The All-Nobody Team: 5 NBA players making a name for themselves this season

Welcome to theScore's sixth annual All-Nobody Team, an exercise meant to identify a handful of NBA players who have made a name for themselves after entering the season with relative anonymity.

We're looking for players whose NBA futures were uncertain before the 2025-26 campaign tipped off, but who have since convinced me they can be Association mainstays. In prior years, this space has spotlighted or mentioned previous unknowns like Austin Reaves, Naz Reid, Isaiah Joe, Keon Ellis, Jay Huff, Neemias Queta, and Moussa Diabate, among others.

As a reminder, players drafted in 2025 and first-round picks from any year are ineligible, as are players who had already logged at least 1,000 career minutes coming into this season (which eliminated candidates like Dominick Barlow and Brandon Williams).

Cam Spencer, Grizzlies

The 53rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, Spencer has been a revelation off the bench for the rebuilding Grizzlies. The sophomore combo guard brings an impressive blend of shooting, efficient all-around scoring, and sound playmaking to the table, teasing the potential of an elite reserve (at least) on a bargain contract.

Spencer is averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 assists (with a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio) while shooting 52.1% inside the arc, 43.9% from deep, and a league-leading 93.3% from the free-throw line. The 25-year-old is also owed less than $7.9 million over the next three years, with his annual salary worth less than 2% of the yearly salary cap.

Among 90 players who've logged at least 1,000 minutes and posted a 20-plus usage rate this season, Spencer ranks fifth in points per shot attempt, according to Cleaning the Glass. Only Reaves and the All-Star trio of Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Duren are producing more per attempt.

Perhaps most impressive for an athlete of Spencer's generation is the youngster's lack of interest in social-media noise, as Spencer refuses to create an account. "I don't really see a need to have social media," he told theScore at All-Star Weekend. "We live in a world where people think their opinions matter more than they do, because they can post something online. If I want somebody's opinion, I'll probably go ask for it myself."

Daniss Jenkins, Pistons

An undrafted guard whose collegiate journey took him to four different schools, Jenkins may have finally found a basketball home in Detroit. The 24-year-old's numbers (7.9 points, 3.1 assists) don't pop off the page, but he's a smart reserve whose defense and toughness fit Detroit's culture to a tee. The East-leading Pistons also desperately need Jenkins' 3-point shooting (37.6%) and self-creation.

"The way that I play is never predicated on stats or anything like that, but I always knew the impact I could have on the team," Jenkins told theScore before a recent victory in Toronto. "I knew I impacted winning, so I was always thinking, 'Once I get my opportunity to play, (I can prove it). You're going to have hot games, and you're going to have cold games. I like the challenge of seeing how you can still impact the game. Sometimes I'll be on the floor in close games, and you'll look up, and I don't have a lot of points, but my impact on both ends of the floor is helping the team. That's what I pride myself on. I always knew that any coach, any organization would love a player like that, who doesn't need the stats, doesn't need a play (drawn up), they don't need the ball, but they can still impact winning. That was always my mentality."

Jenkins logged less than 47 minutes over five appearances in the team's first 10 games of the season, then averaged roughly 20 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and two steals in 34 minutes per game across injury-riddled Detroit's next five contests. Though his numbers have obviously dipped since then, his impact and place in head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's rotation have mostly remained steady. Jenkins' play no doubt factored into the Pistons' decision to trade former fifth overall pick Jaden Ivey earlier in February.

"When we watched (Jenkins) play in Summer League this past summer, and then in training camp, we knew we had a problem on our hands as far as the logjam of guys who could get on the court and play," Bickerstaff said. "We had so many guards. Fortunately-unfortunately, it took some injuries to get him an opportunity, and then he took advantage of it. It wasn't something like, 'Oh wow, we didn't know this.' We knew it was coming. It was just a matter of him getting the opportunity."

The Pistons initially signed Jenkins to a two-way contract in 2024, but they converted his deal to a standard contract after the trade deadline, following reports that rival teams made offers for the sophomore guard.

Collin Gillespie, Suns

It took three years for the former NCAA champion and two-time Big East Player of the Year to get his opportunity, but when he finally did, Gillespie ran with it. An undrafted point guard out of Villanova, Gillespie has emerged as a starter for a Suns team in the thick of the West playoff race.

The scrappy Suns have been one of the league's biggest surprises, and Gillespie very much embodies the team's identity. He's a tough guard who competes on both ends, shoots the hell out of the ball, makes good decisions, screens for bigger players, and generally does whatever head coach Jordan Ott asks of him.

After recording roughly five points and two assists per game over his first two NBA seasons, Gillespie has significantly improved this year, averaging 13.4 points, 4.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. He's also shooting 42% from deep on seven 3-point attempts per contest.

"I think he's caught a lot of people by surprise, but nobody in this locker room," Suns All-Star Devin Booker said last month. "He does everything out there. He's a warrior for us."

Phoenix can only hope Gillespie will continue to be that player in a Suns uniform, as the pending unrestricted free agent is due for a mammoth raise this summer. Gillespie, who originally signed a two-way contract with Phoenix in 2024 after one season in Denver, earned about $2.3 million this year. Don't be shocked if his salary is more than five times that amount next season (Using Gillespie's early Bird rights, the Suns can sign him to a four-year, $66.6-million contract).

Ryan Rollins, Bucks

No player has increased their per-game scoring more than Rollins, who surged from 6.2 points per contest last season to 17.2 this year, all while maintaining solid efficiency. A second-round pick out of Toledo in 2022, Rollins has been a rare bright spot in a tumultuous season for Milwaukee, averaging 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while starting 49 of his 54 appearances.

Rollins' slight frame (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) puts him at a defensive disadvantage, and he can look miscast as a lead guard, but the fight and the activity are there. These on-ball reps can only help Rollins' development, and he's shown a knack for getting to the rim to complement his 3-point marksmanship (42% on six 3-point attempts per contest).

Regardless of whether Rollins ultimately lives up to his lofty numbers, the 23-year-old at least looks like a genuine NBA rotation player. That's the kind of pleasant surprise the asset-starved Bucks desperately needed.

Dylan Cardwell, Kings

An undrafted center out of Auburn, Cardwell has provided much-needed entertainment for Kings fans since breaking into Sacramento's rotation in December.

Cardwell's enthusiasm is both inspiring and hilarious, as the big man has no qualms about celebrating loud plays - like thunderous dunks and impressive blocks - even when the Kings trail by insurmountable amounts. Some might mock such celebrations from the losing team, but give Cardwell a break. He worked his way to the NBA after going undrafted, plays for the league's worst club, and genuinely works hard on both ends of the court (even if he doesn't always work smart on the defensive end, where he's too jumpy and foul-prone).

Cardwell is averaging 5.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 21 minutes per game. The 24-year-old ranks seventh in offensive rebound rate and 15th in total rebound rate among 307 players who've logged 600 minutes this season. His block rate is also in the 96th percentile, according to Cleaning The Glass.

The Kings clearly see more than just an over-exuberant youngster, as the team converted Cardwell's two-way contract to a standard deal earlier this month. After making roughly $871,000 in 2025-26, Cardwell will earn a fully guaranteed $2.2 million next season, followed by a non-guaranteed $2.5 million in 2027-28 and a $2.7-million team option in 2028-29.

Honorable mentions: Ryan Nembhard (Mavericks), Spencer Jones (Nuggets), Jordan Walsh (Celtics), Pat Spencer (Warriors), Jamaree Bouyea (Suns)

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.