Led by top prospects such as Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, many young stars are vying to become the next face of the NBA. Many talents with the young and rebuilding Houston Rockets, including the likes of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, and Jabari Smith Jr., could also be part of that distinguished group.
With that in mind, and as the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky is ranking the league’s 23 best players who are under 23 years old.
Buy Rockets TicketsSo, why 23? Well, it is not just because that was Michael Jordan’s number. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. Kalbrosky wanted to try out a similar thought experiment, but with a new twist.
By the time players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the NBA’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.
As a result, Kalbrosky’s rankings are primarily based on how his publication views NBA projections for next season. It is not aimed to be as predictive of their future success or longer-term potential.
Here’s where Kalbrosky ranked Houston players among his 23-person list, which can be read in its entirety here.
Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack https://t.co/ZNboVVvAXR pic.twitter.com/QJaH20BFnc
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) September 27, 2023
No. 22: Tari Eason
Houston’s Tari Eason was one of the most durable players in the league as a rookie, which helped him earn NBA All-Rookie Second-Team during his first professional season. When we spoke to TNT’s Ernie Johnson, he mentioned Eason caught his eye.
Eason, who once grabbed five rebounds in five seconds during this absurd sequence, has legitimate value as a high-impact defender. His defensive estimated plus-minus (dEPM) ranked fourth-best among all players under 23 years old last season.
Houston allowed 4.7 points per 100 possessions fewer when Eason was on the court relative to when he was not last season, via Cleaning the Glass, which ranked second-best among players (minimum: 1,000 minutes) under 23 years old as well.
No. 18: Jabari Smith Jr.
Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. had an up-and-down first professional season, eventually earning NBA All-Rookie Second-Team honors.
Despite shooting poorly from beyond the arc, the 6-foot-10 forward has enjoyed some fantastic moments on both sides of the ball. He put the clamps on Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, for example, with surprising success. Smith also had the second-most catch-and-shoot 3-point shots of any rookie, per NBA.com.
His biggest breakout, however, came at the NBA 2K24 Summer League. He played just two games but scored 30 during both of his appearances for the Rockets. Smith finished with a game-high 38 points (13-25 FG, 9-10 FT) in a win over the Pistons. He also added 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in a stellar performance.
No. 16: Jalen Green
This is a huge season for Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets, who could potentially take a big step forward after adding Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in the 2023 offseason.
Green led all players currently under 23 years old in scoring as the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets last season, per Synergy. He is a very promising young scorer who ranks fourth-best in Offensive Daily Plus-Minus (O-DPM) projections among all players in this age group.
But many advanced stats grade Green as among the NBA’s worst defensive players, which is something he needs to improve next season playing for a defensive-minded coach like Ime Udoka.
No. 11: Alperen Sengun
Houston’s Alperen Sengun is a fascinating young player who has shown intriguing flashes over his two NBA seasons.
The Rockets scored an additional 6.8 points per 100 possessions when Sengun was on the court relative to when he was not last season, via Cleaning the Glass, which was the best among players (minimum: 1,000 minutes) under 23 years old. Among players in this age group, per Synergy, he also had the second-most points scored as the roll man after ball screens last season.
Sengun could (and should) get a bigger role as he continues to develop. He served as more of an offensive hub and focal point while playing for the Turkish national team this summer and the results were encouraging. ESPN’s JJ Redick believes Sengun could have the type of breakout campaign where he becomes a household name.
