Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Marcus Smart and Kawhi Leonard headline potential NBA Comeback Player of the Year candidates this season.
- Both players have defied age and injury expectations with standout performances for new teams.
- Their resurgences could inspire the league to bring back a formal comeback award similar to the NFL's.
One of the (few) things the NFL has over the NBA is their Comeback Player of the Year award -- bestowed to a player who overcome some form of adversity from the season prior to return (and excel) to the field.
The NBA needs to add this to their arsenal. Every year, a few players are able to comeback from some sort of hardship to put together an admirable campaign. Until that day, though, we will have to make our own lists of deserving candidates for this award.
Let's start with the guys that are already named in the headline so we can save the surprises from later.
Marcus Smart
Generally, great perimeter defenders have a short shelf life. That is because they tend to rely a great deal on athleticism, which diminishes as the miles rack up on the odometer.
Marcus Smart seemed to right on track to fulfill this prophecy. In his two seasons prior to this one, Smart looked like a shell of his former Defensive Player of the Year self -- appearing in 54 of his team's 165 games.
The Los Angeles Lakers took a chance and bought low on the former perimeter ace, and it has done wonders for them. Smart has appeared in 58 of 69 games for the Purple and Gold, posting a DEF EPM that ranks in the 83rd percentile leaguewide.
More importantly, the Lakers are a different team when he is on the floor. With Smart on the floor, the Lakers perform 10.3 points better per 100 (92nd percentile) than they do when he is on the bench (Cleaning the Glass).
Kawhi Leonard
Anyway, arguably no player has a stronger candidacy for this made up award than Kawhi Leonard. If I was to ask you what superstar you think would get better with age, you'd probably name every single player of that caliber before Leonard.
Yet, here we are. After all the injuries, all the unhealthy postseason runs, all the offseason drama, Leonard is having what may be the best offensive season of his career. Leonard's Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus is a +6.1(per Dunks & Threes). That is good for fifth in the league, and the best output of his entire career.
He's done this while still being an above average defender (74th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus and 95th percentile in steal rate), and guiding the Los Angeles Clippers to one of the greatest -- for lack of a better word -- comebacks in NBA history. If that isn't worthy of the award, I don't know what is.
Bones Hyland
I remember thinking how desperate the Minnesota Timberwolves were for guard play when I saw Bones Hyland check in for them. After playing just 24 games last year for the Los Angeles Clippers, it seemed like Hyland was on his way toward becoming a first round bust.
He has proven that assumption to be dead wrong. Hyland, never known for his defensive process, is using his positional length and quickness to compete on that end of the floor. Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, he has cut some of the unnecessary fat from his game, putting together the most efficient year of his career (60.9% true shooting).
Hyland still has his flaws, but after looking like someone whose days in the league were numbered, he now seems to have arisen from the dead.
De'Anthony Melton
I've always felt that De'Anthony Melton has been one of the more underrated ancillary backcourt players in the league. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to show it too often, as he's only appeared in 44 games in the two seasons prior to this one (even less than Smart).
Melton has still not been super healthy this year (only appearing in 38 of 69 games for the Warriors). So, this dings his candidacy a bit. But when he has been out there, he has been arguably the Warriors most impactful player. The Warriors are 14.7 points per 100 better with Melton on the floor than when he's on the bench.
That is not only the best mark on the team, but the third-best of any player in the league that has played at least 800 non-garbage time minutes. The two guys ahead of him? Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
Jayson Tatum
Listen, I know it has only been six games (albiet, the Boston Celtics are 5-1 in those games). But the fact that Jayson Tatum looks this good just ten months after suffering the most devasting injury in sports deserves recognition on this list.