Lakers player season grades: Talen Horton-Tucker
After getting some spot duty and showing potential in the Walt Disney World Resort bubble as a rookie in 2020, Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker became a part of then-head coach Frank Vogel’s rotation last season.
After averaging 9.0 points and 2.8 assists in 20.1 minutes per game while shooting a solid 45.8% from the field, it appeared he had the potential to eventually become a very good player.
The Lakers signed him to a three-year contract worth about $30 million last offseason, and great things were expected of him this year.
Perhaps Horton-Tucker didn’t quite measure up, but he still has the potential to become the player fans envisioned a year or two ago.
Horton-Tucker didn't quite meet expectations
The 6-foot-4, 234-pound wing was expected to take another step forward this season.
Instead, he seemingly took at least half a step back.
Horton-Tucker finished the 2021-22 season averaging 10.0 points in 25.2 minutes a game. At first glance, that may seem fine, as he averaged 9.0 points per game last season.
But per 36 minutes, his average dropped from 16.2 last year to 14.2 this year, while his assists also decreased from 5.0 to 3.8.
He is a player who caught people’s eyes with his uncanny ability to snake his way to the rim and convert layups with either hand, even when bothered by defenders.
In the 2020-21 campaign, he shot 63.9% from three feet and in, but this season, that mark dipped to 61.9%.
His 3-point shooting percentage, which was an area he needed to really improve upon, went from 28.2% last year to 26.9% this year.
Even his mid-range game became less efficient. In 2021, he made 48.6% of his shots between 10 and 16 feet away from the basket, which is solid.
But this year, he only converted 38.9% of such shots.
With a wingspan of about 7 feet, Horton-Tucker has the ability, many believe, to become a lockdown defender. But he hasn’t really moved in that direction, and his steals per 36 minutes sagged from 1.7 last year to 1.4 this year.
His defensive rating grew significantly worse, from 107 in 2021 to 114 in 2022.
However, one stat that vouches for Horton-Tucker is net rating. When he was on the floor this season, the Lakers had a net rating of minus-2.2, versus their overall net rating of minus-2.9 as a team.
When Horton-Tucker wasn’t out there, the team’s net rating went down to minus-3.0, meaning that, at least according to this stat, the Lakers performed better with him than without.
Some things to keep in mind about Horton-Tucker
As a rookie in 2020, Horton-Tucker, who was the 46th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, barely played. He didn’t appear in a single game for more than three minutes until the bubble, where he gained meaningful playing time in the Lakers’ four final “seeding” games prior to the playoffs.
Once there, he was on the court for two contests for a total of about 16 minutes.
That means that, in terms of NBA experience, the 2020-21 season was, for all intents and purposes, Horton-Tucker’s rookie year, making this season his second real season as a pro.
Plenty of players who are late-bloomers or simply take some time to emerge have that proverbial sophomore slump, during which rival teams now have video to use to scout that player, and the slump happens because he simply hasn’t put in enough work yet to have some polished counters to whatever defenses throw at him.
This will be a very important offseason for Horton-Tucker. If he improves his 3-point shot, as well as his midrange game (he has shown flashes of a nice step-back J from that distance), he can still become the best version of himself.
After all, he finished the season on a positive note, scoring in double figures in five of the Lakers’ last seven contests, including a 40-point nova about a week ago against the Golden State Warriors.
Overall grade
The fact that Horton-Tucker saw a dip in several of his key numbers means we have to give him a grade that isn’t too flattering.
But fans should not let that color their overall opinion of him.
With another strong offseason of working hard and working smart, Horton-Tucker can play a key role in the Lakers becoming a championship contender again starting this fall.
Final grade: C-plus
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