Breakout Stars Poised to Join the Ranks of the NBA’s Best This Upcoming Season.Cau

haedon Sharpe is now the face of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The second-year shooting guard should take a few steps up in production with Damian Lillard now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sharpe is one of a handful of young players who should experience an uptick in numbers across the board during the 2023-24 season.

Most of the focus on the San Antonio Spurs is on Victor Wembanyama, but the players tasked with getting the No. 1 overall pick the ball could carry some of the best fantasy value on the roster.

A good amount of potential breakout stars will come from teams that are not expected to be in the playoff conversation.

Young stars on teams that are at least a year away from serious postseason contention may be the ideal targets because of their potential to grow during the 2023-24 regular season.

Sharpe displayed flashes of his scoring potential during the latter half of the 2022-23 campaign.

The 2022 first-round pick averaged 13.8 points per game in March and finished with a trio of 20-point performances in April.

Lillard’s departure leaves a massive scoring hole inside the Portland offense that Sharpe is expected to help fill alongside Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson.

Sharpe should consistently score in double figures, and his point totals will be aided by an improved three-point shot.

He averaged over two three-point makes per game during his scoring surge in March and April. He attempted at least eight three in his final six contests.

Sharpe will have to share some of the backcourt scoring with Henderson and Simons, but he should take enough attempts each game to build on the 9.9 points per game he averaged in his rookie season.

Tre Jones could be on the verge of his best passing season in the NBA.

The San Antonio Spurs point guard has a large target to work with in Wembanyama and a healthy Zach Collins to use down in the paint.

Jones averaged 6.6 assists per game last season, an increase from his 3.4 assists per game in 2021-22, in the first season in which he played over 20 minutes per contest.

The 2020 second-round pick should be looked at as one of the top breakout facilitators in fantasy basketball leagues.

In addition to Wembanyama and Collins, Jones has Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell as outlets on the perimeter.

Jones is not expected to be a volume scorer, but if he increases his assist output, he will be a key cog of fantasy basketball guard rotations.

Mark Williams will be the go-to guy in the paint for the Charlotte Hornets.

Williams is coming off a rookie campaign in which he averaged nine points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He finished the season with six double-doubles in his last 11 games.

The Duke product holds the edge over Nick Richards and the other big men on the Charlotte roster going into the 2023-24 season.

The clear role as the starting center should help Williams average close to a double-double in his second season.

Williams is worth a look as a No. 1 center in fantasy lineups with more focus on backcourt scorers, or as a solid backup to one of the top big men in the league.