One glaring takeaway from the start of the 2022-23 NBA seasons is that the future is in great hands. With stars like Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, and so many more playing at an elite level, it is safe to say the NBA will remain competitive for years to come. This also applies to some of the youngest players in the NBA this season. With a glimpse of the 2022 Rookie Class, we have been introduced to a brief look at what lies beyond the golden days we are entering now.
- 10. Dyson Daniels – 19 Years, 249 Days Old
- 9. Jabari Smith Jr. – 19 Years, 192 Days Old
- 8. Jeremy Sochan – 19 Years, 185 Days Old
- 7. Ousmane Dieng – 19 Years, 184 Days Old
- 6. Dominick Barlow – 19 Years, 179 Days Old
- 5. Shaedon Sharpe – 19 Years, 175 Days
- 4. Nikola Jovic – 19 Years, 165 Days Old
- 3. AJ Griffin – 19 Years, 88 Days Old
- 2. Trevor Keels – 19 Years, 87 Days Old
- 1. Jalen Duren – 19 Years, 4 Days Old
Recently, we took at the oldest players for the 2022-23 season. Some of these older players were still contributing and playing at a high level, while others were determined to be ready to hang it up. That is not the case here today. With the youngest players for the 2022-23 season, we will take a look at all of their futures based on the small sample size we have seen thus far. Some of these young players have already shown us that they have a bright future in the NBA, while others are awaiting a real opportunity to showcase what they can offer to a team.
Here are the youngest NBA players for the 2022-23 season.
10. Dyson Daniels – 19 Years, 249 Days Old
After growing up and attending high school in Australia, Dyson Daniels spent the 2021-22 season with the G-League Ignite. In 14 games last season, Daniels averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 1.9 SPG. The performance was enough for him to be a highly sought-after prospect heading into the 2022 NBA Draft, with many lottery teams with their eyes on him. He ended up going 8th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he has started the 2022-23 season.
So far, with the Pelicans, the 6’8’’ point guard has found a limited opportunity to make an impact with New Orleans. The Pelicans have showcased their depth and size over the first 16 games of the season, leaving little room for Daniels. He has seen just 12.6 minutes of play in 8 appearances off the bench which is half of the games that New Orleans has played in total. Daniels is averaging 3.6 PPG and 3.4 RPG in his limited time on the court, leaving hope for him to make his way into a bigger role as time goes on.
9. Jabari Smith Jr. – 19 Years, 192 Days Old
Headed into the 2022 NBA Draft, Jabari Smith Jr. was one of the highest-rated prospects on the board. In his only year at Auburn in 2021-22, Smith was named a consensus All-American and averaged 16.9 PPG on 42.9% shooting. Smith’s talent and potential were on full display as he became a Top 3 prospect in the draft. Smith Jr. was selected 3rd overall by the Houston Rockets and made his NBA debut on October 19th.
The beginning of Smith Jr.’s career has been less than ideal for the young power forward. He has been incredibly inefficient with his scoring and prone to drifting out the 3-point line far too often. Smith Jr. is averaging 10.9 PPG on 10.9 shoot attempts per game, bringing his field goal percentage overall to an abysmal 33.3%. Over half of his shot attempts come from 3-point range, where he shoots a below-average 30.2%. He has time to run it around, though, as this is just 16 games into his career. He had his best game of the season on November 20th against the Warriors when he scored 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds on 57.1% shooting.
8. Jeremy Sochan – 19 Years, 185 Days Old
Another rookie making an early impact is Jeremy Sochan. He spent one year at Baylor University in 2021-22 and was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year. In 30 games off the bench for the Bears, Sochan averaged 9.2 PPG and 6.4 RPG. Sochan ended up catching the eye of one of the best organizations over the past 30 years, the San Antonio Spurs. Sochan was drafted 9th overall to San Antonio as a lottery pick.
Sochan has helped the Spurs in many ways to open the year. He has served as the team’s starting power forward for 17 of their 18 games so far, and even though they are 6-12, the Spurs have proven to be competitive and picked up some decent victories. Sochan is averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG on 47.2% shooting so far this year but is right where he is supposed to be in terms of development. It is clear that Jeremy Sochan is in the future plans for the San Antonio Spurs.
7. Ousmane Dieng – 19 Years, 184 Days Old
At just a day younger than Jeremy Sochan, Ousmane Dieng comes in as the 7th youngest player for 2022-23. Dieng grew up in Paris, France, and eventually made his way to the NBL at the age of just 18 years old. Dieng played 23 games for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL and averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 20.0 minutes of play. Dieng was drafted 11th overall to the New York Knicks and eventually traded to the Thunder for 3 2023 1st-round draft picks.
Dieng has appeared in 9 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season and has received 15.0 minutes of playing time per game. Dieng was assigned to the G-League affiliate of the Thunder, the Oklahoma City Blue, on November 8th. In 4 games so far in the G-League, Dieng is averaging 14.3 PPG and 9.3 RPG for the team. Currently, it will be a bit before Dieng makes his way back to the Oklahoma City roster, but look for him to be back at some point.
