Nikola Jokic. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Luka Doncic. Stephen Curry. Joel Embiid, definitely. Kevin Durant, too. It’s a short list, that of the players you have to develop individual game plans for on top of the scheme you develop for their team as a whole. Some players sporadically threaten to appear on this watchlist but fail to remain due to injuries or team-related circumstances — Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Karl-Anthony Towns come to mind; LeBron James owned the list for the better part of 17 years — but for the most part, it’s exclusive.
Every so often, though, a player has a season that vaults them directly into this category, the kind of campaign that is so undeniably special that begs inclusion behind its weight alone.