NBA: Top Rookies
As many people predicted, this year’s rookie class has been one of the best we have seen, chalk full of contributors up and down rosters. With names like Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, it had star power right at the top, with people salivating what these teenagers might turn into in three or four years.However, what makes this rookie class so good is the depth all the way through the lottery and into the late first round.The first couple names on this list were easy to pick and place, but as I got into the fourth and fifth selections, it was very hard to differentiate who to put on the list. With some of these rookies playing on abysmal teams (Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell, and Devin Booker), I had a hard time choosing just who I would put on this list.Since there are so many good players to choose from, I tended to go with players who were contributing to at least normal bad teams over guys with better numbers from awful teams. So with apologies to the three names above, as well as Trey Lyles, Frank Kaminsky, Bobby Portis, Cameron Payne, and Emmanuel Mudiay, Jerian Grant, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Mario Herzonja (told you there are a lot), here are my top five so far.
#5 Nikola Jokic
2014 Draft - 2nd Round, 41st Overall, Denver Nuggets
Our number five player comes to us from the 2014 draft, as the Denver Nuggets drafted Nikola Jokic as a stash player in Europe before having him come over a year later. And trust, watching this newly minted 21-year-old, you know that the year was worth the wait.
He is very polished around the basket for a young big, shooting 52% on the season, but what has people very excited is he has shown the ability to knock down a jumper, shooting about 40% from 16 feet out.
Couple this with his nimble feet that help him patrol both pick and roll coverage as well as the back line of the defense, and you have a kid who has the looks of developing into a top 10 center in the league. Think a slightly more athletic Nikola Vucevic.
Averaging just under 20 minutes per game, his per 36 averages of 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1 block suggest he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The Nuggets seem to have found a gem in the second round and pairing him with Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton, and Gary Harris gives them an intriguing young core.