The 2024-25 NBA season is approaching its midpoint and plenty of players across the league have had ups and downs. Some players have exceeded expectations in more ways than one while others have fallen flat. It wouldn’t be surprising to see some drastic changes after the All-Star break, but we’ll focus on three players who’ve been playing underwhelming up to this point in the campaign despite playing fairly regularly.
76ers SF Paul George
Joel Embiid won’t make this list because he’s only appeared in 13 games this season, but his co-star qualifies. Nearly every potential contending team with the means was in on the Paul George sweepstakes over the offseason. The former Los Angeles Clippers two-way wing failed to lead his old team to playoff success alongside Kawhi Leonard, but was widely considered a piece that could make any team he joined better. However, the Philadelphia 76ers are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 14-19 record. George, Tyrese Maxey, and Joe Embiid have had their fair share of health issues this season, but that’s no excuse for George’s drop in quality. He’s averaging just 16.3 points while shooting 42.2% from the floor and 33.6% from deep. That’s far from the production anyone expects from a perennial All-Star who averaged over 20 points per game in his last nine seasons while being one of the league’s more efficient long-range snipers. He signed a four-year, $212 million deal with the 76ers and will have to improve in a major way to convince people that he could be the final piece Philadelphia needs to make a deep run.
Jazz SF Lauri Markkanen
Quite a few teams asked the Utah Jazz about trades for Markkanen before they signed him to a four-year, $238 million extension. The 2023 Most Improved Player hasn’t appeared to be getting better as of late for the 9-25 Jazz. His scoring average has dropped from 23.2 points to 19.3 points, his field goal percentage has dropped from 48% to 43%, and he’s shooting 35.8 from deep despite having converted more than 39% of his long-range attempts through his first two seasons with Utah. Markkanen’s field goal and three-point percentages are nearing career lows. The Jazz are sharing the sugar with five players averaging more than 15.0 points per game, but that approach isn’t leading to team success or individual success for Markkanen. His drop is flying under the radar as the front man for a team nobody expects to do much anytime soon.
Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton has steadily been climbing the NBA’s point guard hierarchy since joining the Indiana Pacers via trade but has fallen by the wayside this year after helping power his team to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2023-24. Last year’s assists leader is averaging less than 20.0 points and 10.0 dimes for the first time in three seasons. His shooting percentages are down and he’s struggled with consistency. Haliburton’s counting stats are still fine. Other young floor generals have simply been more impressive so far this season. Haliburton’s strong start to 2025 could help power him to a major turnaround, though.
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