{"id":213698,"date":"2025-09-09T20:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213698\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T20:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T20:21:15","slug":"which-players-will-be-the-biggest-x-factors-of-the-2025-26-nba-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213698\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Players Will Be the Biggest X-Factors of the 2025-26 NBA Season?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every NBA champion has
\nan X-factor that helps get them over the edge. We dive into who
\ncould be those players for title contenders in the 2025-26
\nseason<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Everyone always says that the NBA is a star-driven league.<\/p>\n

And while that is true, basketball is still a team sport, and
\neven the mightiest of stars need great teammates to help reach the
\nfinish line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Take, for instance, the Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n

Of course, they wouldn\u2019t even be close to contending for an NBA
\ntitle if not for the
\ncontributions of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and
\nJalen Williams<\/a>. But even the reigning MVP and his
\nsecond-in-command would tell you that they couldn\u2019t conquer the
\nfinal frontier if not for the efforts of Alex Caruso \u2013
\none of the best role players of his generation<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who might be those players in 2025-26? We\u2019ve found six non-star
\nplayers whose performance could have a major impact on the story of
\nthe season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to limit our X-factors to players who have not made
\nan All-Star team in the last three seasons. We also won\u2019t be
\nincluding any members of the Thunder, since we already mentioned
\nCaruso and already know which dominoes need to fall in their favor
\nto repeat as champions (something
\nour model<\/a> expects them to do).<\/p>\n

Lastly, we will be focusing on teams with realistic odds of
\nmaking a deep playoff run, as those are the teams whose potential
\nx-factors mean the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2025-26 NBA X-Factors<\/strong>
\nJaden McDaniels, Minnesota
\nTimberwolves<\/strong><\/p>\n

McDaniels is the X-factor
\nof all X-factors<\/a>. Ever since the Timberwolves made McDaniels a
\nfull-time starter in 2022, he has always looked the part of a
\n3-and-D ace. However, his flashes as an off-the-dribble scorer
\n(78th percentile midrange efficiency in 2023-24) have led some to
\nsuspect that there is more to McDaniels than just being this
\ngeneration\u2019s version of Shane Battier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s NBA, it isn\u2019t enough to bank on continuity. And not
\nonly did the Timberwolves not add any marquee names in free agency,
\n
\nthey lost one in Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/a>. So
\nto avoid underperforming<\/a>, the Timberwolves will need that
\naddition to come in the form of a leap from their young core.<\/p>\n

Terrence Shannon Jr., Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark are all
\npotential candidates, but McDaniels has the highest ceiling of all
\nof them, and if he does take his game from high-level starter to
\nAll-Star, Minnesota may finally be able to advance past the
\nconference finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reed Sheppard, Houston
\nRockets<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rockets had a big offseason, but their offense still doesn\u2019t
\nmove me the way it should for a team that wants to compete for an
\nNBA title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even with Kevin Durant, the Rockets don\u2019t have enough on-ball
\ncreation to survive in the half court in a playoff series. They
\nwere 27th in the league last year in effective field-goal shooting
\non pull-ups (per NBA.com<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

That brings us to Sheppard. The Kentucky product was taken third
\noverall in the 2024 NBA Draft in part because of his ability to
\ncreate for himself and others. In his single season at Kentucky,
\nSheppard was in the 93rd percentile in off-the-dribble jumper
\nefficiency.<\/p>\n

Last season, though, Sheppard\u2019s ineffectiveness (28th percentile
\nDRIP<\/a>)
\nmade it hard for him to see the floor (654 total minutes) on a team
\nthat was focused on winning as many games as possible. The Rockets
\nhave to hope that Sheppard will be able to take a major leap in
\nYear 2 if they plan on fielding a more balanced offense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cameron Johnson, Denver
\nNuggets<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nuggets gave the Thunder everything they could handle in the
\nplayoffs. But in the end, it was their lack of depth (27th in
\npoints per game off the bench in the regular season) that did them
\nin. Outside of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and
\nChristian Braun, Denver didn\u2019t have anyone it could trust when it
\nreally mattered. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Michael Porter Jr. usually belongs in that group, but he
\nstruggled with injuries and inconsistency in the playoffs. He
\naveraged 9.1 points in the postseason after putting up 18.2 per
\ngame during the regular season.<\/p>\n

In theory, Johnson is a very similar player. He\u2019s tall, can
\nshoot, and leans more toward offense than defense.<\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t really bringing anything new to the table
\n(other than more financial flexibility), but the good news is the
\nNuggets don\u2019t need him to reinvent the wheel. They just need
\nJohnson to be the player Porter was for them before this
\npostseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mikal Bridges, New York
\nKnicks<\/strong><\/p>\n

