any lineup, making him a more than deserving NBA starter.
As a rookie, Nembhard started 63 games for the Pacers due to injuries to Haliburton and former first-round pick and current member of the Kings, Chris Duarte. In those games, Nembhard averaged 10.0 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 35.6 from beyond the arc.
2. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
Naz Reid got paid like an NBA starter this offseason, signing a three-year, $42 million contract extension to remain with the Timberwolves. The problem for Reid is not his talent, it's that he currently sits behind two All-Star bigs on the Wolves' depth chart.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Rudy Gobert was acquired last offseason in a trade that saw the Timberwolves send out five first-round picks in addition to 2022-23 Rookie of the Year finalist Walker Kessler. In other words, the Timberwolves are deeply invested in Gobert to the point where benching him for Reid is not an option.
The same can be said for two-time All-NBA big man, Karl-Anthony Towns, who is owed roughly $70 million over the next two seasons and has a four-year, $222 million contract that kicks in starting in 2024-25. Even with Reid outplaying Towns to start the season, he remains firmly entrenched as the team's starting power forward.
However, that is not a reason to discredit the contributions Reid has made off the bench. Reid is averaging 13.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, shooting 52.4 percent from the field and a highly efficient 42.5 percent from 3 in the Timberwolves' first nine games this season.
With Towns missing most of last season due to a lingering calf issue, Reid started 11 games for the Timberwolves. Reid averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game while making 50 percent of his field goal attempts and 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. What Reid lost in efficiency as a starter, he rectified with active hands on the defensive end.
Reid has shown he possesses above-average ball-handling skills and shooting touch for a player of his stature. He has the tools to be a starting big man in this league, he just so happens to be on a team that boasts arguably the best frontcourt in the NBA.
1. Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks
Last season's runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award honors, Immanuel Quickley, has picked up the 2023-24 season right where he left off in 2022-23. Through the Knicks first 10 games this season, Quickley is averaging 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.
After Quickley and the Knicks failed to agree to terms on a contract extension this offseason, he is set to become a restricted free agent next summer and could be playing himself out of New York's price range if he continues at this pace.
Quickley has been highly effective playing both on and off the ball offensively while providing stellar perimeter defense, showcasing his versatility.
Quickley has thrived this season as a primary ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations. According to NBA writer Tommy Beer, Quickley leads the NBA in points-per-play among all players who run a minimum of four pick-and-rolls per game, ranking ahead of All-Stars such as Paul George, De'Aaron Fox, and Tyrese Haliburton.
Quickley was a borderline elite player last season as a starter when Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, and/or Quentin Grimes missed games due to injury. Quickley filled in more than admirably, averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from three-point range in 21 games.
Good things happen when Quickley is on the floor. He continues to make it increasingly difficult for head coach Tom Thibodeau to keep him on the bench when he's shown he deserves to be an NBA starter.
