10 NBA Players Who Took Huge Leaps This Season
Jakob Poeltl, Toronto Raptors
Jakob Poeltl is probably the least-known player on this list, but like VanVleet, he played a huge role for Toronto's Bench Mob. Despite a limited role, he actually snuck into the top-40 in nERD, thanks in part to a ridiculous 65.9% field goal percentage.
That mark was good enough to rank first in the league and is one that he actually improved on as the season went on. He maintained a 68.1% field goal percentage after the All-Star break and shot an absurd 75% from the field over his final 15 games.
Poeltl played just 11 minutes per game last season, so the table below displays his per-36 numbers, not his per-game numbers.
| Jakob Poeltl | nERD | PTS | REB | BLK | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.2 | 58.90% |
| 2018 | 4.7 | 13.4 | 9.3 | 2.4 | 66.20% |
Fun Fact: Poeltl ranked seventh among qualified players in blocks per 36 minutes this season.
Poeltl's path to big minutes is a bit unclear with a stable full of young bigs, especially considering Toronto just signed Serge Ibaka to an extension through 2020. Jonas Valanciunas is under contract through at least 2019 ($17.5 million player option for 2020 season), so it may take a trade or injury before we get to see if the 22 year old can translate his efficiency into strong production on a full-time basis.