It could\u2019ve been either Bridges or Mitchell Robinson here, but
\nBridges is the guy because of Robinson\u2019s injury concerns and the
\nKnicks being far less committed to him financially (Bridges
\ninked a new
\nextension last month<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, Robinson was great last postseason, and New York trapped
\nlightning in a bottle when they played double-big lineups featuring
\nhim and Karl-Anthony Towns. But he\u2019s only appeared in 48
\nregular-season games over the last two years, and his free-throw
\nshooting woes (career 52.2% free-throw shooter) make him easy to
\nphase out of playoff games.\u00a0Bridges, on the other hand, has
\nbeen an iron man.<\/p>\n

\"Bridges<\/p>\n

Besides, when this roster was constructed, it was always with
\nthe thought that Bridges would be one of the best role players in
\nthe sport. How do you build a championship-caliber team with your
\ntwo best players (Jalen Brunson and Towns) being questionable
\ndefenders? You surround them with a trio of versatile
\nwings\/forwards (Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby).<\/p>\n

So far, Hart and Anunoby have lived up to expectations. Bridges,
\nhowever, hasn\u2019t been the defender (outside the top 120 in defensive
\nDRIP) nor spacer (35.4% from 3 last season) we fell in love with
\nduring his time with the Phoenix Suns. Can he return to the roots
\nthat made him such a highly coveted player in the first place?<\/p>\n

The Knicks are going to need him to do so if they plan on
\nhanging up a banner during the Brunson-Towns era.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lonzo Ball, Cleveland
\nCavaliers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever since they traded for Donovan Mitchell and formed a Big 4
\nwith him, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the
\nCavaliers have had an
\nhourglass problem<\/a>. Allen and Mobley have similar strengths and
\nweaknesses, and ditto with Mitchell and Garland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cavaliers have since remedied the fit issues that persisted
\nbetween these four stars, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that
\nthey are lacking in wings\/forwards who can adequately safeguard the
\nperimeter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, Isaac Okoro was their best and brightest in this
\ncategory, but his offense was always too detrimental (minus-0.7
\noffensive DRIP) for them to profit from his point-of-attack
\nexcellence. Max Strus offers a lot more as a shooter\/spacer, but
\nhe\u2019s overtaxed as a primary stopper (outside the top 180 in
\nD-DRIP). And last season\u2019s midseason acquisition, De\u2019Andre Hunter,
\nis better equipped to guard bigger forwards than speedy
\nguards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That makes Ball, the headliner of their incoming class, the
\nperfect addition. Ball is a great perimeter defender (93rd
\npercentile in D-DRIP), and between his pace-pushing, passing, and
\nimproved jumper, he does enough on offense to warrant keeping him
\non the floor (-0.1 O-DRIP).\u00a0<\/p>\n

On paper, Ball is the perfect fit. There\u2019s only one downside:
\nBall has played in just 35 regular-season games over the last three
\nyears.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will the former second-overall pick\u2019s body hold up this year?
\nCleveland doesn\u2019t need him in the regular season, but can the team
\nmanage his load enough to keep him healthy for an entire postseason
\nrun? The fate of the season may very well rest on the answer to
\nthat question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brandin Podziemski, Golden
\nState Warriors<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the second round of the 2025 Western Conference semifinals
\ntaught us anything, it\u2019s that the Warriors are relying too much on
\nStephen Curry.<\/p>\n

Now, Curry is tied for second in O-DRIP in the entire NBA. There
\nare worse people to ask to shoulder an enormous burden. But Curry
\nis 37 years old now, and he can\u2019t carry the Warriors the way he
\nused to during his glory days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"O-DRIP<\/p>\n

The future Hall of Famer needs some help, and as we also learned
\nin that aforementioned series, his aging co-stars (Jimmy Butler and
\nDraymond Green) can\u2019t do it on their lonesome, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors need someone who can flank their stars while also
\nleveling up their scoring when one or two of them need rest. With
\nthe Jonathan Kuminga situation in dire straits, it appears that the
\nonly person capable of such a feat on this roster is
\nPodziemski.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The start of his sophomore campaign was a rocky one, but
\nPodziemski bounced back in a pretty meaningful way in January. In
\nhis final 33 games of the regular season, Podziemski averaged 15.1
\npoints, 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals on 46.6% shooting
\nfrom the floor and 41.0% shooting from downtown (on 6.1 attempts
\nper game).\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Podziemski can build on this second-half success, it would
\ngive the Warriors a viable third option behind Curry and Butler,
\nand an even greater chance of winning one more
\ntitle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more coverage,
\nfollow along on social media on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n