Sacramento Kings: Why Marvin Bagley will be a breakout player next year

The Sacramento Kings overachieved in the 2018-19 season partially due to the success of rookie Marvin Bagley who is set to fully break out next season.

The Sacramento Kings are set to finish the season just shy of their first playoff berth since 2006, but it’s hard to argue that their 2018-19 season has been anything but a success.

Sure the team will miss the playoffs again for their 13th consecutive season — the longest active drought in the NBA — but to leave it at that would be to ignore all of the incredible progress that they made this year.

The Kings were expected to be among the worst teams in the entire NBA with an expected win total higher than only the Atlanta Hawks, per Oddshark.com. But due to some impressive performances from their young, budding stars and a quicker pace of play, the Kings were very much in the playoff picture well into late March.

That in and of itself is a major accomplishment.

Their improved play was due in part to the success that rookie Marvin Bagley had in his first season in the NBA. While the Duke product never really cracked the starting lineup, it was more about his progress as a rotational player that has fans excited.

Remember, Bagley just turned 20-years-old and played almost the entire 2018-19 season as a teenager. He’s still very much growing into his body and the idea to ease him into a starting role is one that should be praised, not criticized — regardless of how frustrating it could be at times.

But the fact still remains that Bagley has all the physical tools and potential to be one of the premier big men in the NBA today. His is an elite athlete who possesses a top-tier post game superb rebounding skills. His high motor allows him to run up and down the court with the best of them and few men of his size can match up with him athletically.

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While he still could use some refinement in other areas of his game — mainly with his defense and the development of an outside shot — the foundation has been laid for a long and fruitful career.

Besides, those two aspects are things that tend to improve with young NBA players over time. Very few players come into the NBA as great defenders. Rather it’s a skill that is learned over time as the individual gathers more experience playing the game.

And many Kings fans will remember that it took DeMarcus Cousins years to develop an outside shot. But once he did, he became the perennial All-Star that he is today.

Bagley will get there. And with another year of development under his belt, don’t be surprised to see the former NCAA star blossom into a true superstar sooner rather than later.

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Bagley is a perfect fit for the type of offense the Kings ran this year and will hopefully continue to run for years to come. The up-tempo pace aligned perfectly with Bagley’s athletic skill set as the talented big man excelled when asked to run the floor on a fast break.

This offseason, Bagley could certainly use a little extra weight to help him out down low and further improve his post game. Once he fills out his frame, Bagley could be equally imposing as a physical, down-low big man as he would be athletically.

On top of that, the 2018 No. 2 overall draft pick must continue to develop his outside shot. Working on his perimeter game would allow him to become a true dual-threat and make him nearly unstoppable on offense.

If both of those things happen, Bagley could very well be an All-Star by next season.

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He will be given ample opportunities to succeed as a full-time move into the starting lineup is likely in the works. It will now be up to him to capitalize on those opportunities.

But if you were to place a wager, I’d bet the house on Marvin Bagley breaking out in the 2019-20 season.

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