Many NBA players have something to prove as the 2025-26 season awaits. Some would like to secure life-changing money with new contracts. Some would like to make a leap in playing time or role to pave the way for their future. Others might like to bounce back to previous levels, or show their incumbent teams that they can be trusted at the highest level.
As such, it is incredibly difficult to highlight only five players who have the most to prove in 2025-26, but that is the goal in this space. This list includes only prominent players, removing the incentive to attempt to unearth gems, and it also arrives in alphabetical order.
Here we go.
Bam Adebayo
Adebayo may be a surprising inclusion on this list and, as will become evident, his profile is different than those of the other four players. With that said, Adebayo is entering his age-28 season and coming off his worst offensive performance since he was a rookie. He posted an ugly 56.1 percent true shooting mark that was well below the league average at his position, and Adebayo made only 51.7 percent of his two-point offerings. On the plus side, his assists did jump from the previous few years, but with the potential of natural decline in his defense as he ages, Adebayo really needs to bounce back on offense. He is still a three-time All-Star and five-time All-Defensive team selection, but the Heat continue to operate as if Adebayo is their No. 1 franchise building block, and a repeat of 2024-25 would perhaps throw that belief into uncertainty.
LaMelo Ball
Over the last three seasons, Lamelo Ball has appeared in 105 games. Quick math indicates that he is averaging (!) only 35 games per season in that sample and, in tandem, the Hornets have been wholly underwhelming. Of course, injuries do not have to persist for Ball, but simply put, he has to be on the court and also play at a high level for the Hornets to go anywhere with their current roster setup. Ball has been highly productive, averaging 24.3 points, 7.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game over the last three seasons, but he isn't terribly efficient, fails to make a defensive impact, and has been branded in some circles with words like "unserious." More practically, the Hornets probably have to decide whether they want to be in or out of the LaMelo Ball business, and this year could tell the organization a lot.
Paolo Banchero
Can Paolo Banchero drive winning? In 2024-25, the Magic had a better rating with Banchero off the court (+0.9) than with Banchero on the court (-0.6). In a vacuum, that is not a five-alarm fire, but the same thing happened in 2023-24 to an even larger degree. Orlando had a flat 0.0 net rating in 2,799 minutes with Banchero on the court that season but, when he sat, the Magic bludgeoned opponents to the tune of a +7.6 net rating.
None of that is disqualifying to Banchero, but there is a growing split between those who value his box-score production (25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists last season) and those who point to sub-par efficiency and catch-all metrics that do not paint him in a superstar light. Banchero already got paid with a max deal, so there isn't risk there for him, but Orlando has built its franchise around the assumption that Banchero is a superstar worthy of that level of investment. To date, there is reason to believe he hasn't quite been that, and this season, Orlando has real expectations from a team standpoint.
Scoot Henderson
Quietly, Scoot Henderson was quite a bit better in his second season. He averaged fewer points and assists per game than during his rookie campaign, throwing many off the scent, but Henderson (greatly) improved his efficiency, lowered his turnover rate, and improved his defense. That is encouraging for the now 21-year-old guard, but Portland is an interesting position roster-wise and it is easy to forget that Henderson was the No. 2 pick only two years ago. Growth isn't linear, but it would be a boon for the Blazers if Henderson could at least prove he is clearly on the path to being a high-level starting point guard. After all, Damian Lillard is looming for 2026-27.
Ja Morant
The Grizzlies are in an interesting period of transition, with Desmond Bane out the door to Orlando and a new coach at the helm. Beyond that, Memphis just re-invested in Jaren Jackson Jr. as a pillar for the franchise, but Ja Morant's status is much less clear. When he plays, Morant remains a star-level player, averaging 23.2 points and 7.3 assists per game a season ago. However, Morant has been quite as impactful on a game-by-game basis and, more importantly, he just hasn't played very much. After a 2023-24 season in which he appeared in only nine games due to suspension and injury, Morant played only 50 games in 2024-25, and he never appeared in more than six straight games. The sentiment of "it's always something" is now following Morant around and, as a future contract extension looms, this feels like a big year for Morant and his place in Memphis.