Is Dariq Whitehead’s big game a proof of patience for Brooklyn Nets?

Dariq Whitehead’s 18-point game in a loss wasn’t a big deal on its own, but what it portends for him and others might.

Regarding those great games by Dariq Whitehead — and Tyrese Martin — don’t expect linear progression, that is, the next game will automatically be better than the last. It’s not Hollywood. It’s the NBA and player development does not work that way. It’s usually fits and starts, ups and downs, trials and errors. The best teams at development understand that. Fans may hope for it and that’s fine, that’s fandom, but front offices understand that patience is a virtue.

Still, you have to be happy with the performances — 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting by Whitehead vs. the Bulls on Monday and an even more impressive 30 points on 8-of-10 shooting by Martin vs. the Suns last week. And of course, of the two, the performance that drew the most attention was Whitehead’s. He’s five years younger, he’s under contract through next season rather than on a two-way deal and his potential, if he can return to his pre-injury form, is greater. Plus his narrative — local (Newark) kid returns from multiple injuries to challenge the haters and doubters — is the better one.

Then, as Tim Captraw noted Tuesday morning, Whitehead’s positives weren’t limited to his deep shooting. His defense was sterling…

Whitehead’s coach credited his jump to his confidence but also and mainly to his hard work in the G League.

“It was great,” Jordi Fernandez said. “I ask him to be ready to shoot, to play like he knows what we’re about and what we’re trying to do. Just don’t overthink it and do it. And he did an amazing job. He shot ten threes and made six. I’m happy for him.

“But the reality is he put the work in, the coaches he works with, the medical performance, he got healthy so obviously I’m happy to see that … happy for him.”

As Brian Lewis wrote Wednesday, confidence was indeed a big driver, paraphrasing one of the greatest of Yogi-isms: “basketball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” So too was opportunity. The Nets were down eight players and Whitehead, really for the first time in two years, was healthy.

That’s often how development works and the Nets have had a good record at it over the years. Like Whitehead, Caris LeVert took a while to get beyond his leg and foot surgeries after being drafted in 2016. Nic Claxton had three up-and-down seasons, playing only 94 games, before he exploded. The Nets didn’t get the full benefit of Jarrett Allen’s development after he was included in the James Harden trade but he was well on his way. Cam Thomas was regularly dissed as a gunner. And Noah Clowney?!? Discovering a diamond in the rough is one thing. Cutting and polishing it so that is shines — and has value — is a whole other thing.

For Whitehead, the road to Monday night was long. After being named the nation’s best high school player at Florida’s Montverde Academy in 2022, he fractured his right foot before he could even take the court at Duke that fall. After what had to be considered a lackluster year with the Blue Devils, he underwent a second surgery on that same foot three weeks before the 2023 Draft. Everyone knew taking him would be risky business but the Nets liked what they saw and took him and the risk.

There was yet another surgery, a repair of a shin reaction this time on his left leg, at the end of January. The cumulative effect of the three surgeries plus a small and not very convincing sample in the G League, then a disastrous turn in the Summer League led many fans to call him a bust. In Las Vegas, he shot 14.6% overall and 8.3% from deep in four painful games. When one fan recounted the woeful numbers in a tweet, albeit with a word of encouragement, Whitehead responded with a tweet of his own…

It wasn’t just about lost confidence. Whitehead admitted to our Scott Mitchell before the G League season that he didn’t have the right attitude last year in Long Island and he promised things would be different.

“If I’m being completely honest, last year I just got drafted and was in the wrong mindset. I didn’t take playing in the G-League the right way like I should have,” he told Mitchell. “This year, I came into it with a clearer mind and want to be here and develop that leadership role.”

In the G League, there were fits and starts this season as well, then suddenly in two games at the end of last month, things seemed to click. In one game, he shot only 3-of-13 and 1-of-6 from three but tallied seven rebounds and seven assists. Then, on November 24, he finally exploded for 26 points, shooting 6-of-12 from deep and feeling — there’s that word again — confident.

“Obviously, knowing the talent and stuff was there, but not doing anything the past two years. So I feel like that was a huge step for me in attacking and just getting ready for tonight,” he said post-game Monday. “My name was called and I was able to go in there and contribute.”

Over those two games, he put up his best numbers in terms of minutes (36), points (26), rebounds (7), assists (7) and 3-pointers (6) since high school! His last game of 26 or more came in an AAU game between his junior and senior years!

When, hopefully, in the next few weeks, the bodies at HSS Training Center get healthy and return, there will be fewer minutes available for Whitehead and Martin but the process is long and the promise is there. Whitehead is already under contract for next season at $3.3 million but more importantly, he knows his coach trusts in him.

Martin’s example can be instructive. After his 30-point outburst in Phoenix, he started the next game in Brooklyn vs. the Magic, played 25 minutes and scored eight points. In the second Magic game, he played only eight minutes and didn’t score, but then with so few players available vs. Chicago, he got 33 minutes and put up 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting from deep. Fits and starts, ups and downs, trials and errors. Will we see the same with Whitehead?

And what about the players who Whitehead left down on the farm under the tutelage of Mfon Udofia who’s building quite the reputation? Killian Hayes, still only 23, has played some good games and has looked like an NBA player. After all, he’s played in 210 of them. A.J. Lawson (24,) Kendall Brown (21,) and Amari Bailey (20,) all have NBA experience as well. If as expected, Sean Marks trades away his veterans, they may get opportunities at the end of the season.

Fans are obsessed with the 2025 Draft and even free agency and why not? the Nets are flush in both. So little attention has been paid to development, working with what you already have in-house or out on Long Island. Whitehead, who was the second youngest player in the NBA last season, is still in the top 25. At 20 years and 123 days, Whitehead is the youngest player in Nets history to hit six threes in a game, and the second-youngest in the league this season behind only No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher (19 years, 212 days). Noah Clowney is just 20, specifically 20 years and 143 days. Before Whitehead made six threes Monday, he held the franchise record with five, done twice. He too went from a sour time and the “bust” label in Las Vegas to legitimate prospect in fans eyes.

Not every prospect works out — a word to the wise for those convinced a top draft pick will yield an All-Everything star. Injuries hurt. Players don’t do the work. The timing isn’t right, but if you’re in a rebuild and not developing in-house, you’re not doing everything to get better faster.

• Dariq Whitehead’s Nets outburst could be the start of shedding ‘bust’ label – Brian Lewis – New York Post