(Mitchell Northam - Hornet Maven / Sports Illustrated)
Devonte' Graham is good and fun. Let's watch him torch the Nets.
Devonte' Graham went up to Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday night, walked into the Barclays Center, reached in his bag, grabbed a big ol' stick, and beat the Brooklyn Nets senseless with it.
The second-year guard out of Kansas was absolutely unstoppable. In 37 minutes of play, Graham scored a career-high 40 points on 12-of-21 shooting, while also tallying five rebounds and five assists. Graham shot 7-of-12 from three-point range and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Oh, and the Hornets won, 113-108, to improve to 11-16 on the season.
"Ah, man, just my teammates, my coaching staff — they just believe in me so much, tell me to keep going out, shooting the ball," Graham said after the game. "Marv (Williams) and Nico (Batum), before I hit those two shots they told me, 'Go get the ball, man. Ball got to be in your hands. You got to make a play.' So, that's what I did and they just put that confidence in me to go out there and do it."
Graham scored inside and out, off the dribble and off the catch, from behind the arc and from the charity stripe. The Nets simply did not have an answer for him and the 6-foot-2 firecracker willed the Hornets to a victory.
After making his first four three-pointers tonight, Graham joined James Harden and Kyle Lowry as the only players in NBA history to have 100+ three's and 200+ assists in a team’s first 30 games of a single season. Considering where Graham was a year ago — fighting for minutes and spending time in the G-League — that's pretty wild.
Here's several examples of Graham doing whatever he wanted against the Nets...
And here's what people are saying about Graham after that incredible performance...
What Graham is doing is unexpected, ridiculous and remarkable. He was a second-round pick and last year, he spent 13 games in the G-League. This season, he's one of the NBA's best passers and shooters, and he's a big reason why the Hornets have won the games they have.
In total assists this season, Graham only trails LeBron James and Luka Doncic (you may have heard of them). In three-pointers made, he only trails James Harden (you may have heard of him, too).
Fire up the all-star and most improved player campaigns. Graham is a candidate for both. And you just might be hearing more from him.
