David Thorpe points out that a freakish percentage of the world's productive players were once maligned. (3:48)
A handful of NBA teams already are celebrating the arrival of an unexpected gift this holiday season: players on the roster who've performed far above all reasonable expectations in the early going.
Some are guys who've finally "made the leap" from good to great. Others are in the midst of an unexpectedly strong comeback. And then there are the (formerly) bad players now finding ways to make surprisingly positive contributions.
Let's look at the particularly pleasant surprises so far this season.