Player Recaps: Micah Potter

This nine-part series takes an extensive look at Skyforce players throughout the 2021-22 season. We will highlight season and career highs, as well as the impact each player made on the court. Next, we take a look at rookie center Micah Potter. 

You can argue no Skyforce player improved from start-to-end like Potter did. The big man out of Wisconsin became the first player since Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten to earn G League All-Rookie First Team.

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Good company to be associated with.

His journey started in the Summer League with the HEAT, where appeared in four games and averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists per 14.2 minutes.

Potter's play earned him an invitation to HEAT training camp and preseason, where he improved and averaged 10.3 points on 44.4 percent shooting, 11.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per 24 minutes in three appearances. In two-of-three games, he secured 13-plus points and 16-plus rebounds.

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He was assigned to the Skyforce in mid-October as an affiliate player. Potter averaged 14.1 points on 43.4 percent shooting, 10.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per 26.3 minutes in 11 Showcase Cup games.

Adjusting to the pro game was something that was shown throughout each Showcase Cup outing for Potter. He posted 16-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in four of his last five games in that portion of the season.

Two games specifically put Potter on the map to be one-of-five Force players to earn an NBA Call-Up in 2021-22. On December 4 against Fort Wayne, he posted 20 points on 8-16 FGA and 20 rebounds, while he added 25 points on 10-19 FGA and 15 rebounds against Motor City on December 7.

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His Winter Showcase continued that momentum as he averaged 15.5 points on 43 percent shooting and 15.5 rebounds in 11 starts.

On December 29, Potter inked a 10-day hardship contract with the Detroit Pistons, where he averaged 4.0 points on 45.5 percent shooting and 3.0 rebounds per 10.3 minutes in three games. He scored eight points on 3-6 FGA and grabbed six rebounds on January 5 against the Hornets.

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In triple the amount of games, Potter upped his scoring by averaging 17.2 points on 53.4 percent shooting (team leading) and 44.1 percent from deep. He added 9.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per 28.8 minutes in 33 starts.

Potter scored in double figures in all but two games and added 15 double doubles in the regular season, which led Sioux Falls.

It took him until February 11 (2o points on 9-13 FGA versus Stockton) to score 20-plus points, but he did so in 11 of 20 remaining games.

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His ascension really took off in March, as he had eight double doubles. He averaged 19.5 points on 53.8 percent shooting (45.5 percent from deep), 11.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in just 28.6 minutes of action.

From March 3-11, he posted five-straight games of 20-plus points scored, which tied Javonte Smart's tally for the most since Duncan Robinson in 2018-19.

Potter's best basketball came when it mattered most, in the last four games of the season.

He posted a double-double in each game and started it off with 23 points on 9-16 FGA (3-6 3PA) and a G League career-high 20 rebounds on March 26 versus Oklahoma City.

On March 31 at South Bay, Potter posted a career-high 33 points on 13-19 FGA and 10 rebounds and followed that performance up with 20 points on 7-18 FGA and 13 rebounds to end the regular season.

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The big man figured out how to transcend from the wear and tear of Big Ten basketball to the faster pace of the NBA G League, which is very tough for post players to accomplish, especially in their first season.

His play earned him a spot on the All-Rookie Team, voted by G League coaches. The nomination made him just the second center to earn such honors in Skyforce history, joining Yante Maten.

With Potter having a year of the professional game under his belt, look for him to continue to progress and find a spot on an NBA roster in the near future.