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The next wave of NBA stars is coming, and some of them have a chance to illuminate lottery teams with otherwise dim outlooks.

This is essentially a breakout prediction with a twist: The player's leap will coincide with his team reaching a new level.

That doesn't have to mean a playoff trip. A significant increase in wins will be enough. Remember, the teams we'll cover have a long way to go before playoff talk is realistic. All of them sat out the 2019 postseason.

As for the players themselves, the main criteria is that they can't be established household names yet. No All-Star trips and no All-NBA nods. No previous playoff berths, either. Some of these guys took steps forward last season, and others improved significantly over the course of the year. But in each case, the best is yet to come.

Oh, and if you're wondering why Luka Doncic isn't here, it's because we're talking about future stars. The all-but-assured Rookie of the Year averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his first season, all while regularly commandeering the NBA news cycle with game-winners and triple-doubles. He's a present star.