Ranking Zion Williamson Against all Rookies and Sophomores

The Undrafted Surprise

The Miami Heat’s eye for overlooked talent is one of the reasons they find themselves back in contention in the Eastern Conference and it starts with Kendrick Nunn.

Nunn went undrafted out of Oakland University after being dismissed from the University of Illinois for off the court issues.

These issues may have cost him a draft spot, as Nunn was first in the NCAA in 3-point shooting and second in scoring to Trae Young, traits that almost certainly would have gotten him drafted if not for question marks teams may have had about his character.

Nunn caught the Heat’s attention early after they signed him out of the G-League, scoring 40 points in a pre-season game and just kept going from there, setting a record for points scored by an undrafted player in his first five games.

Nunn has been a consistent scorer for the Heat, and has only failed to record double-digit scoring totals in 12 of his first 61 games.

Nunn’s unexpected offense has carried the Heat at times, as he’s scored 20 or more points 16 times and taken some of the scoring pressure off teammate Jimmy Butler.

Nunn is getting 15.5 points per game and up to 17.8 since the All-Star break. Maybe most importantly, he’s doing it at a discount, as he is earning $1.4 million in his first season with the Heat.

This type of low-cost production is one of the most valuable things in the NBA and will likely allow the Heat to supplement their team in the offseason via free agency or trade while still maintaining their depth.

Nunn has set a Heat record for most 3-pointers in a season and if he scores 20 points six more times he’ll pass Caron Butler for most such games a rookie.

Nunn is not the youngest player on this list at age 24, but he is a consistent volume scorer who is going to have a long career getting buckets in the NBA.