Kings veteran DeMar DeRozan and Blazers rookie Donovan Clingan are two names to watch in 2024-2025.

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The first Wednesday of the season is the official start of the League Pass season, when the sick get the chance to watch… well, whatever team or player they want.

There are two good games on ESPN, with the Bucks in Philadelphia (7:30 PM ET) and the Suns visit the Clippers (10pm ET). But there are also eight games on League Pass, including a big Eastern Conference matchup (Magic-Heat) in Miami and the NBA debuts of eight of the top 11 picks in the 2024 Draft.

To celebrate, we’re highlighting five players you can watch over the next six months as you activate League Pass. Yes, every player – including LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama – will have more than half of their games on League Pass.

But this list is reserved for players from the twelve teams that have twelve or fewer national TV appearances (including those on NBA TV). Those teams are Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah and Washington.

We’ll skip the five guys featured in this room a year ago and the two fourth-year players — Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green — featured in a film study last month.

1. The ceiling raiser: Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Johnson is the kind of forward — 6-foot-1, tall, athletic and versatile — that any team would love to have. Now it’s just a question of how much of his potential he fulfills.

In his third season, Johnson saw big jumps in both minutes per game and usage rate. And he thrived with more responsibility, seeing a jump in efficiency with much better shooting from outside the paint.

The 22-year-old is at his best in transition, where his athleticism and body control are on full display…

With Dejounte Murray gone and Dyson Daniels replacing him in the starting lineup, the Hawks could ask Johnson to handle the ball more. That was the case in preseason, when he registered an assist/turnover ratio of 5/12, coughing up the ball both when trying to put it on the ground and when trying to thread the needle. He’s also not used to shooting off the dribble, having attempted just 108 pull-up jumpers in more than 3,000 minutes in his career.

Trae Young will still handle the ball as well as anyone in the league, but the secondary playmaker has a crucial role. Johnson’s development with the ball could determine whether Murray’s departure was an addition-by-subtraction situation.

The Hawks start the season with two very winnable games, hosting the Nets (Wednesday) and Hornets (Friday). Both games are at 7:30 PM ET on League Pass.

2. The experienced bucket-getter: DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings

DeRozan has been in the NBA for 15 seasons and we have all seen him get countless buckets for the first three franchises he was with. But his presence in Sacramento is something new, and it remains a lot of fun to see him working on his craft.

According to Second Spectrum’s tracking, Sacramento was one of two teams (Indiana was the other) that ranked in the top five in both ball movement (second) and player movement (third) last season. DeRozan averaged almost as many isolations per 100 possessions as the Kings as a team, but his Bulls ranked seventh in ball movement, so he wouldn’t need a major adjustment.

The Kings’ attack often runs through Domantas Sabonis in the high post. DeRozan gives them another guy to take over the handoff, and an open mid-range jumper is often just one dribble away…

The Kings open the season on Thursday, hosting the Timberwolves in a game (10pm ET, NBA League Pass) in which DeRozan’s mid-range skills could be a big factor. On Saturday they will visit the Lakers (10:30 PM ET, NBA TV).

3. Defensive threat: Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic

There is no player in the league who plays defense with more consistent energy than Suggs, 23, who is entering his fourth season.

If the opponent has a guard who can get buckets, Suggs has the assignment. He is one of the best in the league and stays ahead of his man, but also has the combination of great anticipation and pushy hands…

Of course, Suggs has been representative of the Magic as a whole over the past few seasons: much better on defense than on offense. Last season he shot just 27-of-80 (33.8%) on pull-up 2-pointers, the fourth-worst mark among 127 players with at least 75 attempts.

But he has come a long way as a three-point shooter, connecting on 39.7% of his attempts last season (up from 32.7% in 2022-23 and just 21.4% as a rookie). Suggs is the nominal starting point guard, but he can’t handle the ball as well as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Instead, he will have to primarily knock down shots off the catch.

The Magic start the season with a good test and visit the Heat on Wednesday (7:30 PM ET, NBA League Pass).

4. Sophomore breakout?: Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets

If nothing else, the Charlotte Hornets have the biggest starting backcourt in the league, two extremely talented 6-foot-1 top-three players who are 23 and 21 years old. LaMelo Ball is already one of the league’s best passers, while Brandon Miller, at 21, is one of the best young shooters.

Miller, who finished third in last season’s Kia Rookie of the Year voting, was just the fourth rookie in 45 seasons from the 3-point line to shoot 37% or better on at least 400 3-point attempts.

He has a stroke that looks smooth and easy, even when shooting from well beyond the arc.

Miller’s next step is to develop his off-the-dribble game and use his size to get to the basket more often. He shot a solid 47.1% (a tick better than DeRozan) on pull-up 2-pointers last season and looks comfortable shooting pull-up 3-pointers.

But he shot just 50.2% in the paint, with those paint shots making up just 37% of his total field goal attempts. Those numbers were both much lower in the preseason, although he showed glimpses of his finishing potential with a nasty dunk on Myles Turner.

Miller certainly has the size to be a multi-level scorer and get to the free throw line more often. That he’s such a great shooter at 21 years old is an indication that he’s willing to put in the effort, and the fruits of that work should be a big part of the Hornets’ offense going forward.

Miller and the Hornets start the season on the road, visiting the Rockets on Wednesday (8:00 PM ET) and the Hawks on Friday (7:30 PM), with both games on League Pass.

5. Rookie with intrigue: Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have a plethora of playable centers. Deandre Ayton is their starter, Robert Williams may be available soon after playing just six games last season and Duop Reath has been surprisingly useful in Williams’ absence. But it may not be long before the Blazers clear the way for No. 7 pick Donovan Clingan.

Clingan is huge: 7-foot-2 and 280 pounds. He used that size (along with a clear desire to dominate the glass) to block 3.5 shots per 36 minutes and rank second in rebounding percentage (24%) among the 322 players who averaged at least 15 in the preseason minutes in two or more games.

But while Clingan provided just six assists in his 82 preseason minutes, those assists weren’t simple transfers or obvious passes. He has vision…

The Blazers won’t be running their offense through Clingan anytime soon, but he’s a player who dominates the glass, protects the rim, shoots a bit from the rim and is a willing (and capable) passer. That’s an intriguing project.

The Blazers’ first eight games are all against teams with winning records last season. The first is Wednesday against the Warriors (10pm ET, NBA League Pass).

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John Schuhmann is a senior statistical analyst for NBA.com. You can email him here, his archive can be found here and follow him on X.

The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.