25-under-25: Biggest disappointments

2. Nerlens Noel

Even though he’s still in the NBA and just five years removed from being the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 Draft, it’d be perfectly understandable if a casual observer of the league asked, “whatever happened to that guy?” As with Jahlil Okafor, the emergence of Joel Embiid in the 2016-17 season rendered him a bit superfluous, with no real role in Philadelphia. Subsequently, they traded Noel for a relative pittance to Dallas. Unfortunately for both parties, Noel was never able to find a place in Dallas, only playing 52 games for the Mavericks over the course of a season and a half. Really, his most memorable moment during his Mavericks tenure was when he ate a hot dog at halftime of a game against the Clippers, which is not ideal. Now, a year after turning down a four-year, $70 million contract from the Mavericks, he’s signed a minimum deal with the Thunder where he hopes to prove himself all over again.

Despite his inclusion on this list, I don’t think Noel’s play itself that has actually been all that disappointing. When he’s been on the floor, he’s played fairly well, but for whatever reason — there was rumored conflict between Noel and coach Rick Carlisle — he was unable to get consistent playing time in Dallas. When he did, though, he showed himself to be an athletic defender, a great rim protector able to garner both steals and blocks. His offensive arsenal is admittedly limited, though he can make shots near the basket quite well, shooting over 68 percent in the restricted area in his career thus far. He could also be a good rim-runner out of the pick-and-roll, with the speed and burst to break away from defenders on the perimeter and explode for an easy dunk. This season, we will see if a change of scenery is enough to get Noel’s career back on track and for him to become the player he was expected to be.