25-under-25: The best of the rest for the 2024-25 NBA season

For the eighth year in a row, The Step Back is honoring the best young players in the NBA with our 25-under-25. The list (check it out here) is exactly that long because it sets up the clever name but it’s also an arbitrary cut-off that leaves off many young players on the rise.

And, if previous years have taught us anything, we’re probably wrong about a few players and will have left someone off who was more than deserving. That’s why we’re going to go just a touch deeper.

Who just missed the cut on this year’s 25-under-25 list?

26. Deni Avdija, Wing, Portland Trail Blazers

Why he missed: Avdija was tremendously effective last season but you could have missed every second of it because he was playing for the Washington Wizards. The No. 9 pick from the 2020 NBA Draft finally started to put it together, averaging 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, backing it up with solid defense. However, it's hard to put those numbers in context on a team as chaotically bad as the Wizards were last season. Between that and questions about whether his 3-point shooting was for real — 37.4 percent last year compared to 31.0 percent in his previous three seasons — and he's still a question mark.

Why we might look stupid: Scoring was always the big question mark for Avdija. He's been a solid defender from the jump and his playmaking was a key piece of his pre-draft profile that seemed likely to translate. But if he really can hit open-jumpers and work as a tertiary scorer he's suddenly a very valuable and very versatile role player, the kind who can thrive on a good team.

27. RJ Barrett, Wing, Toronto Raptors

Why he missed: Barrett found himself in this exact same slot last season and the questions are largely the same — can his scoring efficiency justify the level of on-ball responsibilities his skill set commands? It didn't work for the Knicks, but it might work for the Raptors.

Why we might look stupid: The stakes were lower but Barrett was dramatically better after being traded to Toronto, averaging 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32 games, playing solid defense and posting a 61.5 true shooting percentage. If he can sustain those numbers across an entire season he would have a real case that we whiffed on him by 10 spots or more.

28. Jaime Jaquez, Forward, Miami Heat

Why he missed: Jaquez was incredibly effective right from the beginning of his rookie season but didn't show the same kind of growth as we saw in prospects like Brandon Miller, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. He's versatile and has a high two-way floor. But he also finished the season shooting 32.2 percent from beyond the arc and it's not clear that his ceiling is all that much higher.

Why we might look stupid: Miami Heat players have a habit of making sudden and dramatic improvements as 3-point shooters. If he's hitting 38+ percent this season, all the rest of his complementary skills are dramatically more important and useful.

29. Shaedon Sharpe, Wing, Portland Trail Blazers

Why he missed: Sharpe was much more ready than expected during his rookie season but played just 35 games last year because of injury. His potential is off the charts but, for all intents and purposes, he lost a year and ranking him this low is a hedge injury concerns or another bump in his development process.

Why we might look stupid: He's one of the most athletic players in the league and is already fantastically productive — averaging 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals across his first 20 games last season. If he can stay on the court, put up similar numbers and bump up his shooting percentages (40.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc) he could easily be in the top-15 of this list next season.

30. Jalen Duren, Big, Detroit Pistons

Why he missed: Like Barrett, Duren lands in the exact same spot he did last year. It's hard to see through the messy fog of the Pistons but his per-minute numbers were extremely similar to his rookie season and we've yet to see him really noticeably take a leap.

Why we might look stupid: Duren is still incredibly young, he doesn't turn 21 until November 2024, and he's already incredibly productive — 13.8 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He's a terrific finisher, an elite rebounder and is already showing signs of becoming a strong passer. His physical tools are outlier special and if the rest of this roster coheres a bit more it could make his job much easier and his development hit an exponential curve.