A few quick notes about the graphic. I color coded the different stats to display how I felt they matched up against their fellow rookies. Dark green = Excellent, Light green = Good, White = About average, Pink = Below average, Red = Awful. If a player attempted less than 1.0 threes per game, they got a “--“ in the 3P% column. I also gave all PFs and Cs “--“ for stopping percentage because I didn’t feel it was an important stat for big men. I also graded each player’s stat based on the position they play.
Leading Candidates for Rookie of the Year:
1. Walter Tavares – Los Angeles LAKERS (Up 2 spots)
After trailing Parker in the rookie rankings seemingly all season, Tavares finally takes the top spot when it matters most: the end of the season. Tavares was fourth among all rookies in points per game with 13.4, third among all rookies in rebounds per game with 7.6, he EASILY led all rookies in overall field goal % with 57.4, and he led all rookies in double-doubles with 23. Add to that a solid 0.7 steals per game and 1 block per game and you have yourself the rookie of the year. He’s an ultra-efficient, double-double machine that can score, rebound, and play solid defense. While the Lakers as a team have been struggling mightily all season, Tavares appears to be one of the real bright spots on the team.
2. Nick Johnson – San Antonio SPURS (Up 2 spots)
Johnson is another riser as he continued to play great as the season progressed. Johnson was third among all rookies in points per game with 15.1 (while shooting a solid 42.3% overall and showed some range with a 36.5% mark from deep). While Johnson played well on the offensive end, his calling card was his defense. He averaged 1 steal per game and 1.3 blocks per game (tops among rookie guards) to go along with 82.5% stop% and and 0.87 PA/SF. Johnson is the steal of the draft at #17 overall. He carried the Spurs down the stretch and into the playoffs, and he is the only rookie among this list that can say that. Unfortunately, Johnson suffered a devastating injury (torn knee tendon) in said playoffs and will miss a large portion of his sophomore campaign. Many expect him to bounce back from the injury though and have a promising career.
3. Jabari Parker – Philadelphia 76ERS (Down 2 spots)
While finishing in the top 3 of a rookie of the year race would be a huge accomplishment for most rookies, you can’t help but feel disappointed for the reigning #1 pick in the draft, Jabari Parker. While he was the hands-on favorite to take this award home from the moment he got drafted, Parker started off the season well enough and led these rankings at the midseason point. However, his numbers really seemed to fall off a bit as the season wore on. Maybe it’s that his body just isn’t used to playing 82 games in a season, or maybe he just lost some enthusiasm as the 76ers were well out of the playoff picture in the second half of the year. It’s hard to tell. Parker still led all rookies in points per game with 17.1, but not with the same efficiency he showed earlier in the year as he averaged 42.8% overall and 36.1% from deep. Now these numbers aren’t poor by anyone’s standards, but for someone that is a pure scorer, those numbers have to be better if he wanted to take home the award. Whereas Johnson excelled on defense and Tavares on a multitude of areas, Parker failed to excel at any area except scoring points. He wasn’t awful at any areas except stopping opponents drives (31.8%) and maybe his assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.8, but he was just average at the other areas.
4. Isaiah Austin – Phoenix SUNS (Up 7 spots)
While Parker struggled as the season wore on, the exact opposite happened for Isaiah Austin. At the midpoint in the season, Austin had fallen out of the top 10 in large part because he was shooting a dreadful 38.8% overall. Some tinkering with his shot, as well as changing positions to SF and the Suns changing their offensive set philosophy, led to huge improvements by the #6 overall pick. His offense improved immensely as he saw his points per game rise to 13.0 (fifth among rookies) on 43.1% overall (+4.3%) and 43.2% from deep (showing some real range for a 7-footer). As solid as he was on offense, he was even better on defense with a 0.80 PA/SF and continued to swat balls away with regularity (despite playing SF most of the second half) with 2 blocks per game (tops among rookies). The Suns may have failed to make the playoffs by 1 game (to Nick Johnson’s Spurs), but the Suns did improve their win total by 17 games due in large part to the addition of Austin.
5. Aaron Gordon – Orlando MAGIC
Gordon retains his top 5 status due to his well-rounded play, highlighted by his defense. Gordon scored a solid 11.6 points per game on an efficient 45.6% (3rd highest among rookies) and he even showed off a little range by hitting 38.1% his shots behind the arc. Defense is where Gordon really shined though, averaging 1.1 steals per game (tied for 2nd among rookies, which is phenomenal for a big man) and 1.6 blocks per game (3rd among rookies). He also did a good job stifling opponents by allowing just 0.87 PA/SF. Even though the Magic played poorly as a team in the second half of the season, Gordon continued to put up good numbers and is deserving of a top 5 rookie ranking.
Not Far Behind…
- Roy Devyn Marble (New York Knicks): Marble comes in just outside of the top 5. He was a good contributor on a contending Knicks team this year that got bounced by the Atlanta Hawks in a tough 7 game series. Marble contributed with 12 points on 42.4% overall and 38.9% from deep and stopped over 90% of drives he faced.
- Bryce Cotton (New Orleans Pelicans): Cotton had a drop off during the second half of the year as he drops all the way from the 2nd spot at midseason. He still leads all rookies in assists and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio, but isn’t as dominating as he was earlier in the year. His defense still lacks with 0 blocks and his PA/SF is up to 0.96. He’s expected to bounce back with a great sophomore year though.
- Dante Exum (Utah Jazz): The #2 overall pick is a bit raw, but still had a pretty good season. He’s already a lockdown defender by allowing 0.80 PA/SF, stopping 86% of drives faced and has 1.1 blocks per game to go along with 0.8 steals. His offensive efficiency needs improving (just 40.6% shooting overall and 26.2% from deep), but if that improves, he could become this draft’s best player.
- Richard Solomon (Sacramento Kings): Solomon is a double-double machine with 14 throughout the year (4th among rookies), as he rebounds very well (7.7 per game, 2nd among rookies) and he also passes well for a big man (2.1 assists). Although he doesn’t force many turnovers or blocks, he plays smothering defense (0.82 PA/SF). His biggest weakness is his shooting (39.8% overall), but it did improve a bit as the season progressed.
- Jusuf Nurkic (Sacramento Kings): The Kings have two double-double machines in the front-court as Nurkic recorded 18 this year (2nd among rookies). He can score with efficiency (48.8% overall shooting), and he rebounds well with 7.2 per game. Like Solomon, he plays great defense (0.76 PA/SF), but forces very few turnovers and is not much of a rim protector.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
