"I learned a tremendous amount about NBA basketball during my time closely covering the Raptors 905. Perhaps the most educational season was 2017-18, when Lorenzo Brown won G-League MVP. I was convinced at the time that Brown was an NBA-quality player. And perhaps he was, but it never really stuck. His final chance in the league was the following season, when he averaged 8 minutes a game in just 26 games for the championship Raptors."
"There just wasn't a need in the NBA for a solid half-court shot on every possession. Brown wasn't enough of an efficient scorer himself, or a creator for others, to generate the high-octane offence that the NBA requires. He couldn't space the floor for others, at least not to the extent teams want from a point guard. So for all his abilities, he never stuck in the NBA. Much of that was style and talent, but much is also due to opportunity."
"AJ Lawson has spent much of his career to this point floating in the same space. He has consistently dominated the G League, averaging between 18 and 22 points a game for the 905, always at an elite efficiency (effective field goal percentage generally between 57 and 58 despite a somewhat-abysmal free-throw percentage). Yet he never got his chance in the Big League; that is, until last season, when he finally broke out for the Raptors."
Lorenzo Brown won 2017-18 G-League MVP and displayed strong defensive instincts, half-court creation, and floor-general skills but failed to secure a lasting NBA role. Brown's limitations in efficient scoring, playmaking for others, and spacing reduced his fit in NBA systems despite his strengths. The term AAAA describes players too dominant for the G League but short of consistent NBA impact. AJ Lawson similarly dominated the G League with 18–22 points per game and elite effective field-goal rates near 57–58 percent despite poor free-throw shooting. Lawson finally earned meaningful NBA minutes last season after years of limited opportunity.
Read at Raptors Republic
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