5 NBA rookie performances which have stood out in the 2021-22 NBA pre-season so far
The beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season marks the debut for the newest rookie class. The 2021 NBA Draft class was headlined by a promising group of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, and Jalen Suggs.
Cade will not participate in the Detroit Pistons' season opener due to a slight injury. Jalen Green played well, but not great, in his debut for the Houston Rockets. The Cavaliers and Evan Mobley were destroyed by the new-look Chicago Bulls. Jalen Suggs' play did not jump off the page. All of the aforementioned names have extremely bright futures, but their preseason openers weren't particularly impressive.
The most recent draft class goes much deeper than those five, and some of the latter names shone in their NBA debuts.
Here are the five 2021 NBA rookies that stood out in two days of preseason games.
#5 Josh Giddey
Some were surprised when the Oklahoma City Thunder elected to select NBL's Josh Giddey at pick six in the 2021 NBA Draft. Aside from Josh Primo, Giddey was the youngest player taken in the first round and the Thunder have clearly embraced a patient approach to their rebuild.
The 6'8" point guard started in his first game in the NBA, and will likely be given the opportunity to play through his growing pains. Lining up alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should ease his initiating responsibilities and that seems to have been the case in his debut.
Against the Charlotte Hornets, Giddey tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 29 minutes of playing time. Eight of his 12 attempts from the field were converted, two of four from beyond the arc, and zero from the free throw line.
That statline makes for a solid debut for the Australian native and should excite the Oklahoma City fanbase.
#4 James Bouknight
At the time of the NBA Draft, I was surprised by how far James Bouknight fell. He ended up heading to the Charlotte Hornets at pick 11, a team that already has substantial guard depth.
Bouknight is behind Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball and probably Cody Martin. If the connecticut rookie is hoping for minutes at small forward, then he is competing for minutes with Miles Bridges, Kelly Oubre Jr., Wes Iwundu and Jalen McDaniels.
In his first 21 minutes with the Hornets, Bouknight proved he is going to make the decision of playing time difficult for head coach James Borrego. Throughout those minutes, Bouknight logged 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals while converting 7-of-12 from the field, 1-of-3 from three, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
The rookie could play his way into the sixth or seventh man on this Hornets' roster if he continues to impress.
Also check out: Complete NBA Preseason TV Schedule for 2021