A Royal Pain
Fansided

Slideshow: Top 5 Players to Look Forward To Next Season

By Sanjesh Singh

Feb 23, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) celebrates towards forward Skal Labissiere (3) by gesturing to eat after scoring a basket and foul against the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) celebrates towards forward Skal Labissiere (3) by gesturing to eat after scoring a basket and foul against the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

5. Georgios Papagiannis

At #5 is Big Papa. To me and almost everyone, confusion arrived quickly once his name was called at the 2016 NBA Draft. Even DeMarcus Cousins subtweeted the Kings when Papa was drafted. And Papa’s start to his NBA career was not exactly helping him either.

In fact, Papagiannis’ first NBA point came on February 15, 2017, against the Warriors. However, it was impossible to put the blame on him as he was a player very low on the depth chart. Sitting behind Cousins (until the trade), Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein meant he was not getting on the court anytime soon.

However, the Cousins trade impacted many including Papa. His first breakout game occurred March 18, 2017, when he racked a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) against the Thunder. He finished the season with another double-double along with four other games where he had double-digit scoring numbers. The potential is there, but just like any other player, you need playing time to show it.

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