NBA leap years: Victor Wembanyama leads list of 10 players poised to level up in 2024-25 season

Look for these players to take huge leaps forward in the coming season

By Brad Botkin Sep 5, 2024 at 3:49 pm ET• 8 min read

If you've followed the NBA for even a modicum of time, you've surely heard any number of pundits and fans alike talking about a particular player taking "the leap." It means different things for different players. For some, it's a leap bad to serviceable, or from serviceable to good, or from good to great, or, finally, from a star to superstar. 

It's signals more than just natural improvement. It's a leap. And the 10 players below feel poised to take it in the 2024-25 season. 

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

Does this even need to be explained? Wembanyama is poised to be the league's best defender and one of the 10-15 best players overall in his second season. If that isn't a leap, what is? 

Go look at the success he and the Spurs had with Tre Jones as his point guard. Nothing special. Just highly functional stuff. Getting Wemby the ball at the right spot at the right time. Do that, and he's going to do his thing. Who did the Spurs sign this summer? Chris Paul. Even at nearly 40 years old, point guard play isn't going to get much more functional than Paul.