NBA Rookie of the Year 2021: March Power Rankings
With little expected of the 2020 draft class, our recent power rankings for NBA Rookie of the Year contain five stars that are beginning to make a serious impact on the league and disprove the doubt placed on them prior to the season.
LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards in particular have shown up recently and have not looked out of place going toe-to-toe with the likes of LeBron James. Edwards is a walking highlight at the moment while Ball has grabbed the headlines after nailing down a starting berth for the Hornets.
Not only have Edwards' recent performances earned him a resurgence in our NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings, there is plenty of movement making up our current top-5. Let's take a look at how it has come together in the past month.
NBA Rookie of the Year 2021: Current Top 5 power rankings for award
#1 LaMelo Ball
MP - 28.8, PPG - 16, AST - 6.2, RPG - 5.9 FG% - 45.3%.
Previous NBA Rookie of the Year Power Ranking - 1st (-).
LaMelo Ball has led the way for a considerable amount of time in our NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings and the point guard continues to top the pile. Ball is averaging 16 points and 6.2 assists per matchup while he has put up 19.8 points on 46.8% shooting during his 20 games as a starter.
The Hornets' use of their pick at third in the draft on Ball was met with some trepidation for a team looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, the 19 year old has been electric since entering the league and is a major part of Charlotte's push to make the postseason - currently placed 6th in the East.
His ability to remain top of our NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings is largely due to his effectiveness on both ends of the floor, leading his class as a two-way player.
His talents as a point guard are going to be highly sought-after in seasons to come, able to shoot the ball with an efficiency of over 53% and having a defense rating of 111 which accounts to a 1.4 defensive win share.
#2 Anthony Edwards
MP - 30.0, PPG - 16.8, AST - 2.5, RPG - 4.2 FG% - 39.0%.
Previous NBA Rookie of the Year Power Ranking - 5th (↑4).
The No.1 pick in the 2020 draft and closest contender to LaMelo Ball for the NBA Rookie of the Year award is Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves forward has been on an absolute tear recently, creating several posterizing dunks and a historic 42-point display against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
Edwards has been pivotal in Minnesota's three wins since the midseason break and combined with Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell could form a formidable front three in the years to come. In those three games, Edwards has averaged an astounding 34.3 points, all of which were against playoff contenders.
His performance in Phoenix put the rookie into an illustrious club with LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only 3 teenagers to score 42 points in a game since 2000. Since the 24th of February, the 19 year old has put up 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game - bringing up his stats to put him on a closer par with Ball.
If Edwards is able to continue his consistency and help the T-Wolves improve, we can expect to see him steal top spot in the NBA Rookie of the Year rankings.