Every season the draft brings a fresh infusion of talent to the NBA. In theory this is an even, steady process. In practice, hindsight and historical perspective show that there are borders and boundaries — talent doesn’t just arrive in the NBA, it arrives in generational waves. Sometimes we can’t see these aesthetic dividing lines for decades, sometimes you simply can’t miss them.
The present day NBA appears to be on the cusp of welcoming a remarkable new generation to its forefront — players who are not just incredible but incredibly unique. Players who will not just excel but transform the roles and responsibilities of basketball players as we understand them. Over the course of this week, The Step Back will be examining many of the players who could figure prominently in The Next Generation. Not every player we turn our attention to is destined to be a star, but all could play a role in defining the future of the NBA. Read the whole series here.
The Next Generation: Dario Saric
Dario Saric carries the gift and the burden of being a talented and healthy player who happens to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Croatian forward’s ability doesn’t stretch far enough to soften the blow of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons’ absence in a really meaningful way, but just by virtue of showing real promise and taking to the court on a nightly basis, he’s going to have to deal with some form of amplified expectation.
Beyond the hole Embiid’s injury has created in Philadelphia’s team, it’s also sparked a new search for Rookie of the Year candidates. Many would argue the Cameroonian center has been so dominant that the award should be his regardless, but there’s no real precedent for someone winning the award having played so few minutes. Although Rookie of the Year is still far from a certainty — Milwaukee’s Malcolm Brogdon continues to build a convincing case to claim the honor — the way in which Saric has been vaulted into that discussion opens up the possibility of a permanent shift in the perception of the 22-year-old.
Read More: Next Generation — Nikola Jokic is the all-seeing center of the future
Saric entered the league still somewhat shrouded in mystery having hung on in Europe for two years after he was drafted, and in many ways that was the perfect start to his NBA career.
To be clear, Saric is a highly skilled player, but he isn’t equipped with a style that’s guaranteed to take your breath away. Saric is more like the book or TV show which requires you to struggle through the opening for the pay-off to fully resonate at a later date. He’s a Swiss Army knife type who is very good at almost all facets of the game, but maybe not great enough at any one to truly seize the limelight all that often.
That shouldn’t present a problem for the 76ers in the bigger picture, but it creates an interesting dynamic in the present. At the moment it’s Saric’s show in Philadelphia. Richaun Holmes and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot are intriguing ancillary pieces, but they don’t quite match up to the team’s 6-foot-10 do-it-all forward.
At a time when the fans and organization need some potential ray of light to keep spirits even slightly raised, Saric’s stat-sheet stuffing capability is a cause for celebration. This is a spot the Sixers have found themselves in before — when Michael Carter-Williams rode gaudy numbers on a terrible team to his own Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 — but thankfully Saric has the ability to turn into a core piece for the contender Philadelphia has the potential to build.
In a league packed with an increasingly long list of fast and athletic forwards, one of the most striking aspects of Saric’s game is his lack of pace. Even at the taller end of the scale, Saric is far from quick but often looks as if he doesn’t need to be. Rather than charging around the court like many of his peers, there’s a feeling that everything Saric does comes with a purpose.
There’s an efficiency in energy, but as the Sibenik native glides across the court, he also appears to have an acute awareness of his surroundings. Like any rookie, there’s still plenty of room for Saric to fine-tune his repertoire. But with what can come across as a methodical and practical approach to the game at times, even the flashiest elements of Saric’s play makes it tough not to marvel at his precision.
When Saric rebounds, he possesses the combination of lengthy strides and ball handling necessary to take it from end-to-end, but more importantly he understands the necessity of maintaining control too. Saric plays the game with his head up, and more often than not that characteristic allows him to make the passes others wouldn’t even see.
The most notable pass of Saric’s NBA career to date set up a go-ahead basket in the closing seconds of Philadelphia’s Mar. 4 victory over the New York Knicks.
Taking a hand-off from Robert Covington, Saric drove towards the rim. Deterred by the presence of a trailing Kristaps Porzingis, he then looked to circle and kick out as opposed to finishing the possession himself. This left Saric trapped in the paint with Porzingis’ undivided attention, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose collapsing to cut off space, and the shot and game clock rapidly ticking down.
In a scenario where any player — let alone a rookie — could be forgiven for panicking, Saric instead composed himself, spotted a gap behind his giant Latvian opponent and perfectly threaded a pass to Justin Anderson for what was the game’s decisive shot.
As his coach and teammates waxed lyrical about the decisive dish after the game, the man responsible spoke about the play to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly in the kind of matter-of-fact manner that wouldn’t have been out of place on a playground back on the Croatian coast.
"“It’s about confidence,” Saric said. “Sometimes when you play good, when Coach believes in you and you have opportunity to make mistakes, sometimes, in that case, it’s easier to lose some balls and sometimes it’s easier to gamble with some kind of hard passes. I think that’s the magic of this game. To make it fun, to put our teammates in good position, to do something nobody expects because I think fans and everybody like this game.”"
The fact is Saric has been taking those gambles a lot recently. It’s clear he’s having fun, even if the effortlessness of his play leads to it flying a little under the radar.
As opposed to the bombastic, catch-all confidence that Embiid exuded during his finest moments this season, Saric’s demeanor is more consistently one of quiet and assured content. If anything that might be the most fascinating aspect of his character for Philadelphia too.
In the dream-like world where Embiid returns with his lengthy list of injury problems long behind him, Simmons suffers no adverse effects from his own rookie year injury setback and the Sixers add a top-tier guard via the draft, Saric’s mix of skill and attitude could make for the perfect combination for an already formidable core of talent.
At his base of talent, Saric is already a capable scorer, strong rebounder, wily passer and a defender who at least shows good awareness if not always the end result. Even without major improvements, that sets Saric up to be an outstanding complementary option on a championship contender. In a modern setting, a solid example of what Saric could be in terms of role even if never like-for-like ability is Draymond Green, but it doesn’t take a look too far into the past to find an even more apt comparison.
Coming from Croatia with his skill-set and body type, the spectre of Toni Kukoc has loomed large over Saric from the moment NBA scouts first set eyes on him. It’s an incredibly heady comparison, and as such, Saric has wasted little time in rallying against it in the past.
"“I always say it’s stupid to compare me and Toni Kukoc because Toni Kukoc is like, the big player, like Sixth Man [of the Year] in the NBA,” Saric said. “One day, I want to become that level of player. I will work for that. But only God knows if I will get there or not.”"
Saric paying deference to an NBA legend and one of the greatest players his country has produced doesn’t come as a surprise. But behind any kind of lazy stereotyping, there’s real potential for Saric to follow in Kukoc’s footsteps.
The problem lies in much of what it will take for the young forward to reach those heights lying beyond his control. Toni Kukoc wouldn’t be “Toni Kukoc” if not for Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Kukoc was a fine player in any setting, but it’s undeniable that the company he kept helped him to three championships and a Sixth Man of the Year award.
Dario Saric could have a long and steady career ahead of him as a first option, but if health, luck and decision-making can finally play to the 76ers’ advantage, even bigger things could lie ahead for the leading light of Croatia’s next generation of NBA players.