No formula exists for individual success in the NBA, which is to say, no single, simple equation that can carry an eager young player from Point A dreamer to Point B pro (or even more rare, Point C star).

If you tried to reduce Devonte’ Graham’s path from just last season to this in the Charlotte Hornets’ backcourt, you might come up with something like:

Opportunity + confidence = Graham in 2019-20.

But it would be sorely lacking, because if you backed up to the start of this decade and factored in every obstacle, hurdle and speed bump faced by Graham since his junior year in high school, the math quickly would get a lot more complex. As in:

Opportunity + (growth spurt x Walker/Parker mentoring)² – 4(G League + college snafu/child Mom-no Dad) ÷ confidence = Graham now and presumably into his NBA future.

The Hornets combo guard has been one of the surprise stories through the first quarter of this season. His early work off Charlotte’s bench put him in the hopper of potential candidates for Kia Sixth Man of the Year consideration, until his move into the starting lineup shifted Graham to the list of possible Kia Most Improved Player selections. Just Wednesday, he tied the Hornets franchise record with 10 3-pointers against the Warriors.

Not bad for a guy who, until a few months ago, might have been best known for the NBA’s most extraneous apostrophe. Graham is one of those overnight successes who has been years in the making. In his case, approximately nine.

Devonte' Graham tied the Hornets franchise 3-point record with 10 vs. Golden State

“He’s got a confidence about him, and I think that comes when people may not believe in you,” Charlotte coach James Borrego told NBA.com over the weekend. “They may not think you’re the guy. You’re overlooked, overshadowed. You have to have an inner confidence that allows you to keep pushing forward.

“I think that’s been his journey. I appreciate that about him, because I’ve walked a similar journey along the way. You have to build from within -- I refer to it as his swagger. ‘I am good enough.’ His run in Kansas was a major part of it, a four-year player at a major conference and doing well there. But I don’t think much of the NBA world expected this.”

“This” includes Graham’s production that has eased, on some nights anyway, the loss of both Kemba Walker and Tony Parker from last season’s team: 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists, while hitting 39.6% of his 3-pointers.

It includes the extra 13.3 points by which Graham’s scoring average has soared compared to 2018-19 (4.7), when he logged 46 games for Charlotte but kept a bag packed for his back-and-forths to G League Greensboro. He tops the NBA so far in scoring bumps, ahead of Dallas’ Luka Doncic (plus-9.5), Phoenix’s Aron Baynes (9.1), teammate Terry Rozier (8.3) and last season’s Most Improved winner, Pascal Siakam (8.2).

Devonte' Graham hit the game-winner to beat the Knicks this season.

Some of Graham’s increased impact is due to his boost in playing time -- Graham already has played more minutes (737) for the Hornets than he did all of last season (676) -- but not all of it. Per 36, he is at 19.4 points compared to 11.6.

“I definitely didn’t expect to have this big of a start, this big of a role,” Graham said. “But sometimes you’ve got to live in the moment and accept it, and keep playing and being aggressive.

“I keep saying that it’s opportunity and confidence. Playing time, with putting in the work this summer, my teammates and coaches have a lot of confidence in me. And I do in myself, just coming out and being aggressive.”