How difficult is it to go from a substitute to a superstar? Only 5 people in the NBA have done it, and Yang Hansen is expected to achieve it.

For Yang Hansen, he will mainly be a substitute in the Trail Blazers in the new season, which is also an experience he must have in the league. But this does not mean that Xiao Yang will not become a starter or even a superstar in the future. In the history of the NBA, there are 5 players who can become superstars from the bench. Some players are even second-round picks. Xiao Yang can learn from their growth path. Let us take a look at who they are!

Five: McGrady

McGrady also played as a substitute for a period of time in the early days of his career with the Raptors, because he was only a high school draft player at the time, and it was only two or three years before high school players could participate in the draft. Therefore, the team management often did not trust them, so McGrady began to play as a substitute. At the beginning of his career, he seized the opportunity to express himself in the limited time. Although the highest scoring average in the first two seasons was only 9.3 points per game, he could always stand up and score at critical moments and was the key player of the team.

Beginning in the third season of his career, McGrady's scoring average jumped to 15.4 points per game, and he gradually became one of the core members of the Raptors. However, the Raptors still wanted to use Carter as the absolute core, so McGrady later went to the Magic. In the Magic's first season, he averaged 26.8 points per game and immediately became the league's top star. In 2003 and 2004, McGrady won the scoring title twice in a row, making him the most explosive player among the four shooting guards at the time. Even when he later came to the Rockets, McGrady still had the feat of 35 seconds and 13 minutes. Although McGrady has not won a championship in his entire career, he is a real superstar, and he still played as a substitute, which can be said to be very rare.

Four: Harden

Harden can be said to be a typical player who rose from the bench to become a superstar. When he first entered the league, the Thunder defined him as a Ginobili-style player, so they asked him to concentrate on starting as a sixth man. Harden can also be said to have completed this task perfectly. In the 11-12 season, he averaged 16.8 points per game and then won the honor of the Best Sixth Man. The Thunder also reached the Finals that year. Although they lost to the Heat in the end, no one doubted that the Thunder would be competitive for a long time in the future. It's a pity that the Thunder management did not give Harden a satisfactory contract and then allowed Harden to go to the Rockets.

We all know the story of the Rockets. Harden received most of the honors in his career with the Rockets. He entered the first team many times, won the MVP once, and won the scoring title three times. In those years, the Rockets were the biggest opponent of the universe. Even though Harden is 36 years old now, he is still the best point guard in the league, and he is also a well-deserved superstar.

3: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Although Giannis Antetokounmpo is the hottest super giant now, he also played as a substitute in the early stages of his career. At that time, he was only the 15th overall pick, and his skills were very rough and his body was not strong, so it was natural for him to be a substitute. However, Antetokounmpo works very hard both on and off the court. Within a few seasons, he has grown a lot and has the foundation to attack the inside. Moreover, his physical talent is not bad. Therefore, under Kidd's training, Antetokounmpo has slowly begun to harvest honors.

He first won the Most Improved Player Award, and then won the MVP trophy twice in a row in 19 and 20, becoming one of the few active players to win consecutive MVP awards. In fact, Antetokounmpo not only won the MVP in 2020, but also won the DPOY award. There are few superstars in the NBA who can combine offense and defense like him. Then in 21, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the long-awaited championship. Antetokounmpo has entered the first team seven times in a row in the past seven years. There are really not many superstars in the league who have come off the bench like this.

Two: Jokic

In the early days of Jokic's career, he served as a substitute for Nurkic for a period of time, but gradually his talent could not be stopped. Everyone found that Jokic's personal abilities were very comprehensive, so the Nuggets corrected Jokic. Since then, Jokic has started his legendary career. In 2021 and 22, Jokic won the MVP twice in a row, and his advanced statistics led the league.

As a center player, Jokic not only has solid basic skills at the basket, but also has the ability to open up space for shooting, and even has the rare three-point shooting ability of a center. And Jokic's most important ability is to hold the ball and organize offense. The organizational center began to flourish from him. In 23 years, he also led the Nuggets to win the first championship in team history. It can be said that he is the most perfect center in the new era of NBA. Yang Hansen and Jokic's playing styles are very similar, so it is necessary for Xiao Yang to learn Jokic's game style in the early stages of his career to better adapt to the NBA.

1: Kobe

Finally, there is Kobe. Kobe was the main substitute for the Lakers at the beginning of his career. At that time, he was not the core of the Lakers' backcourt. But Kobe was very competitive, and he couldn't accept being on the bench all the time, so we often saw him practicing extra after the game. As time went by, his body got better and his skills became stronger, so Kobe naturally became the core of the Lakers' backcourt. In the three seasons from 2000 to 2002, Kobe helped the Lakers win three consecutive championships. Although he did not have FMVP, he can be said to have played the most important role in the team's breakout of the Western Conference. The so-called Western Conference decider is Kobe.

After O'Neal left the team, Kobe took up the team's banner. He won the scoring title twice in a row and even won the regular season MVP in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, Kobe led the team to the Finals three times and completed two consecutive championships. He finally won the FMVP trophy. During that period, Kobe was regarded as the top superstar in the league. Overall, Kobe is the top player among the five players on the list.