3 Portland Trail Blazers who could break out in 2022

While the Portland Trail Blazers had a very unsuccessful pre-season, the team actually has plenty of potential, with Damian Lillard leading a young, athletic group that on paper, could be better than any team he’s had over the past few years. While there’s veterans like Jusif Nurkic and Jerami Grant, this team is going to rely very heavily on their young players, who will be the deciding factor between this being a team with a shot at Victor Wenbanyama, or a genuine playoff team.

While ‘breaking out’ certainly means different things for different players, the Blazers have plenty of young names that are seemingly going underrated or undervalued by the rest of the league, and if Dame is committed to succeeding in Portland, they’ll need to help him put this young, talented team on the map.

Some breakout players could go from solid starters to All-Star level, while for others, it means simply making a name for yourself and contributing to a winning team in 2022, but either way, here are three players on the Portland Trail Blazers squad that could break out this season.

3. Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II bounced around for quite some time before landing with the Golden State Warriors, and while his role for that team was a defensive specialist that could sometimes put the ball in the hoop, his role in the Blazers system in 2022 is likely to be vastly different. In 17 MPG, Payton averaged 7.1 PPG while playing stellar defence, and while he’s likely to come off the bench still, he will be given a much more advanced role, and if the shooting can stay consistent alongside rookie Shaedon Sharpe, we could be looking at an easy 14-15 PPG scorer in 2022.

The defence however is what will set him apart, and while it’s very unlikely that we see him competing for an All-Star spot, the defence could make him a key component to this bench unit, and will make him invaluable for a playoff push in 2022.

Many will argue that Payton has his breakout year in 2021 with the Warriors, improving on his previous career high in PPG of 3.9 PPG, but that was on a team that’s established itself as a unit and a dynasty, now, his role will be bigger on a team that is looking to establish themselves as just that. A breakout year won’t be a leap to superstardom, but if Payton plays great defence and can give this team a tough leader off the bench who can improve his scoring to over 10 PPG, he’ll have broken out as a key member of the Portland Trail Blazers.