6. Dominick Barlow – 19 Years, 179 Days Old
Dominick Barlow is a 6’9’’ small forward who signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs in July 2022. Barlow is a prospect out of Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School In Philadelphia. Barlow has appeared for 3 games for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2022-23 season and has seen the court for only 22 total minutes. He is averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.0 RPG.
Barlow has seen much more success since debuting for the Austin Spurs of the G-League. He has appeared in 5 games for the Spurs affiliate and is averaging 8.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 23.6 minutes of play. The Austin Spurs are 3-4 on the season so far and sit well back in the G-League Western Conference standings. Barlow could possibly find his way back to the NBA at some point for San Antonio, but the Spurs are experiencing a logjam at the forward positions.
5. Shaedon Sharpe – 19 Years, 175 Days
If there has been a more impactful rookie at this young of age this season, point him out to be because Shaedon Sharpe has been sensational so far in 2022-23. He was the No. 1 overall basketball recruit headed into his freshman season of college and chose legendary Kentucky as his destination. Sharpe made the odd decision to sit out the entire year rather than hurt his draft stock with injury or otherwise. He was picked 7th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sharpe has appeared in 15 of 16 games for the Trail Blazers this season and is already showcasing the reasons why they chose him as a lottery selection. Sharpe is Portland’s leading scorer off the bench with 9.7 PPG and has proved to be a formidable defender. The Trail Blazers have gotten off to a hot start and currently sit at 10-6 on the season, good for 3rd in the Western Conference.
4. Nikola Jovic – 19 Years, 165 Days Old
Nikola Jovic, born in the United Kingdom, is a rookie who spent his 2021-22 season overseas. At 18 years old, Jovic played for the Mega Soccerbet team of the ABA First Division against teams who were a part of the former Yugoslavia. Jovic averaged 11.8 PPG in 4 games played overseas and added 5.5 RPG as well.
In the 2022 NBA Draft, Nikola Jovic was selected 27th overall by the Miami Heat. Jovic has appeared in 7 games for the Heat this season which includes 3 spots in the starting lineup as well. His best game so far came on November 18 against the Wizards when he scored 18 points on 4-10 shooting and 9-10 from the foul line. The Heat have limped out of the gate to start 2022-23 and are 7-10 through their first 17 games. Jovic has a chance to be a big part of the Miami turnaround if he continues to get more playing time.
3. AJ Griffin – 19 Years, 88 Days Old
One rookie having a pleasantly surprising start to his NBA career is AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks. Griffin spent one year at Duke and started 25 games for the Blue Devils in 2021-22. He averaged 10.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 39 total games for Duke and declared for the NBA Draft following the season. The Hawks selected Griffin with the 16th overall pick in the draft, and he made his NBA debut on October 23, 2022.
Griffin has been a nice addition to the Hawks’ early success. He has appeared in 12 games for the Hawks off the bench and is averaging 7.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 14.8 minutes. Earlier this season, Griffin had a 24-point game against the Bucks, which ignited Atlanta to victory. In his last game, Griffin played 30 minutes against the Toronto Raptors and scored 17 points. This included a few big baskets to spark a large comeback to force overtime. Griffin is set to continue to see more time on the court with the Hawks and be a part of their long-term plans.
2. Trevor Keels – 19 Years, 87 Days Old
Trevor Keels rounds out another set of young players in the NBA who are separated by one day. Keels also spent his one College season at Duke, where he started 26 games and appeared in 36 total. In these 36 games, Keels averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.7 APG for the Blue Devils and declared for the NBA Draft after the season. He was selected by the Knicks in the 2nd round of the 2022 NBA Draft at the No. 42 pick overall.
Keels, however, has appeared in just 1 game for the Knicks so far this season and has recorded 1 rebound and 1 assist. Keels has recently found himself in the G-League with their affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. He has found some success with them so far and, in 3 games, is averaging 13.6 PPG on 34.0% shooting. As it stands, Keels will most likely have to get comfortable in Westchester as the Knicks have the team they are running with for the rest of 2022-23 all set.
1. Jalen Duren – 19 Years, 4 Days Old
The youngest NBA player in 2022-23 just turned 19 years old within the last week and has already appeared in 15 games with the Pistons this season. Jalen Duren turned 19 on November 18 and celebrated with a 12-point, 8-rebound performance vs. the Lakers. He spent his college days at Memphis, where he was named the American Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Year and to the All-AAC First Team.
Jalen Duren was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was then traded to the Knicks for a multitude of picks. The Knicks then moved him to the Pistons in exchange for picks as well. He has made those other teams rethink their decision, as he has played well for the Pistons through 15 games. Duren ranks 12th in the entire NBA in offensive rebounds, and in 15 games off the bench, he is averaging 7.1 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 21.9 minutes played.
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