We’ve seen MVP candidates, breakout stars, surprising role players, and top performers. However, we’re already witnessing a flock of the outliers of the NBA: 6 promising stars in the past years who have shown to have declined or regressed their level of play recently. From promising rookies to former All-stars, this list shows just how quickly a solid basketball player’s trajectory can change in an instant.
Bub Carrington (Washington Wizards)
It’s not unusual for NBA players to slow down in their second year, hence why they call it the “sophomore slump”. One sophomore with incredible talent seems to be in that category already—the Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington.
Although Carrington was a late lottery pick, he was a promising guard and was able to slide into the All-Rookie second team. He also put up decent averages as a rookie. He was set to ascend in his second season; instead, Carrington’s production dropped significantly in the 2025-2026 campaign. Right now, he already holds the lowest plus/minus in the league at -228 and is only averaging six points in 25 minutes of play as a sophomore in a team that has two aging scorers (Middleton and McCollum). Carrington was averaging almost double digits in scoring the year before, but he seems to be regressing immediately after a good start
2024-2025 Stats: 9.8 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.2 RPG, 30 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 6.5 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.6 APG, 25 MPG
Jeremy Sochan (San Antonio Spurs)
It’s going to be a sad reality for Spurs fans when the organization finally realizes that they’re ultimately going to have to trade Jeremy Sochan. Although he’s a beloved figure in the franchise with his interesting personality and unique skill set, Sochan is eventually going to be dealt somewhere for mainly two reasons: First, Sochan may be a good defensive asset, but he is an offensive liability for a young Spurs team; Second, the 22-year-old forward is not fitting anymore in head coach Mitch Johnson’s system.
His minutes have also significantly decreased, especially with San Antonio now having a surplus of talented guards and wings, which highlighted how he’s slowly declining in his position. Despite that, Sochan is a versatile forward, and if given the right amount of playing time, he’s likely going to flourish again.
2024-2025 Stats: 11.4 PPG, 2.4 APG, 6.5 RPG, 25 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 6.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, 3.2 RPG, 16.5 MPG
Ivica Zubac (Los Angeles Clippers)
Last season, Ivica Zubac broke out as possibly a top 5 center in the NBA. The Croatian big man helped the Los Angeles Clippers reach the playoffs despite Kawhi Leonard’s recurring injuries and Paul George’s departure the summer before. It looked like he was on the path of reaching greater heights. However, the Clippers’ front office made some moves that would subconsciously alter his improvement.
The box score says Zubac is still giving the usual double-double numbers he was giving last season. However, with Brook Lopez’s addition, Zubac is in an entirely new role. He’s not getting touches, and he’s not as dominant in rebounding anymore, despite playing the exact same playing time as last year. NBA analyst and fantasy basketball expert Josh Lloyd predicted that Zubac wouldn’t be as valuable because of many reasons, which has been spot on since the beginning of the 2025-2026 season.
In all fairness, this Clippers team is a mess. They’re now 14th in the West (5-15), even though Kawhi Leonard is back and James Harden is putting up great numbers on a nightly basis.
2024-2025 Stats: 16.8 PPG, 2.7 APG, 12.6 RPG, 32.8 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 16.4 PPG, 2.7 APG, 11.5 RPG, 32.5 MPG
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Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)
Two years ago, Jaren Jackson Jr. was a promising young big man after becoming the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year at just 23 years old. Since then, JJJ seems to be falling off in a downward spiral along with the whole Memphis Grizzlies.
Last year, JJJ was even an All-Star reserve. This season, the once promising power forward is slowly regressing into an overrated and overpaid scoring big. For a 6-foot-10 DPoY, one would imagine he’s crashing the boards and grabbing at least 8 rebounds. However, that’s not even close as once again, he’s only averaging 5.1 rebounds per game this season, the lowest he has had since his sophomore year. Moreover, he’s not cracking more than 20 points anymore, which is odd since he’s clearly the Grizzlies’ best player if Ja Morant is out.
2024-2025 Stats: 22.2 PPG, 2 APG, 5.6 RPG, 29.8 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 18.6 PPG, 1.7 APG, 5.1 RPG, 29.4 MPG
Cam Johnson (Denver Nuggets)
Last season, Cam Johnson was having a blast and averaged a career-high 18 PPG. It was expected since he had the green light in Brooklyn. However, analysts expect that his production will dramatically decline after being traded to the Denver Nuggets since he’ll be sliding into a supplementary role behind Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon.
However, Nuggets fans didn’t see how far Johnson would regress this season. He’s not as good a shooter as they expect him to be, but surprisingly, he still chimes in ten points a game. The good thing here is, Denver got rid of Michael Porter Jr.’s massive contract and got someone who might be slightly worse than him in terms of scoring and defense, but can fit better with the system in the long run. He might have a low impact for now, but Cam Johnson might turn out to be a winning trade for Denver.
2024-2025 Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.4 APG, 4.3 RPG, 31.6 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 11.2 PPG, 2.2 APG, 3.4 RPG, 28.7
Derrick Lively II (Dallas Mavericks)
As a big man who’s always on the injury block and playing without a facilitator on the team like Luka Doncic, Derrick Lively II is looking more of a bust than a reliable rebuilding piece for the Dallas Mavericks alongside Cooper Flagg.
Without a good point guard, D-Live isn’t as optimal because he used to be a lob threat with Doncic on the floor. Although he reportedly grew taller, his health does not match his intensity as a defensive anchor. To add, Lively II is a nightmare in spacing and hasn’t added anything yet to his offensive arsenal aside from dunking the ball from five feet away from the rim.
Lively II is in a totally different system now, and his time in Dallas may come to an end if he can’t stay healthy and his numbers continue to dwindle.
2024-2025 Stats: 8.7 PPG, 2.4 APG, 7.5 RPG, 23 MPG
2025-2026 Stats: 4.3 PPG, 1.9 APG, 5.3 RPG, 16 MPG
