NBA Role Players

Blake’s NBA Role Player All-Stars

Kenny Beecham or KOT4Q does his ‘Kenny For Real All Stars’ which are players who are not real all-stars but play the game so well that he enjoys watching them. I am going to do this today and discuss the role players I enjoy watching and studying.

Keon Ellis

This is a newer role player who has made himself on the map. Keon Ellis is an absolute dog. He is a young undrafted player for the Sacramento Kings who plays the point and shooting guard position. Undrafted out of Alabama 2 years ago, Ellis had a hard time getting his shot in the NBA with Sacramento, but thanks to a couple of injuries recently, he was given a chance. Kevin Huerter hurt his shoulder, allowing Keon Ellis to step into the backup role for them. In his time with increased minutes, the Kings went from 20th in the league on defense to 7th. An increase of 13 spots on defense without dropping much on the offensive side is so amazing for the team. Looking forward, he will probably take the minutes of Davion Mitchell in hopes of bringing a two-way player to the rotation come playoff time.

Dillon Brooks

I know this is probably pretty controversial but I like Dillon the villain Brooks. He does do some stupid stuff that nobody should ever do but he plays the game in a fun way. When he isn’t chucking shots or fighting, he plays great defense and hits threes at a relatively good clip. He is shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc with a defensive rating of 115.7. To put that into perspective, that is similar to KCP Jimmy Butler, and Patrick Beverley. The Rockets are not close to being title contenders, but if Dillon can mentor the younger guys and teach good defense, they will look very good going forward.

Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart

The Knicks are playing some of their best basketball in the last what seems like a decade thanks to their deep roster. They have star players such as Brunson, Annunoby, and Randle but their role players are who have been keeping them afloat. Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo are two of the guys who do everything they are asked to do. Starting with Donte, he is shooting an amazing clip from 3 at 40% on over 8 attempts per game. This is so helpful to have a guy to stretch the floor as well as play above-average defense. Now Josh Hart; is the ultimate role player. He does not wow you anywhere except through the eye test. He puts up 9 points and 8 rebounds along with 3.7 assists per game. The best stat he puts up is not even a stat, it is hustle. The other day he played all 48 minutes which is the entire game. Not 1 second did he sub out. At first glance, it is not that crazy; but thinking about it is crazy. From tipoff to the end of the 4th quarter. That level of cardio and conditioning does not go unnoticed. It is going to be scary going forward for teams against the Knicks. I see them as the biggest threat to the Celtics in the postseason.

Who are your favorite role players? These are just a few of the guys I love who are not stars on their respective teams. I do have a few honorable mentions: Terrance Mann, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cam Thomas, Bobby Portis, Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell, Jeff Green, Naz Reid, and Jalen Suggs.