Pascal Siakam

Siakam won Most Improved Player in 2019 and a championship in the same season, the first player to manage both at once — and he was not a passenger, averaging 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds across the Finals and scoring 32 on 14-of-17 shooting in Game 1. Four All-Star selections and two All-NBA teams followed, Second Team in 2019-20 and Third in 2021-22. Traded to Indiana in 2024, he averaged 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists over 62 games in 2025-26. He went 27th in 2016 out of New Mexico State and did not play organised basketball until he was 17, which makes his development curve one of the steepest of his generation.