The second round of 82 games for NBA sophomores has often been a strong indicator of the amount of success that a player will have throughout his career.
For example, in the 2004-05 season, Dwyane Wade upped his 16.2/4.0/4.5 (points/rebounds/assists) averages as a rookie to 24.1/5.2/6.8 on 47.8 percent shooting from the field. And if it weren't for an injury in the Eastern Conference Finals, he could have helped lead the Heat to back-to-back titles (Miami won the Finals a year later in 2006).
LeBron James saw a similar increase in numbers during his sophomore year, going from 20.5/5.5/5.9 on 41.7/29.0/75.4 (field goal/three-point/free throw percentages) to 27.2/7.4/7.2 with 47.2/35.4/75.0 percentages.
If you go back even further, guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Oscar Robertson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all saw their numbers jump in at least two to three significant stat categories. And more importantly, their teams all started winning more.
Wade took his Heat team to the second round as a rookie and forced the Pistons to a Game 7 in the '05 ECF.
Bird led the Celtics to their 14th NBA title wh ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Eric Felkey
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