Andrew Wiggins was drafted first overall, but will he top the rookie rankings?As the NBA season progresses, let’s take a look at which five rookies have shined the most thus far.
5. Kostas Papanikolaou, Houston Rockets
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The Greek forward has quickly become one of the NBA’s most recognizable young players. He also has one of the league’s most fun-to-pronounce names.
The 24-year-old has provided a scoring punch off a depleted Rockets bench that includes rookie Tarik Black and sophomores Isaiah Canaan and Troy Daniels. He is averaging 6.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.
4. K.J. McDaniels, Philadelphia 76ers
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Philadelphia is on pace to become the worst team in NBA history, but McDaniels has been a bright spot thus far. He ranks second among rookies in blocks per game (1.2), which is great to see considering he rejected 2.8 shots per game during his final season at Clemson. Also, he’s only 6’6”.
3. Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers
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Although Noel is in the second year of his NBA career, he is technically a rookie due to sitting out all of his rookie season. Currently, he leads the rookie class in rebounds per game (6.3), steals per game (1.6), and blocks per game (1.3).
2. Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
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The former Duke standout may not be living up to superstar expectations, but he is off to a very solid start. He is second among rookies in both scoring (11.7 points per game) and rebounding (5.9 per game).
Parker also dropped a season-high 23 points while grabbing 7 boards in Milwaukee’s 122-118 triple-overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 19.
1. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
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The first overall pick in this year’s draft is number one on the rookie scale, but only by a slight margin. Wiggins leads all rookies in scoring (12.6 points per game) and he has made eight of his 16 3-point attempts this season (50 percent).
The Canadian-born Wiggins scored a season-high 29 points in a 113-101 loss against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 22.
Honorable Mentions
Bojan Bogdanovic, Brooklyn Nets – The shooting guard from Yugoslavia is third among rookies in scoring (9.6 points per game).
Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls – Mirotic posted his first career double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds) in a 105-87 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 21.
Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic – Acquired by Orlando in the 2014 draft for the rights to Croatian forward Dario Saric, Payton is leading all rookies in assists per game (4.9).