Nets’ Former First Rounder Sees Best Game of His Career

In a loss to the Chicago Bulls, Dariq Whitehead saw the best game of his professional career.

Oct 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Dariq Whitehead (0) in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Coming out of high school, Dariq Whitehead was the No. 1 player in his class per RSCI, ranking ahead of the likes of Dereck Lively, Cason Wallace, Brandon Miller, Anthony Black and many more.

His lone season at Duke, though, didn’t go as planned, and he eventually landed in the hands of the Nets at No. 22 in the 2023 NBA Draft.

His lack of consistency over his past few years of basketball, compounded with various injuries, have made for a tough professional start for Whitehead. But on Monday night, Whitehead saw a smidgen of optimism in the form of his best career game.

In a loss to the Chicago Bulls — the team’s third consecutive defeat — he scored a team-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, cashing in on six of his 10 attempted triples. Even better, he was able to add two rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

Three-point shooting has never outright been Whitehead’s best skill, but he sank shot after shot on Monday in keeping the Nets offense afloat, somewhat.

It was far-and-away the best NBA game of his career, with most of his performances coming in the G League. Across two games in his initial season, Whitehead averaged just 1.5 points, he’d yet to register a point in the 2024-25 season prior to Monday.

All-in-all, it’s only a small victory for the 6-foot-7 forward, who could still provide an intriguing option for Brooklyn down the line as a scorer. But he’ll need to continue to build on Monday’s game in order to have a shot in the league.

His emergence as a potential contributor at still just 20, would do wonders for Brooklyn's newfound rebuild.

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