Nik Stauskas: His Improvement Should Not Be Ignored

Nik Stauskas has shown some vast improvement this season, and it should not be ignored by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nik Stauskas, a former lottery pick, struggled in his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. Maybe it was the misuse, maybe it was the extended 3-point line, or maybe it was just that Nik was struggling to feel comfortable on this huge stage. Whatever it was, this was not what the league, or Stauskas, had in mind for his career.

Nik was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2014 with the eighth overall pick in the NBA Draft. In two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines, Nik averaged 14.1 points, 2.3 assists, and 46.7 percent shooting, with a 44.1 percent success rate from beyond the 3-point arc.

Nik opened the season for Sacramento with a 2/7 shooting beyond the arc game. He didn’t break into double digit scoring until December 12th of that season. The only time Stauskas hit three 3-pointers in one night (his season high that year) was in his final game of the season, when he scored 14 points. There were a few streaks of Nik going four or five games without hitting a single 3-pointer, which was supposed to be one of his best attributes.

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Sacramento was fed up with Nik, and wanted to get some salary off of their shoulders. To do so, they of course contacted the Philadelphia 76ers, who were willing to help. Philly received Carl Landry and Stauskas in return for, well, basically nothing. They also got a pick swap for this year or 2017 if the Kings pick is better than the Sixers.

The hopes were high for “Sauce Castillo” despite the fact that he had just come off of an awful performance the year before. The Sixers hoped to offer Nik a system where he wasn’t as pressured to be a shooter, and a system that would naturally bring out his range.

Nik’s season didn’t start ideally for Philly, either. Up through December 22nd of this season, Nik was shooting just above 28 percent from beyond the arc, and only averaging 7.0 points per game. Nik was looking like a scared puppy in many games, afraid and unconfident in what he was supposed to be doing in the Sixers offense that consisted mostly of Jahlil Okafor dominating.

Stauskas, despite this slump, never stopped competing and trying to better himself. He was determined to be the player he was projected to be since before his draft night.

Speaking to Brian Seltzer, Stauskas talked about his game-day routine, which consists of some serious solitude in how he works. “Most days on game days, I’ll come in by myself in the morning,” Nik said.

He works alongside one of his college classmates, who is a “manager-slash-workout-guy” according to Nik. Sauce and Nick Berlage often work hours before the team is required to be at the arena for games.

Head coach Brett Brown speaks highly of Nik’s work ethic.

"I’m saying at least half the time, when I’m there, Nik is there. I either come in and he’s there, or I’m there and he comes in. He’s a gym rat. He loves basketball. And when you look at sort of the preeminent qualities of successful people, successful athletes, the passion, the love of what they do counts for something."

Throughout this season, his hard work ethic has shown, especially since the tail of December. Since December 26th, Nik has scored 8.8 points per game, shooting 39.1 percent from beyond the arc and 42.9 percent from the field.

Is his new trainer the difference with this year and last year? According to Seltzer, Berlage wasn’t with Nik last season, so it would make sense to assume that he is contributing to Stauskas’ game, at least a little bit.

As far as what has happened, and what will happen, Stauskas has improved, but we hope he will get better. He’s always looking to take the next step to get better, and that will pay off. Brown thinks so as well. “I think that Nik Stauskas, his better days are way ahead of him,” Brett said to Seltzer.

I think Stauskas is one of the “on the fence” guys as far as staying with the team next year, but the Sixers need some outside shooters, and right now Stauskas is the closest thing they’ve got.

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We can only hope that Sauce Castillo’s addiction to the gym will help him improve drastically as he moves forward with Philadelphia.