Article:The Emancipation of Gerald Wallace

It seems like a star is born every year in the what have you done for me lately, stat-driven world of the NBA. This year is no different.

It's one thing to see superstar potential with gifted players such as a Lebron James or Kevin Durant immediately. It's another to see a talented player find himself, improve his game with dedication and bud into a superstar. It's similar to how a successful investor picks a stock with a lot of potential for growth and watches it grow and bud into Apple or Google-like status.

Consider Gerald Wallace the best growth stock of the NBA season.

Emeka Okafor was supposed to be the franchise player of the Bobcats. So was Jason Richardson.

Instead it is Gerald Wallace who is averaging a career-best 21.2 points, which puts him in the top 20 in the NBA in scoring. He put up 36 points and 14 boards tonight in a win against Orlando and had just come off a 40 point performance in a win against Denver, his 4th of his career.

It was only just yesterday that he was the multi-talented kid with huge upside that was kept off the court due to the set rotation of the contending Sacramento Kings in 01-02 and 02-03.

The Bobcats are a long way from being real contenders, but the recent acquisition of Nazr Mohammed has given them depth on the front line. Jason Richardson seems to be getting comfortable. And despite their record, there's a growing upside to this team.

Furthermore, there's a centerpiece with a last name of Wallace.

And it's not Rasheed or Ben.