Playoff "Coming Out Party" Candidates

Your dad's new favorite players

When you watch the NBA obsessively and all season long, it’s easy to lock yourself in an echo chamber and forget that not everyone knows every player on every team. That’s not a flex, by the way— there’s no reason for me to know the 11th man on the Atlanta Hawks. I should try reading a book. My brain is fried. But when the playoffs roll around, much of the country is introduced to players for the first time because those players are put in the spotlight for the first time; teams that might have gotten one or two national TV games all season long are now playing (at least) four games on ESPN or TNT. The playoffs magnify everything and I have some ideas about which new (to the world) players are going to thrive under that magnification.

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Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

I’ve been yelling it for months now; a massive JDub performance in the playoffs seems glaringly obvious. That’s far from a hot take, of course— Williams is OKC’s second-best player (19.3 points, 4.5 assists, 43.4% 3PT shooter) and is correctly garnering respect around the league. But he’s still not a household name around the country, and I think that changes quickly when the postseason tips off. He also carries around a Pinky and The Brain bag, and that may not do anything for his playoff performances but it raises him a few notches on the likability scale.

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Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves are full of players who thrive in their roles, and I think NAW is the least appreciated by the general public. His “coming out party” isn’t going to be a scoring barrage, but if I look into my crystal ball, I see the Minneapolis crowd going nuts after he pokes a ball loose, dunks on the fastbreak then takes a charge from Austin Reaves.

This would be a coming out party for everyone, even some NBA fans who might not be familiar with NAW’s impact on the third-best team in the West. He’s got a great BLK%, a good STL%, is a better passer than he gets credit for, and will sneak into the lane and finish some tough shots every once in a while. He’s shooting 38.2% from deep, too, making him a viable offensive option as well as a great and versatile defender.

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Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans

Jones sorta had his coming out party two years ago in New Orleans’ first-round series against Phoenix, but I think he’s faded from the casual fan’s consciousness with New Orleans being a middling team for the past few seasons. Not for much longer! Herb is a deserving first-team All-Defense selection this season and whichever star he’s matched up on in the playoffs is going to have a miserable time.

Guys who want to hype a crowd up with their defense are a rare breed in the NBA but Herb fits that category. He embraces his role which is heartening to see because he’s so damn good at it. This guy being a second-round pick makes me think I could be an NBA scout. Not a good one, but… still.

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Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

I know this sounds silly. Banchero won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and made the All-Star Game this season so he’s come out. Still, there’s a pretty big gap between “basketball fan famous” and “casual sports fan famous.” Paolo is currently basketball fan famous, but he’ll have a chance to cross into casual fan famous during the postseason. Orlando is on a tear right now and suddenly owns the second-best defense in the whole league. That defensive surge has been helped by Orlando playing a lot of bad teams (a lot) but I don’t really care. The team looks damn good.

Paolo isolates so much that he jumps off the screen even for non-basketball fans. You don’t have to know what VORP is to know that the guy driving to the hoop and dunking the ball on someone’s head is really good.

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Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves

Naz Reid!

Naz Reid was always cool, but now he’s cool and a legitimately good player, too. No analysis here. Naz Reid.

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Sam Merrill, Cleveland Cavaliers

“Who the fuck is Sam Merrill?”

I can already hear the entire city of Miami or Indiana screaming something along those lines. And it’ll be a valid question because Merrill is one of the least widely known but elite NBA shooters in the game today. He’s a true sniper (40.8% from 3PT this season) and his shooting is an active part of Cleveland’s offense— he doesn’t just happen to get open shots every once in a while, he goes and finds shots. And his teammates find him. And then he makes the shots. Basketball is simple. Basketball is beautiful.

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What I’m Listening to: Boards of Canada

Just when you thought I couldn’t get any more annoying, I start listening to the band that your most annoying ex-boyfriend was obsessed with. Sorry. It’s good stuff, I can’t help it.