Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
Good news: New Orleans has won four of its last five.
Bad news: they’re still 8-23 this season.
Trey Murphy III, personally, is having another solid year – 20.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, 36.6 percent from three.
TM3 averaged 21.2 ppg last season on 45.4 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent shooting from three – so, pretty consistent, in terms of high-level play.
Last season, the Pelicans finished with a 21-61 record.
Former top overall pick Zion Williamson was only on the court for 30 games last season, and he’s played in 10 this season.
De’Andre Hunter, Cleveland Cavaliers
De’Andre Hunter, coming off a career-high 17.0 points per game in 2024-2025, is averaging 15.3 points per game this season for Cleveland, which was 64-18 last year, but is off to a 17-14 start in 2025-2026.
Hunter’s shooting numbers are trailing off his 2024-2025 and career numbers – he’s 43.4 percent from the floor (last season: 47.0%; career: 45.0%) and 31.1 percent from three (last season: 40.5%; career: 36.8%).
Positive: he’s played in 27 of Cleveland’s 31 games.
Durability has been an issue: Hunter has never played in more than 67 games in a full NBA season.
Jay Huff, Indiana Pacers
Jay Huff leads the NBA in blocked shots, by a lot – he’s the only guy averaging more than two per game (2.4).
Huff, playing for UVA Basketball alum Rick Carlisle, is averaging 19.6 minutes per g, with nine starts – and is putting up 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 29.7 percent from three.
Heading into our last update, two weeks back, Huff had been on a tight 11-game stretch dating back to a 20-point outing in a 127-118 win over Charlotte on Nov. 19 in which he’d averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game, on 48.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent from three.
Since that report, Huff has averaged 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from three.
Indiana, taking a gap year, with star Tyrese Haliburton out for the season with an Achilles injury, is 6-24 this season.
Ryan Dunn, Phoenix Suns
Ryan Dunn is having a nice sophomore season out in the Valley of the Sun, averaging 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 29.5 percent from three.
He’s getting more run this season – 22.8 minutes per game; last season, he averaged 19.1 minutes per game.
Phoenix is off to a surprisingly good 16-13 start after shedding the contracts of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the offseason.
Sam Hauser, Boston Celtics
Sam Hauser’s numbers are down across the board this season – he’s averaging 6.9 points per game on 35.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent from three; for reference, last season, Hauser was at 8.5 points per game, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 41.6 percent from three.
He was above 44 percent from the field and 41 percent from three in each of his first four NBA seasons.
Hauser is getting the second most minutes of his career to date – 21.9 per game.
Boston is playing surprisingly well in what should be a gap year, with franchise player Jayson Tatum out with an Achilles injury – the Cs are 18-11 and in third in the Eastern Conference.
Anthony Gill
Anthony Gill is basically a coach in a uniform on the end of the bench with the Washington Wizards, a guy the Wiz keep on the payroll because he’s a great locker-room guy.
He’s averaging 3.3 minutes per game this season; career: 9.2 minutes per game.
I would think he would get more minutes, considering how much garbage time the Wizards have to get through (the Wiz are an NBA-worst 5-23 at this writing).
Ty Jerome
Ty Jerome, coming off a career year in Cleveland, signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason, and promptly went on the injury list after suffering a high-grade right-calf strain in a preseason game in October.
The latest on Jerome: maybe a return in mid-January?
This is where we feel bad for Ty, who just can’t seem to land a break.
Kyle Guy, Noblesville Boom (Indiana Pacers)
Kyle Guy retired in 2024, spent a year on the UVA Basketball coaching staff, left after Ryan Odom decided against retaining him, landing at Nevada, on the staff of Steve Alford, then decided to give his playing career one more shot, landing a gig with the Indiana Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom.
It shouldn’t be long before Guy gets a call-up: he’s averaging 21.3 points and 6.4 assists per game, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three.
It continues to mystify me why Kyle Guy can’t get a full-time job in the NBA.
Reece Beekman, Osceola Magic (Orlando Magic)
Reece Beekman is in the G League after getting 13.0 minutes per game in 36 games with Golden State and Brooklyn as a rookie in 2024-2025.
