With that said, here is a look at two bigs in the Western Conference who are coming to the forefront.

Jusuf Nurkic

Jusuf Nurkic is only 23 years old, yet he has already made NBA History.

Last season, he became the first player since Charles Barkley in 1986 to post at least 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks in a game. He achieved this feat in an overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers in early March. And this was only his ninth game in a Portland Trail Blazer’s uniform.

The 7-foot Bosnian product was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Trail Blazers. Portland reaped the benefits of this exchange as he became an immediate impact player coming off the bench.

His impressive start prompted head coach Terry Stotts to make him a starter and the Trail Blazers went on a 14-6 run before he sustained an injury to his right leg.

In the 20 regular-season games he played for Portland, Nurkic averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals with a 50.8 field-goal percentage. When he was on the court, the Trail Blazers outscored opponents by nine points per 100 possessions according to NBA.com.

In the presence of two elite guards, Nurkic became more effective in screens and showed he could defend at the perimeter. The passing big also made life a lot easier for Damian Lillard as he could shoot treys.

However, his ability to cover the paint suffered. Despite his 280-pound frame and 7-foot-2 wingspan, Nurkic allowed opponents to shoot 56.8 percent from the 0-6 feet range and 48.6 percent overall.

To improve on the defensive end, the 23-year-old could learn to steady his feet more, especially against other big men.

Nikola Jokic

Selected in the second round as the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Nikola Jokic was never meant to be anything more than a role player. Yet today, he stands as the second-best scorer on the Denver Nuggets.

After a stately rookie season, the 22-year-old has not only become one of the most important players on his team, but he is emerging as one of the most valuable centers in the league.

At the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign, he moved from starter to bench player for 14 games and during that time he:

• recorded a season-high 27 points alongside 11 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks

• posted 11 assists while notching 16 points and eight rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves a week after

His stellar performance forced head coach Michael Malone to put him in the starting lineup and Jokic continued to elevate his game. The Serbian ended the season averaging 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while collecting six triple-doubles, ranking fourth behind Russell Westbrook (42), James Harden (22) and Lebron James (13).

Jokic showed his elite passing abilities as he led all big men in total assists with 359 while notching a team-high assist percentage of 28.8. On the shooting end, he ranked eighth in points per games among centers while recording the fourth-best true-shooting percentage (64) in the NBA. As a result, Denver’s offensive rating with starters was an astounding 120.2—that’s higher than the Golden State Warrior’s 115.6.

It is on the defensive end where things get shaky.

When he is on the floor, opposing teams’ offensive rating increases. Jokic allows his opponents to shoot 63.7 percent at the rim and 48.7 percent overall.

The main problem for Jokic is that he struggles in the pick-and-roll. He often trips over himself when coming up against fast players and can blow screens unintentionally. If he can learn to move quicker and be more mindful about drawing fouls and staying in front of his man, he could help the Nuggets’ pallid defense.

By Lethabo Nxumalo