2017-18 NBA Regular Season: 10 pleasant surprises

#7 Improvements shown by a number of sophomore players

Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram have made big strides this season

The rookie class of 2016 was quite underwhelming for the 2016-17 regular season. #1 pick Ben Simmons had a season-ending injury, #2 pick Ingram was shooting poorly and #3 pick Jaylen Brown was not getting minutes in the deep Celtics rotation.

Buddy Hield and Dejounte Murray were the only first-round picks who shone for any length of time, and skeptics dismissed the draft class as one of the weakest in memory.

Things have turned around for these sophomores during this regular season, however.

Brandon Ingram has raised his scoring average by 6.7 points, Jamal Murray by 6.8 points, Kris Dunn by 9.6 points, Domantas Sabonis by 5.8 points and Jaylen Brown has become a legitimate two-way player while stepping up to fill a Gordon Hayward-sized hole in the Celtics roster since game 1 of the season.

Ben Simmons is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors, while the likes of Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon have maintained their above-average play. Dejounte Murray has replaced Tony Parker as the San Antonio Spurs' de facto starting point guard and looks like a player with a high ceiling.

Expect these players to continue making noise, as the likes of Murray, Ingram, Brown, Simmons, and Hield look like future All-Stars in the making.