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With the bulk of the 2026 NBA offseason now concluded, and with the calendar now flipped to September, it’s time to start looking ahead to what’s coming next in the NBA, both this season and afterward.
In that spirit, and in the interest of killing some time in the dying days of summer, let’s take a look at the five* most interesting players — to me! — who are entering their sophomore seasons.
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(We’ve previously considered my five most interesting potential free agents in the class of 2027 and my five most interesting comeback players for next season.)
One note: I decided not to include the top three finishers in 2025-26 Rookie of the Year voting: winner Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, runner-up Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets and third-place finisher VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers.
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
I wanted to cast a slightly wider net, but let us please take it as read that when it comes to …
The first rookie to average 20-6-4 since Luka Dončić (who will now get his first taste of life alongside Kyrie Irving);
The first rookie ever to lead the NBA in made 3-pointers last season (who will now likely have to step into a larger playmaking role following the departure of LaMelo Ball);
And a guy who, in his first trip to the playoffs, scored 23 points in a Game 7 on the road in Boston to help knock off the Celtics
… I am absolutely interested in what comes next.
With that preamble out of the way, we begin with … the fourth-place finisher in Rookie of the Year voting.
Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
Harper profiled as a prolific downhill shot-creating force coming out of Rutgers, and the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft was absolutely as advertised. The 19-year-old weaved through interior traffic and tall trees with ease, seemingly living in the paint and taking nearly half of his field-goal attempts at the rim and shooting better than 60% on them en route to averaging 11.8 points on 50.5% shooting and 3.9 assists in 22.6 minutes per game off San Antonio’s bench during the regular season. (He was just the fourth guard since 1990 to shoot better than 50%…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/the-nbas-most-interesting-rising-sophomores-whats-next-for-dylan-harper-ace-bailey-and-others-in-2026-27-140436579.html
Author : Dan Devine
Publish date : 2026-09-08 14:04:00
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