Philadelphia 76ers: Will Nik Stauskas Step up this Year?

By Chuck Booth | Sep 30, 2016

Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) and guard Nik Stauskas (11) during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Entering his third year in the NBA, can Nik Stauskas live up to his potential for the Philadelphia 76ers?

This season will be a telling one for the Philadelphia 76ers guard. Stauskas was an absolute stud for Michigan in college which led to him initially being drafted by the Sacramento Kings. In his sophomore year at Michigan, Stauskas was named as the Big 10 player of the year on the heels of a season during which he averaged 17.5 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists per game. This was while shooting a .470 clip from the field and a .442 clip from three-point land.

This was when Stauskas had to step in to replace the production of Trey Burke for the Wolverines. This led to the Kings drafting Sauce eighth overall which while it may have been a slight reach was about right for someone with his leadership skills and versatility.

However, Stauskas never got a real shot with the Kings only starting one game during his rookie year. His shooting percentages slipped with him hitting .365 overall and .322 from three. The three point percentage is about where he should be but the overall field goal percentage should be much higher for Stauskas. But, there’s only so much that he could do when he was getting 15.4 minutes per game.

Enter, Philadelphia 76ers from stage left. In July 2015 the two teams made a swap that would change the fortunes of both.

The Kings made this trade because they were in full salary dump mode to clear space for Rajon Rondo. Little did they know that he would only spend one year in Sacramento.

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While the Sixers made out like bandits here, our focus is on Stauskas. Last season he saw his minutes per game increase to 24.8 as he was able to get a little more comfortable in Brett Brown’s offense. The increase in minutes also saw his field goal percentages jump to .385 overall and .326 from three. While that’s better than his rookie year, it’s still not good enough to be a major rotational piece on a competitive team especially one with as much depth as the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the additions of Sergio Rodriguez and Dario Saric to the bench, Stauskas will be forced to compete with Hollis Thompson for minutes. If he can show enough there he may be able to carve out a larger role for himself as the season progresses. In a report from Keith Pompey Stauskas said,

"“I have a confidence that I know I belong here now,” he said. “The first two years, there’s so many times that I’m trying to fit in. I go to bed at night and I wonder, do I really belong here? Like, is this where I was meant to be? I think this is the first time in my NBA career where I said I know I belong here.”"

He feels that he has finally arrived in the NBA and with a large part of the game being mental that can make a huge difference for a young guy in the league. So far the newfound confidence is showing with Stauskas impressing early in training camp. But there is a large difference between looking good in scrimmages and looking good in true game-time action.

Next: Key Takeaways from Training Camp Day 1

The 2016-17 season will be a telling on for Stauskas. He will need to improve his shot while also clogging passing lanes on defense for the Philadelphia 76ers. If he can succeed, Stauskas can become part of the building blocks for the future of the Sixers but if he fails he could be lost in roster limbo searching for a team willing to take a chance on him in 2018.