Bojan Bogdanovic is the Future and the Future is Now

People had their doubts about Bojan Bogdanovic and it was rumored that he might never come to the NBA. After a long and egregious wait the Nets finally reeled in Bogdanovic this offseason and signed him to a contract worth 3 years and $10 Million. Bogdanovic impressed head coach Lionel Hollins enough to entice Hollins to give Bogdanovic a chance to be a starter right away. Bogdanovic struggled during the preseason and early on in the season but lately he has found his rhythm and has shown everybody why he’s starting.

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Hollins has a reputation for not giving rookies too much playing time and for him to have the confidence to start Bogdanovic shows just how special Bogdanovic truly is capable of being. Through the Nets first eight games of the season, Bogdanovic is averaging 10.4 points per game which is good enough to have him second in the NBA in rookie scoring. Bogdanovic is only getting better and the 25 year old has experience playing professionally and internationally so he is more composed and experienced than most other rookies.

Overseas, Bogdanovic was known as ‘Big Shot Bojan’ and so far this season quietly he has drained some big time shots. Below is the highlights of his best game in the NBA so far and Bogdanovic shows his ability to not only spot up and hit jumpers, but also he shows his ability post up and put the ball on the floor. Bogdanovic even showed off his clutch gene by hitting a big time three late in the game to put the Nets back in the lead.

Bogdanovic being second in rookie scoring is impressive enough, but what makes it even more impressive is that he’s doing it while not taking many shot attempts. Six, seven, ten, eight, seven, twelve, ten and eight are the amount of field goal attempts that Bogdanovic has taken per game this season. Bogdanovic has become more comfortable as the season has progressed and in response to that his minutes have steadily increased. 26, 25, 27, 23, 32, 32, 33 and 37 are Bogdanovic’s minutes per game and as you can see they have steadily increased as the season has advanced.

The Nets are on a two game losing streak and they are searching for answers. Bogdanovic is more comfortable and the Nets need to make a concerted effort at getting their rookie more touches. Also, Hollins needs to have Bogdanovic in the game in pressure moments because this kid shines when the bright lights are on him. In Thursday night’s loss to the Warriors, Bogdanovic hit a three to trim the Warriors lead to five points and just as it appeared that Bogdanovic was on the verge of heating up Hollins took him out for the remainder of the game. Hollins is still experimenting rotations and he’s still learning about his players, but he will soon learn that ‘Big Shot Bojan’ needs to be on the court when the game is close.

After trading away multiple draft picks for aging veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, most pundits believed that the Nets ruined their future for one or two years with Pierce and Garnett. Losing the draft picks hurt the Nets, but having a 25 year old player like Bogdanovic on the team in the future will certainly relieve some of the pain that the lack of draft picks will give the Nets. Bojan Bogdanovic is the future and although he is technically a rookie Bogdanovic is far beyond his years.

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