Beekman is averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 assists per game with Osceola.
Shooting numbers: 38.3 percent from the floor, 22.2 percent from three.
I don’t know that those numbers get you a call.
Jordan Minor, Memphis Hustle (Memphis Grizzlies)
Jordan Minor, loved this guy, all effort – he’s in Year 2 in the G League, this season with Memphis, after spending his rookie season with the Long Island Nets.
This season, Minor is averaging 7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Hustle, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.
He should look at jobs overseas next season – more money there than in the G League.
Overseas
- Justin Anderson (Barca, Spanish ACB): 6.3 ppg, 54.8% FG, 44.2% 3FG
- Marco Anthony (Newcastle, Super League): 12.3 ppg, 8.3 rebounds/g, 48.1% FG, 20.0% 3FG
- Darion Atkins (Ironi Ramat Gan, Israeli BSL): 8.0 ppg, 6.6 rebounds/g, 45.9% FG, 35.7% 3FG
- Francisco Caffaro (Boca Juniors, Argentinian Liga A): 16.4 ppg, 9.8 rebounds/g, 60.1% FG
- Kihei Clark (Kortrijk Spurs, BNXT League): 5.3 ppg, 2.3 assists/g, 25.0% FG, 7.7% 3FG
- Mamadi Diakite (Baskonia, Spanish ACB): 6.6 ppg, 3.3 rebounds/g, 59.1% FG, 32.3% 3FG
- Armaan Franklin (CSP Limoges, French Jeep Elite): 10.1 ppg, 46.4% FG, 37.5% 3FG
- Jake Groves (Basket Brno, Czech NBL): 14.7 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/g, 50.4% FG, 36.7% 3FG
- Devon Hall (Fenerbahce Beko, Turkish BSL): 9.7 ppg, 3.1 rebounds/g, 43.3% FG, 27.7% 3FG
- Braxton Key (Valencia Basket, Spanish ACB): 3.9 ppg, 3.5 rebounds/g, 48.4% FG, 50.0% 3FG
- Sylven Landesberg (BK Klosterneuberg, Austrian A Bundesliga): 22.2 ppg, 4.3 rebounds/g, 44.7% FG, 37.0% 3FG
- Justin McKoy (MoraBanc Andorra, Spanish ACB): 5.6 ppg, 2.8 rebounds/g, 30.9% FG, 32.4% 3FG
- Jerome Meyinsse (Quimsa, Argentinian Liga A): 12.1 ppg, 4.5 rebounds/g, 54.2% FG, 376.0% 3FG
- Lars Mikalauskas (Palangos Kursiai, Lithuanian NKL): 8.0 ppg, 4.6 rebounds/g, 49.0% FG
- Akil Mitchell (Nagasaki Velca, Japanese B League): 10.2 ppg, 7.7 rebounds/g, 3.3 assists/g, 54.7% FG, 38.5% 3FG
- Taine Murray (Brisbane, Australian NBL): 5.4 ppg, 43.0% FG, 33.3% 3FG
- London Perrantes (Maroussi BC, Greek HEBA A1): 6.9 ppg, 5.1 assists/g, 41.5% FG, 39.1% 3FG
- Kadin Shedrick (Hapoel HaEmek, Israeli BSL): 9.9 ppg, 5.3 rebounds/g, 62.9% FG
- Kody Stattmann (Cairns, Australian NBL): 6.8 ppg, 44.1% FG, 43.8% 3FG)
- Mike Tobey (Dreamland Gran Canaria, Spanish ACB): 9.9 ppg, 5.5 rebounds/g, 49.6% FG, 32.4% 3FG)
- Ben Vander Plas (Dziki Warszawa, Polish OBL): 9.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/g, 46.1% FG, 28.6% 3FG
- Tomas Woldetensae (Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia, Italian Lega Basket Serie A): 5.1 ppg, 43.0% FG, 41.4% 3FG
*Stats through Dec. 24, 2025
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Chris Graham
