The NBA season is officially underway.
As teams try to position themselves on the path toward contention, many will count on their established stars to carry the load. But other teams will also look to young players to break out and provide production that wasn’t necessarily there in previous seasons.
In some cases, this will mark the natural progression of player development over time. In others, injuries to starters or key contributors will force untested players into big roles.
Either way, how far teams go may very well depend on these relatively unproven players and whether they can elevate their game.
Here are seven players who are breakout candidates for the 2025-26 NBA season:
